Tag: Restaurants

12/29/14 10:30am

Froyo Arrives in Shopping Center Anchored by the Giant Heights Kroger

Houston Heights, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Timbergrove Manor

10 Comments

cherry-berry-n-shepherd-merchants-park

You’re looking at Harris County’s very first Cherry Berry Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt Bar. It’s going in at 949 N. Shepherd Dr., into a Merchants Park shopping center storefront that most recently housed an AT&T Wireless shop.

Froyo’s arrival in Merchants Park caps 5 years of steady transformation among the tenants in the Kroger-anchored shopping center that sprawls more than 2 blocks south down N. Shepherd and N. Durham Dr. from W. 11th St.

Retail

77008, Houston Heights, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Timbergrove Manor

Houston History

12/11/14 1:30pm

A Shipley Near River Oaks Where ‘Large Marge’ Served Up Much More than Donuts, Coffee, and Kolaches

Restaurants, River Oaks

13 Comments

RiverOaks-officemax

“We went there the very last night they were open and ended up on the TV news,” remembers reader Laura Friedl Jones of the 24-hour Shipley Coffee Shop and Grill that stood for years at the corner of W. Gray St. and Dunlavy St., where the Office Max above squats today.

While you could pick up a dozen glazed there, the fare at this Shipley ranged far afield of the norm for the homegrown chain:

Memories Of Old West Gray

77019, Houston History, Restaurants

Cottage Grove

12/03/14 10:03am

Crescent City Coffee Chain on the Rise in Cottage Grove

Openings and Closings, Restaurants

3 Comments

pjs-coffee-durham-wide-shot

Here’s a look at Houston’s upcoming second location of the New Orleans-based PJ’s Coffee chain. The banner is up and workers are inside the new mini-strip mall at the Cottage Grove corner of Larkin St. and Durham Dr., just south of Yuppie Dog pet care, and just north of a taco truck-friendly parking lot and a Wendy’s, and just across the Katy Fwy. from looming competition in the form of a strip-mall Starbucks.

Caffeine Fix

77007, Cottage Grove, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Hermann Park

12/01/14 3:30pm

Fine Dining, 24-Hour Room Service and Butlers Toting Wine Coming to Mosaic on Almeda Rd.

Museum District, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants

10 Comments

FINE DINING, 24-HOUR ROOM SERVICE AND BUTLERS TOTING WINE COMING TO MOSAIC ON ALMEDA RD. davis-st-restaurant-mosaic-almeda A reader sends in this photo of Davis St. at Hermann Park, a fine-dining establishment officially opening Wednesday on the ground floor of the Mosaic on Hermann Park at 5925 Almeda Rd. According to our reader this stretch of Almeda —across the street from the park’s golf course and south of Binz St. — is something of a restaurant desert. “I am eagerly awaiting more variety than Fuddruckers & Luby’s”Â the reader says. Mosaic residents can avail themselves of 24-7 in-room dining,Â as well asÂ Â “private wine storage with handpicked wines from around the world by our in-house sommelier featuring 24-hour access through our bonded butler service.” Non-Mosaic-dwellingÂ Houstonians will have to avail themselves of the restaurant’s fare in the dining room and during normal business hours. [Davis Street at Hermann Park]Â Swamplot inbox

77004, Mosaic on Hermann Park, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Adaptive Reuse

11/24/14 3:46pm

Ronnie Killen Putting New Burger Joint in Old Pearland Gas Station

Pearland, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

8 Comments

killens-burgers-loopnet

Exxon marks the spot for Ronnie Killen’s latest foray into the Pearland meat market: A burger joint, going in aÂ derelict Exxon station at the corner of S. Main St. and Broadway St. and sharing a busy intersection with Whataburger and folksy Pearland institution the Busy Bee Cafe.

Killen had teased readers of his social media sites earlier this month with snapshots of the gas station, but on Friday, he at last confirmed it as the future home of Killen’s Burger on the Killen’s Barbecue Facebook page:

77581, Adaptive Reuse, Pearland, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

Briarmeadow

11/24/14 1:45pm

Sayonara for Fish & the Knife?

Quicklink, Restaurants

14 Comments

SAYONARA FOR FISH & THE KNIFE? Fish and the Knife Restaurant, Sushi Bar, Nightclub, and Lounge, 7801 Westheimer Rd., Houston Eater Houston’s Jakeisha Wilmore is reporting that Fish & the Knife will close at the end of this month. Wilmore is basing her report on an interview with a Yelp reviewer who said that management at the Briarmeadow sushi house canceled her upcoming holiday event and told her that the restaurant was about to shut down. Wilmore could not reach management for confirmation, but should this really be the end for the 9-month-old restaurant, it would prove an abrupt final act to a bizarre and dramatic saga. The not-designed-by-Tony-Chi restaurant finally opened this February after a roller-coaster ride of a buildout that dragged on for 3 years. Wilmore’s Yelp source told her that the Fish & the Knife’s manager told her “financial challenges” were the cause of the possibly imminent shuttering. The restaurant’s demise might not be lamented in all quarters:Â On weekends Fish & the KnifeÂ transformed into a nightclub, and residents of nearby neighborhoods had become disgruntled with partiers parking along their streets and leaving trash behind. Update, 2:15 pm: Fish & the Knife management tells CultureMap’s Eric Sandler that the restaurant’s closing will be temporary and that the Fish & the Knife will reopen after a rebranding, while the weekend nightclub activities would continue in the meantime. Sandler also reports that opening chef, former Iron Chef America contestant Bob Iacovone, has returned to his hometown of New Orleans. [Eater Houston; Click2Houston; CultureMap;Â previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77063, Briarmeadow, Restaurants

Bars and Clubs

11/24/14 11:59am

Taking Over for The Fairview at 315 Fairview: A Sushi Bar Called Sushi Bar

Hyde Park, Montrose, Restaurants

9 Comments

315-fairview st, Hyde Park, Montrose

315 fairview st, Hyde Park, Montrose Update: 3:45 p.m. Eater Houston reports that the name of the sushi bar will be Akamaru.

According to the permit in the window at 315 Fairview, the next occupant of the mixed-use building’s downstairs will be a restaurant named Sushi Bar.Â

Most recently that area had been home to a lounge called The Fairview.

Prior to its incarnation as the Fairview, the building had housed the short-lived Montrose outpost of downtown institution Dean’s Credit Clothing.

Sushi Bar will be situated about halfway between Uchi and the Bluefish.

Montrose Eats

77006, Bars, Hyde Park, Montrose, Restaurants

Crime

11/20/14 12:45pm

Looking into Houston’s Burger King Tree-Hacking Problem, Beginning Right Down the Street from the Kirby Dr. Wendy’s

Franchises and Chain Stores, Gardening, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants

34 Comments

Damaged Oak Trees, 2803 Yale St., Houston Heights

Damaged Oak Trees, 2803 Yale St., Houston Heights Fresh off receiving a $300,000 settlement for the unauthorized removal of 6 oak trees in the city right-of-way from Ali Dhanani and Haza Foods, owner of the Wendy’s franchise at the corner of Kirby Dr. and North Blvd., the city of Houston’s legal staff has turned its attention to 2 other oak-tree-hacking incidents at neighboring Burger Kings — one a couple blocks to the south at 5115 Kirby Dr. at the corner of South Blvd., and the other at 2116 W. Holcombe Blvd. at Main St., next to the Medical Center. At each location, according to a report from the Chronicle‘s Mike Morris, landscapers pruned an oak tree on surrounding public property excessively, making it “likely to die.”

Both Burger Kings, it turns out, are owned by Dhanani’s brother, Shoukat Dhanani, whose company, Houston Foods, happens to be the second-largest Burger King franchisee in the country. (And with a just-announced purchase, his Dhanani Group is about to double the number of U.S. Burger Kings it owns, to more than 450.) But this latest scuffle with the city is not Shoukat Dhanani’s first experience with aggressive limb-cutting of city-owned oaks. Two and a half years ago, Swamplot readers reported on the mysterious beheadings of oak trees surrounding 2 other Burger Kings, both of which also happen to be owned by Houston Foods.

Fast-Food Landscaping

Crime, Fast Food, Franchises, Gardening, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees

11/19/14 12:00pm

Days After $300K Treecutting Settlement, Workers Are Back on the Job at the Kirby Dr. Wendy’s

Quicklink, Renovations, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

9 Comments

DAYS AFTER $300K TREECUTTING SETTLEMENT, WORKERS ARE BACK ON THE JOB AT THE KIRBY DR. WENDY’S Workers at Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston The snapper of this story-in-an-image pic taken of the construction site at 5003 Kirby Dr. tells Swamplot that construction crews went back to work on the stalled renovation of the Wendy’s Tuesday morning. Last Friday Mohammed A. Dhanani and HAZA Foods, the franchise owner,Â agreed to pay the city of Houston $300,000 for the 6 oak trees removed late last month from the city right-of-way in front of the fast-food franchise along Kirby and North Blvd. AÂ permitting logjam had halted work on the ongoing renovationsÂ after city officials learned of the street-tree chop-downs.Â What’s the worker’s gesture in the pic supposed to mean? “I think it was a ‘right on’ fist pump,” reports the photographer. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77098, Fast Food, Renovations, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

11/19/14 10:45am

Here’s James Harden and a TV Commercial Crew Showing What Montrose’s Siphon Coffee Looks Like as a Pizza Joint

Montrose, Restaurants

5 Comments

Minus the crew of bearded lookalikes with whom he toured the Galleria earlier this year, Houston Rockets guardÂ James Harden shows off a pizzeria-ized Siphon Coffee in this just-released ad spot for Foot Locker. The coffee shop at 701 W. Alabama St., which normally features no boxed items on its menu, was transformed into a pizza spot for a day-long shoot on November 9th.

Rocket Redo

77006, Cafes, Montrose, Restaurants, TV-Commercials

11/18/14 3:15pm

Here’s the Richmond Ave Bungalow Where Celebrity Chef Wendell Price Hopes To Reboot His Career

Montrose, Restaurants

8 Comments

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Wendell Price has been a Food Network star and a partner with Olympic legend Carl Lewis at Houston’s Cafe Noir. He hasÂ catered Hollywood sets, cooked for the likes of Larry Flynt and O.J. Simpson, and served as executive chef in a restaurant co-owned by Denzel Washington. More recently, after his 2012 conviction on tax-related crimes,Â Price was an inmate in a Memphis jail. And now Price is back in his hometown, trying to get his career back on track via Rustic Oak, a restaurant slated to open at 511 Richmond Ave in January. Rustic Oak is taking root in a restored Montrose home near Spur 527; Price tells Culturemap’s Eric Sandler he “prayed for a unique spot instead of a strip center,”Â — and lo, there appeared this bungalow, right next door to the Brooklyn Athletic Club and directly across Richmond Ave. from the Post 510 apartments.

Comebacks

77006, Montrose, Restaurants

Bars and Clubs

11/18/14 10:45am

Sunset Heights Wine Bar The Boom Boom Room Will Close Forever This Friday

Openings and Closings, Sunset Heights

10 Comments

The Boom Boom Room, 2518 Yale St., Sunset Heights, Houston

The Boom Boom Room, 2518 Yale St., Sunset Heights, Houston Staff at theÂ Boom Boom Room, Jackie Harrisâ€™s funky wine bar and music venue at 2518 Yale St., will pour their last glasses of Pinot noir and dish out their final paninis Friday night. Harris, an artist and doyenne of Houstonâ€™s art car movement, tells Swamplot that a â€œgreat new restaurant-barâ€ — one run by â€œreal good Heights–Montrose restaurant people you all know and loveâ€ — will be setting up shop at the location in the not-too-distant future, but adds that she is not at liberty to disclose any further details.

Going Boom

77007, Bars, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Sunset Heights

11/17/14 1:15pm

City Nets $300K Settlement for Late-Night Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Oak-Axing Incident

Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

30 Comments

Partial Demolition of Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr. at North Blvd., Upper Kirby, Houston

Update, 1:40pm: A revised press release from the mayor’s office now indicates the settlement was for all 6 trees, not 4 as previously indicated. We’ve updated the story below.

A just-announced legal settlement signed late last week means that the owner of the Wendy’s franchise at 5003 Kirby Dr. will be paying a $300,000 fine to the city for the late-night chopping-down and mulching-up of oak trees in the public right-of-way in front of the restaurant late last month. Six trees lining Kirby and North Blvd. were removed in the nighttime incident (illustrated in the before-and-after photos above), which was first reported on Swamplot. Crews from Freddy’s Landscaping and More carried out the tree-removal work under contract; the settlement, however, is to be paid entirely by Mohammed A. Dhanani and HAZA Foods, the Wendy’s franchise owner. All construction work on the restaurant, which was closed and undergoing renovations when the trees were removed, had come to a stop after city officials became aware of the clandestine street-visibility-improvement operation.

Now That’s Better

77098, Fast Food, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

11/17/14 1:00pm

Hollywood Vietnamese Will Be Gone by Black Friday

Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

8 Comments

hollywood-vietnamese-closing

Hollywood Vietnamese and Chinese Cuisine will close down by the end of the month. Back in August plans came to light of a coming Farb Montrose full-block apartment complexÂ at 2409 Montrose Blvd., a one-acre site once home to Cafe Noche but occupied since 2007 by Hollywood. A sign posted on the door last week informs the public of Hollywood’s demise by the end of the month;Â several staff members told Eater Houston’s Jakeisha WilmoreÂ that Thanksgiving Eve will be its final day of service. How will Montrose late-night diners be able to cope without this vital pipeline to much-needed Lotus Delights, tofu spring rolls, and steaming bowls of ginger-laced Mama’s Hangover Chicken Soup? Turns out they won’t have to, at least not for long: