DEFORESTED KIRBY DR. WENDY’S BRINGS BACK A LITTLE GREENERY 
Passersby hoping to see for themselves precisely what hullabaloo was responsible for the larger-than-normal red tag placed by city officials on the door of the abruptly-paused-during-renovation Kirby Dr. Wendy’s now have an additional obstacle blocking satisfaction of their curiosity. The perimeter construction fencing on the jobsite at 5003 Kirby Dr. — which only went up just as workers were chopping down 6 oak trees on the surrounding public right-of-way late one night last week — has gained a new green-fabric wrapping. “I think it makes the construction look more attractive,” quips the reader who sent in the above photo of the stump-and-fence scene (with the red tag still barely visible through the greenage). That’s nice, the reader notes, since “apparently we are going to be looking at it for a long time.” [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
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Tag: Restaurants
THE BARNABY’S IS IN THE HEIGHTS 
Pssst! The Barnaby’s Cafe location taking over the City Oven (and before that, D’Amico’s Italian Cafe) spot at 2802 White Oak Dr. opened late last week. Same menu, same signature sitting-height-level check-em-out wall mirrors as the 5 other locations. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
A passerby stopping for an iced tea today at the McDonald’s across Kirby Dr. from the recently deforested Wendy’s restaurant at the corner of Kirby and North Blvd. reports that the once-bustling construction site has gone quiet: “Nothing going on at the site, looked closed, stopped, locked up.” But one bright marker affixed to a window of the mid-redo building at 5003 Kirby did catch our tipster’s eye: “I noticed the largest ‘red tag’ I have ever seen. 4 times the size of a normal one.” Unfortunately, the site is fully fenced, so there”s no way to read it without a good pair of binoculars.
- Previously on Swamplot: Landlord Says He’s ‘Looking at Terminating’ Lease of Wendy’s Franchisee Who Cut Down Upper Kirby Street Trees; City Reportedly Planning Legal Action Against Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Late-Night Tree Whackers; Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Renovation Crews Chop Down North Blvd. Street Oaks Overnight
Photo: Swamplot inbox
Big Red
The owner of the property at the southeast corner of Kirby Dr. and North Blvd. has indicated he might attempt to evict the Wendy’s franchise whose operator appears to have ordered the nighttime removal of 6 oak trees on public property surrounding the fast-food outlet earlier this week. Lias J. “Jeff” Steen, the property’s landlord, says he sent an email saying “I am extremely disappointed he took down the trees under cover of darkness . . . And I am looking at terminating our lease,” according to a report by abc13’s Deborah Wrigley.
Removed ‘in Good Faith’
The City of Houston intends to proceed with legal action in connection with the overnight disappearance of half a dozen oak trees from the public right-of-way surrounding the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr., according to 2 separate sources. The trees were chopped down and ground up on site under cover of darkness Tuesday night as part of a renovation of the fast-food spot, which sits at the corner of Kirby and North Blvd. The removals took place on city property, but had not been permitted by the city.
“I have already been assured by the City of Houston’s enforcement officer that the city intends to proceed with a civil case,” writes Trees for Houston executive director Barry Ward in an email sent to members of the canopy-enhancement organization this morning. He calls plans to pursue legal action “a continuation of the recent, positive trend by the current administration to put an end to illegal tree removal in the City right-of-way or on city property.”
$150K for More Sunlight
If future residents of the new 8-story apartment building that’s being planned to go up in place of the El Tiempo 1308 Cantina and quite a few of its neighboring buildings don’t want to wait around for management to fix their leaky faucets, they won’t have far to go to find spare washers or other plumbing parts. Neighboring fix-it-yourself plumbing supply store U-Plumb-It will likely still be around to sell them parts and hand out advice — because it won’t be included in the redevelopment. But everything north of it, on the block bounded by Marconi St., West Clay St., and Montrose Blvd. will. Developer Sunrise Luxury Living is planning to build 5 stories of apartments — 220 units in all — over 3 levels of parking, a source tells Swamplot. Plans currently include some sort of retail component on the bottom floor, facing Montrose Blvd.
More Redevelopment Details
Notice any differences between the view of the Wendy’s Drive-Thru at the corner of Kirby Dr. and North Blvd. taken yesterday (at top) and a similar image (above) taken this morning? Well, sure, there’s a new construction fence up, and some of the heavy machinery’s been moved around. But you might also note the sudden disappearance of 6 or 7 mature oak trees lining the streets surrounding the restaurant. How did they vanish so quickly? Tree-removal crews worked very quickly, overnight (see photo above left). Here’s another before-and-after comparison:
Upper Kirby Trees After Dark
El Tiempo’s Roland Laurenzo reports that the land under his family’s El Tiempo 1308 Cantina on Montrose Blvd. is being sold by the owner for a “multi-story apartment project development.” The restaurant, which leases the space, is looking for another Montrose spot where it can relocate after it closes early next year. Greg Morago’s report in the Chronicle doesn’t provide any additional detail about the proposed apartments, but the 1308 Cantina, bounded by West Clay St., occupies the northern third of a long block capped on the southern end by the for-sale and shuttering Gibbs Boats at West Gray St. Between those 2 properties are a tire shop and the U-Plumb-It supply store. The 1308 Cantina took over from a restaurant called Sabor, a mid-aughts upscale replacement for La Jalisciense at the same 1308 Montrose Blvd. spot.
Update, 4:30 pm:Â Here are some more details on the apartment development replacing the 1308 Cantina and many of its neighbors.
- El Tiempo 1308 Cantina may soon close [Food Chronicles]
Photo of El Tiempo 1308 Cantina from Marconi St. parking lot:Â Bill Coatney [license]
Getting Ready To Move
The Goode Company 4-restaurant fiefdom on Kirby Dr. near Westpark is planning another expansion. Plans submitted to the city show the local chain is seeking to expand Goode’s Armadillo Palace with additional covered patio space, a new courtyard facing Bartlett St., and covered walkways connecting them — all on the current parking lot directly across the street from Goode Company BBQ. In addition, a new Goode’s Armadillo Palace General Store is planned for the far eastern end of the site, with a raised covered porch in front of its entrance facing Bartlett St. The single-story structure housing the store, according to the documents, would be built in a “traditional German country style.”
Moving Around the Corner
OAK FOREST BERRYHILL STILL ON ITS WAY 
In the course of providing an overview of Houston’s commercial permitting process likely to open further the eyes of any wide-eyed I-wanna-open-a-restaurant newbie, Betsy Denson provides a quick sorta-update on the current status of the long-delayed Berryhill Baja Grill on the site of a former gas station at 1201 W. 43rd St., even though franchise owner Park Blair isn’t commenting publicly: “Some conjecture that it was an encroachment issue or something similarly major that has caused the delay at Berryhill on Ella. The restaurant applied for a building permit in 2011 and construction has been sporadic for the last two years. Their last approval for a restaurant addition was in February of 2014 and from the looks of things, they will open in the near future.” [The Leader] Photo: Betsy Denson
OLD DAILY REVIEW CAFE SPOT, NORTH MONTROSE MIGHT SOON BE UP A CREEK 
Back in March, the Daily Review Café on W. Lamar St. off Dunlavy closed temporarily with a notice about “water issues”; shortly afterward the owners announced the restaurant and its extensive patio wouldn’t reopen. A “for lease” sign has been up at the space for several months, but it now appears the property has attracted a buyer. Eater Houston’s new sleuth-in-residence Jakeisha Wilmore has gathered clues that point to the participation of Gary Mosley’s Creek Group, the company behind the Onion Creek Coffee House, Dry Creek Cafe, and the Cedar Creek and Canyon Creek Bars and Grills. Only this time, the serial restaurateur appears to be flying under a different name: “A limited liability company formed under Piggy’s Tavern was filed by Mosley’s restaurant group in August,” Wilmore writes. “The group also filed for a mixed beverage permit and mixed beverage late night permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). The address listed to conduct business is 3412 West Lamar,” the Daily Review spot. [Eater Houston] Photo: Daily Review Café
Had you been planning a big farewell meal at Van Loc later this week? Sorry, there’s been a change of plans: The Vietnamese restaurant at 3010 Milam St. in Midtown is now officially closed for good. “There are signs on the doors apologizing for having to close earlier than expected,” a reader tells Swamplot. The reason: So much business in the last few days that they’ve “run out of food” — and order and prep times mean new orders wouldn’t be ready much before the previously planned Friday closing.
Van Loc served its last meals Tuesday night. A sale of the property appears to be imminent.
- Previously on Swamplot: Midtown’s Van Loc Will Lock Up for Good This Friday; Midtown Vietnamese Restaurant Van Loc Says It’s Closing Up Shop
Photos: Allyn West/OffCite (front); Swamplot inbox (sign)
The Pho Has Flown
LONGTIME HEIGHTS CAFE JAVA JAVA NOW TRYING TO SELL ITS GROUNDS 
A reader notes that the owner of Java Java Cafe on 11th St. and Herkimer has placed the building at 911 W. 11th St. and its adjacent parking lots up for sale. Java Java is still open for business, however. Pay $1.25 million and you’d get close to 17,000 sq. ft. of land with street frontage on 3 sides, along with the 2,450-sq.-ft. building, which dates from 1940. But you’d need to fetch your own coffee. [HAR]
MIDTOWN’S VAN LOC WILL LOCK UP FOR GOOD THIS FRIDAY Those of you lamenting the closure of 28-year-old Midtown institution Van Loc may want to note this latest update on the Vietnamese restaurant: There’s now an actual deadline for you to get your orders in for duck & bamboo soup, garlic tofu, or No. 46. The restaurant will serve its last meals this Friday, October 17th. What will become of the place then? Separate rumors floated to a Reddit thread include new apartments and a 16-story office building with — wait for it — ground-floor retail. The restaurant at 3010 Milam St. sits on the southern half of a 50,000-sq.-ft. block, one block north of Elgin. Feel free to contribute your speculation, intel, or final orders below. [Reddit; Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West/OffCite
How close to opening is the Pink’s Pizza going into the former laundromat building at 1009 Moy St. off Washington Ave, a mere 14 months after construction began? Nose-to-the-window close: “There’s even beer names over the beer taps!” reports a reader who’s been monitoring the progress of the end space as well as the neighboring fitness-gear shop. The toned folks behind Below Parallel beat their pizza-facing competitors next door to the start line, opening for business at the beginning of September. Pink’s, though, still has a bit more work to do:
Your Order in 14 Months or Bust
