If tracking the comings and goings of Bennigan’s in Houston has become a little confusing , that’s understandable. The Irish-stewish bankruptish restaurant chain suddenly shuttered all of its U.S. locations — including 20 in Houston — back in 2008; 3 years later, the chain’s new owners announced the impending arrival of as many as 10 new restaurants in Houston alone. The first of these new-concept franchises appeared under the tower sign of a strip-center endcap at Westheimer and Dunvale (above) in 2012. A second location opened just a couple of weeks ago in a former Aldo’s spot on the feeder road across I-45 from The Woodlands. And yesterday the company announced it had “nearly 100 restaurants under contract for development over the next several years worldwide,” including a new grand opening in Houston to be announced soon. Bennigan’s is also planning a comeback for its sister Steak & Ale chain, which had packed out of Houston with the Bennigan’s retreat in 2008. President and CEO Paul Mangiamele is planning a “big announcement” about Steak & Ale’s future on Friday.
But in the meantime, the comeback Bennigan’s at 8401 Westheimer has shut down, the always-checking-it-3-times staffers behind the b4-u-eat restaurant newsletter now report. A new location of smaller scale chain 59 Diner has already signed up to replace it.
- Bennigan’s Begins Again – Our Review [H-Town Chow Down]
- Bennigan’s Legendary Comeback Continues; Chain Plans to Double in Size Worldwide [Restaurant News]
- Steak & Ale’s Comeback [Facebook]
Photo of Bennigan’s at Westheimer and Dunvale: Laina C.
I drove by that location all the time – from what I read after the S&A (Bennigans/Steak N Ale) closed the largest franchisees of the company bought the assets and kept going forward–for brand recognition they should have kept the former Bennigan’s logo as most people don’t recognize this new logo plus this type of casual dining Chilis, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, etc) are having problems nationwide so it’s not surprise this location closed
I drove by the Westheimer location a few months ago, and remember thinking it looked a lot like a Bennigans, but since they went out of business, it must be a cheap knock-off trying to capitalize on the name. I had no idea it was a legit member of the chain. Had I known, I certainly would have eaten there. Back in the day of the Chilis vs. Bennigans war, I was on the Bennigans side.