The endcap restaurant space on the River Oaks Village strip center just west of Kirby that’s currently home to Tony Mandola’s but before that was Fins and before that Rickshaw and Bambu — but that’s still probably familiar to more people as that “No Parking Here for Chuy’s” place — will have a new name over the door soon. Ouisie’s Table owner Elouise Adams Jones plans to open a yet-to-be-named “new American-style bistro” at 2810 Westheimer in September. Tony Mandola’s will escape to its new Waugh Dr. building as soon as it’s ready this summer, after spending only a few months in what the restaurant officially calls its “miracle location.” (Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen closed its longtime location in the River Oaks Shopping Center at the end of its lease in January. A high-foreheaded Brasserie 19 is open in that space now.)
- Ouisie’s Table owner branches out [Houston Business Journal]
- Ouisie’s owner, Elouise Adams Jones, to open new restaurant [29-95]
- Tony Mandola finds a miracle on Westheimer [29-95]
Photo: LoopNet
I have never felt the need to enter this strip mall, it’s so inconveniently placed at this busy intersection, there is pretty much only one way in and one way out, and not enough parking.
Speaking of restaurants in the River Oaks vicinity…I heard that the Austin Tex-Mex transplant “Vivo” is no longer moving forward with the space located in the shopping center next to the St Regis before the tracks. I hope they end up leasing a space somewhere else in Houston, becuase they make a killer puffy taco.
Place seems doomed to fail, regardless of what’s there. Rickshaw tried using valet’s, but the cars still stacked up horribly because of the Chuy’s parking lot.
Some Houston retail space just isn’t good for restaurant traffic.
Damn I’m walking distance to the now defunct Vivo location. I hope something else goes in that location soon.