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Retail Center At 4721 N. Main St.


s3mh

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28 minutes ago, bedmondson said:

Agree about listening to the guests. Each time we went in we were a little less impressed. Got rid of the happy hour instantly. Portions got smaller every time. We use to be able to order a couple dishes and be full but each time we went it seemed like another dish was needed. When you pay $36 for a half chicken that is the same size as a normal chicken breast it kinda makes you sad inside. Everything tasted great but when they opened I and others were hoping for a more casual place for frequent meals. It ended up being a more tapas style $100 date night place. 

 

Places like this face a challenge, since certain cuisines get associated with a much lower price point.

 

People don't balk at paying $30 for an entree at a French or Italian restaurant, or a "farm-to-table" restaurant (whatever that means), but a fine-dining thai, chinese or mexican place gets compared to much more modest restaurants with similarly named menu items.

 

FWIW, last time we went there (about a month ago) four of us paid about $120 +tip, which I felt was very reasonable.

 

 

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https://www.statesideseattle.com/

 

This is Seattle's version of FC, but from Vietnamese cuisine.  This place was in NYT and received best new restaurant accolades in Seattle.  It is packed all the time.  But it is in a prime location in Seattle with lots of foot traffic from other bars, restaurants and retail.  It is also very close to downtown.  As much as the Heights has come along, I think N. Main is just not ready for prime time.  Also, FC was excellent, but not such a gem like Oxheart that location did not matter.  

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  • 3 weeks later...
22 minutes ago, Angostura said:

Not surprising. If they could carry the lease for the whole space, Canard would (probably) still be open pending a new concept for the FC side of the space.

 

Doubtful.

 

http://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/what-was-really-going-on-behind-the-closing-of-foreign-correspondents-9081422

 

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On 1/10/2017 at 11:47 AM, kbates2 said:

 

I'd read that, but I'd guess that Canard was probably at least breaking even on its own, considering it only really occupied ~1500-1800 s.f. of the space. Add in another $8-10k per month in lease cost for the FC part of the space, plus the fact that the parent company has zero cash reserves, and there's no way Canard could stay open.

 

That said, given how co-mingled the two spaces and operations were (they shared the same walk-in and prep area as well as bathrooms), it's not clear how well the parent company knew the true profitability of each concept. Additionally, it seemed like a lot of the customers in Canard were either coming from or heading to FC (or maybe a lot of the customers in FC were either coming from or heading to Canard).

 

Ultimately I think a concept like Canard could be successful on its own, but we may never get a chance to find out.

 

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On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 11:47 AM, kbates2 said:

Only 13 comments in that article in over a week.  I can only imagine how many comments were deleted.  A friend who works in another restaurant group with businesses in the same area as Treadsack told me he thinks they will no longer be in business in a few months.  We shall see.

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/10/2017 at 2:51 PM, CrockpotandGravel said:

Hughies is expanding in The Heights. Houston Press is reporting the owners signed a lease for 4721 N Main, Suite A. Foreign Correspondents and Canard will finish moving items out within the next 15 days.

http://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/rejoice-a-heights-neighborhood-joint-to-fill-foreign-correspondents-space-9190957

 

Awesome!!

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  • 5 months later...

Hughie's is so good. Already been to this location twice and it was completely packed just the second day. It appears this place will be very successful... so hard to find parking though now along with the Austin-based ice cream place taking in a lot of customers too. I do worry about Morningstar though... hasn't been getting great reviews either.

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21 hours ago, Triton said:

Hughie's is so good. Already been to this location twice and it was completely packed just the second day. It appears this place will be very successful... so hard to find parking though now along with the Austin-based ice cream place taking in a lot of customers too. I do worry about Morningstar though... hasn't been getting great reviews either.

Uh Morningstar seems packed all the time...where have you seen bad reviews? 

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Morningstar's great, I go often and see them getting plenty of business.

Edit: Looks like most of the 2 stars on Yelp are whining about the donuts. They're not my favorite, and they're a little expensive, but I'm not there for that, I'm there for the awesome coffee service. Pssst.... the excellent Shipley Donuts location is only a few blocks away.

Edited by kylejack
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The donuts are great but probably over complicated... They all have ingredients you have never heard of and a lot of them taste the same even though they supposedly have different stuff in them. Trying to hard to make the donuts "adult". The breakfast is the most unique in the neighborhood and what keeps bringing us back. And I have always had to wait in a line, they are doing well from what I can tell.

 

I was kinda underwhelmed by the gelato shop. Probably because we just went to that one in River Oaks District which is on a whole other level.

 

Its gonna be hard to not go to Hughies every week. It was our favorite restaurant even when it wasn't that close.

 

 

Edited by bedmondson
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51 minutes ago, kylejack said:

Edit: Looks like most of the 2 stars on Yelp are whining about the donuts. 

 

Yelp may be the worst thing to happen to the restaurant industry in recent history.  I have family in the PNW that run a very high profile restaurant (NY Times reviewed, tops local media "best" lists, etc.).  The cuisine is Asian/French fusion.  The Yelpers started a crusade calling out the Asian side of the cuisine on the grounds of lack of authenticity and cultural appropriation (chef is a white guy).  it got so bad that they are now working on transitioning out most of the Asian influence on the menu.  

 

The yelpers in Houston do not get it that the yeast donuts at Morningstar are supposed to be chewy or a bit more "al dente" than what drips out of the deep fryer at Shipleys.  Others just do not get the creative dishes like the black rice, money cat potatoes or crispy rice.  Morningstar has responded to the Yelpers with less ambitious fare like breakfast tacos and brisket filled kolaches.  The location does not lend itself to the same kind of traffic that Boomtown gets, but it is always full on the weekends and busy enough during the week.

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58 minutes ago, s3mh said:

 

Yelp may be the worst thing to happen to the restaurant industry in recent history.  I have family in the PNW that run a very high profile restaurant (NY Times reviewed, tops local media "best" lists, etc.).  The cuisine is Asian/French fusion.  The Yelpers started a crusade calling out the Asian side of the cuisine on the grounds of lack of authenticity and cultural appropriation (chef is a white guy).  it got so bad that they are now working on transitioning out most of the Asian influence on the menu.  

 

The yelpers in Houston do not get it that the yeast donuts at Morningstar are supposed to be chewy or a bit more "al dente" than what drips out of the deep fryer at Shipleys.  Others just do not get the creative dishes like the black rice, money cat potatoes or crispy rice.  Morningstar has responded to the Yelpers with less ambitious fare like breakfast tacos and brisket filled kolaches.  The location does not lend itself to the same kind of traffic that Boomtown gets, but it is always full on the weekends and busy enough during the week.

 

Agreed.  Yelp is not only bad for the restaurant industry; the reviews and ratings are pretty much worthless.  My understanding is they don't even attempt to police to make sure the reviews are legitimate. 

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Their donuts are kinda bad. I actually had to throw away my donut holes from Morningstar and drive on down to Shipley's. Their coffee is good though and I'm a sucker for their matcha drink. Seriously wish they would change their hours but that's just personal preference.

But back to what I was saying, Yelp reviews can make or break a place. I remember it being closer to 3 stars a while back but it looks like it has improved some. In this day and age, 2 star reviews can seriously hamper a business. That's why I somewhat worry about this place.

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5 hours ago, s3mh said:

Yelp may be the worst thing to happen to the restaurant industry in recent history.  I have family in the PNW that run a very high profile restaurant (NY Times reviewed, tops local media "best" lists, etc.).  The cuisine is Asian/French fusion.  The Yelpers started a crusade calling out the Asian side of the cuisine on the grounds of lack of authenticity and cultural appropriation (chef is a white guy).

 

Didn't you get the memo? The painstaking enumeration of microaggressions has assumed primacy over such outdated, oppressive relics of the colonial era as "quality" and "aesthetics". 

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21 hours ago, s3mh said:

 

Yelp may be the worst thing to happen to the restaurant industry in recent history.  

 

 

If you ever find yourself overly confident in the wisdom of crowds, check out Tripadvisor's ranking of the top restaurants in Houston.

 

The top 10 consists of 5 steakhouses (including 2 churrascarias), a grocery store, two Peli Peli locations, and Uchi.

 

Underbelly is #39

Xochi is #172

Coltivare is #309

MF Sushi is #443

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

 

If you ever find yourself overly confident in the wisdom of crowds, check out Tripadvisor's ranking of the top restaurants in Houston.

 

The top 10 consists of 5 steakhouses (including 2 churrascarias), a grocery store, two Peli Peli locations, and Uchi.

 

Underbelly is #39

Xochi is #172

Coltivare is #309

MF Sushi is #443

 

 

 

 

Perhaps not many people have been to those places?

 

Would agree that Chama Gaucha is probably among the top places here for food and service though. I have my birthdays there and always invite clients there as well.

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  • The title was changed to Braun To Redevelop 4721 N. Main St.
  • 1 year later...

I don't know if the name of this retail center at 4721 N Main St. After Braun Enterprises purchased and redeveloped it, the shopping center was renamed to Heights Place. Braun Enterprises sold the center a few years ago. A listing on Loopnet last years claims the center is named North Main Shops.
 

Edited by IntheKnowHouston
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Posts from other topics about 4721 N Main St, particularly Suite M, which was previously home to coffee shop Morningstar.
 

On 11/3/2021 at 8:07 PM, kbates2 said:

The Tipping Point is opening their second location at the former Morningstar on N. Main. Not sure if it was mentioned anywhere but they have some of the best coffee in the city so pretty pumped for another location.

 

On 11/7/2021 at 7:11 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

 

From the restaurant thread linked in the above quoted post...

 

The Tipping Point is opening their second location at 4721 N Main, Suite M, the former Morningstar on N. Main at Heights Place. Not sure if it was mentioned anywhere but they have some of the best coffee in the city so pretty pumped for another location.

 

The Tipping Point Coffee held a soft opening last week. It's open for limited hours on the weekends until it fully opens.




The Tipping Point Coffee closed its Heights location at 4721 N Main St, Ste M. I'm not sure if it closed in the spring or summer. 

Taking over the unit is a new coffee concept from David Buehrer of Greenway Coffee. Buehrer's latest venture is named Fruit Service Co.

In addition to coffee beverages, smoothies, juices, and acai bowls are available. A small menu of sandwiches, wraps, salads, and baked goods are also on the menu.


https://www.instagram.com/fruitserviceco/


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  • The title was changed to Retail Center At 4721 N. Main St.

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