Downtown Restaurant And Bar Scene - More Coming

[Moore713]

But ar least the expansion of the bar/social scene continues to expand. .here hoping retail can follow a similar path ..It just takes one or two business to have the balls to take a chance. . Like they okra and others did on main

[adr]

Christian Tailgate did a soft open last night.  Watched three games at once while enjoying a cold brew. Heaven Kitchen goes live Tuesday.

[kbates2]

Heaven Kitchen?

[UtterlyUrban]

Christian Tailgate did a soft open last night. Watched three games at once while enjoying a cold brew. Heaven Kitchen goes live Tuesday.

When does Chrstians open? I had no idea that they were building until last week and now I am dying for them to open.

[ryrohtx]

When does Chrstians open? I had no idea that they were building until last week and now I am dying for them to open.

They are open. When by there after the Astros game. They will have their full menu available on Tuesday. There was a great crowd there.

Edited September 6, 2015 by ryrohtx

[downtownian]

They are open. When by there after the Astros game. They will have their full menu available on Tuesday. There was a great crowd there.

 

I was there tonight enjoying a burger and a Lawnmower. Great sportsbar and the outdoor patio w/ fountain will be a nice spot.

[RealEstate]

Went up yesterday in the former Subway ground-floor retail for the Hermann Lofts.  

 

 

ProvisionsLLC   Hmm.  Provisions you say?  I'll take a Pass on speculating.  Map updated!

 

 

The former Subway space occupied by Provisions, LLC will be a new Tex-Mex & tequila concept by a group that owns several bar and food concepts around town.  

 

The Thai space will be a new outpost from the owners of Morningside Thai.

 

The area is quickly filling in.  This may be the place to be in 2016.

Edited September 6, 2015 by RealEstate

[j_cuevas713]

Yesterday at Christians Tailgate. This is way nicer than I thought it would be. 

 

20150907_181006 

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20150907_191038 

20150907_180916 

[monarch]

^^^ props for sharing j_cuevas713! 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Haha @ the women's restroom marker

[Nole23]

Awesome. I plan on going there this Thursday to watch the first NFL game. Looks bigger on the inside than I would have thought.

[UtterlyUrban]

Awesome. I plan on going there this Thursday to watch the first NFL game. Looks bigger on the inside than I would have thought.

I went yesterday. Super nice people. It is quite large. Big bar, lots of tables. Good food, beer, shots. Pool, table shuffle board, basketball. They are still working on the patio but it will be amazing when they are ready to open it. This place is a HOMERUN (pun intended) for downtown. Very exiting.

[Nole23]

Awesome. I used to go to the one in Midtown all of the time when I lived at Post for 2 years. I hangout downtown more often now so I was pumped when I heard this was coming.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Must share the chick's head pic .... lol

[Texasota]

OMG YOU GUYS THEY CALLED THE COWBOYS GIRLS! THAT'S SO FUNNY!!!

[j_cuevas713]

OMG YOU GUYS THEY CALLED THE COWBOYS GIRLS! THAT'S SO FUNNY!!!

You gotta call things what they are lol

[tigereye]

Restaurant closure in the tunnels. Camille's calls it quits at 1000 Main.

https://twitter.com/thachadwick/status/642052242770538496

[Houston19514]

Restaurant closure in the tunnels. Camille's calls it quits at 1000 Main.

https://twitter.com/thachadwick/status/642052242770538496

 

 

That probably has more to do with Camille's than with this location.  Not sure that company has much time left.

[downtownian]

Mia Bella on Main is closed due to substantial water damage. Unfortunate because of the historic nature of the building. No news on when it may reopen.

 

http://houston.eater.com/2015/9/1/9239793/mia-bella-downtown-sues-landlord

 

[Nole23]

Mia Bella has been closed for a while now. I never knew why though, thanks for posting.

[Nole23]

Just left Christian's Tailgate to catch the game. I really like this location and can't wait until the patio is complete. I had a group of about 10 people and none of them even knew this place existed or was in the works. I guess that's the perks of reading HAIF every day. 

[102IAHexpress]

I checked out Christian's Tailgate last night. Looks promising. Tried getting a bite to eat, but it was actually full at the bar. Place had a strange smell though. Anyways, the fact that it is busy is a good thing I think.

 

I hope it works out, but sports bars have not done that well in the past in downtown. NFL games are only 20 or so Sundays a year maybe a few more games sprinkled in on weeknights? What's the sports going to do the rest of the year? Live had trouble with lunch time crowds.

 

But I won't be a Debbie downer. Like I said it looks promising. Big huge windows on congress (live was like a cave) nice patio, feels like part of the neighborhood.

 

What's the food like? I heard they have good burgers.

[cspwal]

I think the smell is from the rubber drain mats at the bar - they're brand new and I think they still smell like that.

 

There are more sports than football^{[citation needed]} like Astros games, Dynamo games, and Rockets games.  And with more downtown nightlife and residents, having a place to watch sports is a good addition to the mix of bars.

 

I had the shrimp po-boy and it was good, while my girlfriend said the burger was good but didn't finish it.

Edited September 11, 2015 by cspwal

[adr]

Updated!

 

[Houston19514]

There are more sports than football^{[citation needed]} like Astros games, Dynamo games, and Rockets games.  And with more downtown nightlife and residents, having a place to watch sports is a good addition to the mix of bars.

 

 

Not to mention college sports.

[102IAHexpress]

Not to mention college sports.

 

True. College football is another 12 Saturdays a year.

 

Like I said I think it's promising but I think sports bars in downtown need to attract lunch crowds. There's no sports on tv during weekday lunch. 

 

Good, inexpensive, reliable lunch food would be a big plus. Then anything they get in the evening is gravy. I'm going to check them out for lunch one of these days. It's raining today so maybe not today.

[Avossos]

True. College football is another 12 Saturdays a year.

Like I said I think it's promising but I think sports bars in downtown need to attract lunch crowds. There's no sports on tv during weekday lunch.

Good, inexpensive, reliable lunch food would be a big plus. Then anything they get in the evening is gravy. I'm going to check them out for lunch one of these days. It's raining today so maybe not today.

By 12 you mean 15 plus bowls?

[Houston19514]

True. College football is another 12 Saturdays a year.

 

Like I said I think it's promising but I think sports bars in downtown need to attract lunch crowds. There's no sports on tv during weekday lunch. 

 

Good, inexpensive, reliable lunch food would be a big plus. Then anything they get in the evening is gravy. I'm going to check them out for lunch one of these days. It's raining today so maybe not today.

 

 

By 12 you mean 15 plus bowls?

 

Plus Thursday nights.  Plus Friday nights, and a few Sunday games.

 

Plus college basketball!  There are probably 100+ days/nights of college basketball every year.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Houston19514

[102IAHexpress]

All true. But how well did Live sports bar do in downtown with all those sports nights?

[Howard Huge]

I checked out Christian's Tailgate last night. Looks promising. Tried getting a bite to eat, but it was actually full at the bar. Place had a strange smell though. Anyways, the fact that it is busy is a good thing I think.

I hope it works out, but sports bars have not done that well in the past in downtown. NFL games are only 20 or so Sundays a year maybe a few more games sprinkled in on weeknights? What's the sports going to do the rest of the year? Live had trouble with lunch time crowds.

But I won't be a Debbie downer. Like I said it looks promising. Big huge windows on congress (live was like a cave) nice patio, feels like part of the neighborhood.

What's the food like? I heard they have good burgers.

Yeah it's too bad we don't have professional sports teams in baseball and basketball, that would be another 162 games for MLB and 82 games for the NBA. An added bonus would be if those teams were competitive and made it to the playoffs, like the Western Conference finals, that would be even MORE games to watch at the bar.

But yeah, sucks Christians only has 16 games of football a year to draw people in.

[Howard Huge]

All true. But how well did Live sports bar do in downtown with all those sports nights?

Live sports bar is no Christian's Tailgate, not even close. Lives food sucked, the ambiance sucked and the service was terrible.

[Moore713]

Second ignore the vast difference in the DT population then vs now

[102IAHexpress]

Live sports bar is no Christian's Tailgate, not even close. Lives food sucked, the ambiance sucked and the service was terrible.

 

I knew someone was going to post this. I've seen a variation of this written in the downtown forum once or twice before.

 

(insert new business name) will do great in downtown because the (insert failed business name) that was nearby was horrible, etc.. This time it will be different...

 

 

 

Like I said I want it to be successful, this is my neighborhood.  But I also can't ignore the observations in my neighborhood either. Just off the top of my head that exact same location has been a burger king, subway, what else? Last time I checked those are pretty big corporations with lots of resources and businesses experience. The sports bar a block away is undergoing its what, 3rd? re-launch.

[Howard Huge]

You're right, who am I fooling. Christians will be a massive failure and will be shuttered within a few months.

[cspwal]

The biggest problem I can see for Christian's is the lack of noticability from the heavily traveled main street/market square area.  You don't really notice its there unless you're next to it.  A sidewalk sign might help - one that hangs out over the sidewalk - but those seem rare in downtown

[102IAHexpress]

You're right, who am I fooling. Christians will be a massive failure and will be shuttered within a few months.

 

No, you're right. All the business turnover in that part of downtown is something I just imagined it in my head. My bad.

[BigFootsSocks]

I mean, just because everything there before has failed doesn't mean that what comes after definitely 100% will fail too. There's also the influx of residential and well-performing sports teams to help. 

[102IAHexpress]

I mean, just because everything there before has failed doesn't mean that what comes after definitely 100% will fail too. There's also the influx of residential and well-performing sports teams to help. 

 

Fair point. And like I said I think it looks promising.

 

I also like cspwal's idea of better signage.

[mollusk]

Christian's does have a better burger than Burger King, and beer, too.

 

[UtterlyUrban]

I liked Christians so much, I am going back on Sunday to watch some football.

[Howard Huge]

I liked Christians so much, I am going back on Sunday to watch some football.

Well there you go.

[samagon]

I checked out Christian's Tailgate last night. Looks promising. Tried getting a bite to eat, but it was actually full at the bar. Place had a strange smell though. Anyways, the fact that it is busy is a good thing I think.

 

I hope it works out, but sports bars have not done that well in the past in downtown. NFL games are only 20 or so Sundays a year maybe a few more games sprinkled in on weeknights? What's the sports going to do the rest of the year? Live had trouble with lunch time crowds.

 

But I won't be a Debbie downer. Like I said it looks promising. Big huge windows on congress (live was like a cave) nice patio, feels like part of the neighborhood.

 

What's the food like? I heard they have good burgers.

 

 

I think the smell is from the rubber drain mats at the bar - they're brand new and I think they still smell like that.

 

There are more sports than football^{[citation needed]} like Astros games, Dynamo games, and Rockets games.  And with more downtown nightlife and residents, having a place to watch sports is a good addition to the mix of bars.

 

I had the shrimp po-boy and it was good, while my girlfriend said the burger was good but didn't finish it.

 

There's only about 50ish days a year you can count on a bar bringing in people specifically because of sports, whether they are a sports bar, or just a bar with TVs.

 

yeah, there's 160something baseball games, football weekends (and weeknights) for 3 months, basketball, and all the college sports as well, but bringing in reliable business?

 

you can count on all the weekends in football season plus post season. you can count on march madness. you can count on basketball finals (and playoffs if home team is doing well, maybe some games leading up to as well). world series, and baseball post season really doesn't have that big of a draw (unless your team is in it), and soccer isn't reliable unless you market specifically to that crowd.

 

they need to have a draw, something to bring people in on off sports nights. trivia, karaoke, etc. or have really good, unique food. 

Edited September 17, 2015 by samagon

[Nole23]

^^ Christian's Tailgate does all of these things at all of their other locations, karaoke every Friday and Saturday, bingo, trivia, ect. Also in the spring they'll have crawfish and other events. I've been going to the one in Midtown and the Heights for years and they're always doing extremely well. The downtown location will have an awesome patio area which will be a draw. I also feel it is a brand name locally now, especially inside the loop, so with the downtown work crowd, new apts nearby, and all of the bars nearby in the market square area, I see this being very successful.

 

Here's the link to the Facebook page for the downtown location and already has a bunch of favorable reviews.

 

https://www.facebook.com/christiansTailgate

 

[j_cuevas713]

There's only about 50ish days a year you can count on a bar bringing in people specifically because of sports, whether they are a sports bar, or just a bar with TVs.

 

yeah, there's 160something baseball games, football weekends (and weeknights) for 3 months, basketball, and all the college sports as well, but bringing in reliable business?

 

you can count on all the weekends in football season plus post season. you can count on march madness. you can count on basketball finals (and playoffs if home team is doing well, maybe some games leading up to as well). world series, and baseball post season really doesn't have that big of a draw (unless your team is in it), and soccer isn't reliable unless you market specifically to that crowd.

 

they need to have a draw, something to bring people in on off sports nights. trivia, karaoke, etc. or have really good, unique food. 

You do realize that all the other locations have done extremely well? And it's not just about sports, but good food at a good price, a place to go have a good beer, and that's not all... think about all the events this place has throughout the year along with karaoke

[102IAHexpress]

You do realize that all the other locations have done extremely well? And it's not just about sports, but good food at a good price, a place to go have a good beer, and that's not all... think about all the events this place has throughout the year along with karaoke

 

Just because their other locations have done well doesn't mean that this location will definitely 100% do well too.

 

Burger King did well in other locations but failed there.

Subway did well in other locations but failed there too.

 

just saying...

[KinkaidAlum]

Comparing Christian's Tailgate to Burger King and Subway is pretty stupid. 

 

Just saying...

 

It's a popular local joint with a solid burger and a proven concept. The downtown location is even nicer than their Washington Avenue one and I can see it being exactly the type of place that can lure folks downtown. I'd be very surprised if it doesn't flourish. 

[bobruss]

Its all about the product. I was in the restaurant and bar business for 17 years in another lifetime and a perfect example is

Barnaby's. They serve good food at reasonable prices and are very consistent and they are getting a good lunch crowd and are going to

be expanding their hours. They're in a location that has had several failures. Niko NIko's kills em in the park. Theres always a lot of people at Trebeards. All of these I just mentioned have to compete with restaurants in the tunnels and yet they still draw good

crowds even though their customers have to walk in the heat or rain or cold weather. If the food is good people will come. Remember

that when these new residential projects get on line these people will be street pedestrians and won't be going down in tunnels to find a place. This is going to change the face of downtown when all of the new housing get filled. These people won't have access to the

tunnels for the most part except during lunch. At some point down the road I predict that many of the restaurants and delis and shops

will see that they need a presence on the streets to take advantage of all of the people walking around at night. Probably not in my

lifetime but I promise you younger haifers won't believe how much of a change is going to happen. Its really an exciting time for

Houston's downtown.

[102IAHexpress]

Remember that when these new residential projects get on line these people will be street pedestrians and won't be going down in tunnels to find a place.

 

that's a big question mark. I hope you're right. But what's more likely is we have another One Park Place. Expensive rents that attract corporate apartments and or renters that keep an apartment in downtown, but don't actually live there. Not exactly people who are making that part of downtown a more vibrant neighborhood.

[UtterlyUrban]

that's a big question mark. I hope you're right. But what's more likely is we have another One Park Place. Expensive rents that attract corporate apartments and or renters that keep an apartment in downtown, but don't actually live there. Not exactly people who are making that part of downtown a more vibrant neighborhood.

While it is likely true that there are some corporate renters or weekenders at OPP, trust me, a lot of the building is living there full time.

[LarryDierker]

Went by Christians today after dropping by MMP for my final 2015 bobblehead. Decent amount of people coming and going. I think they'll do good.