Markgartner Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 I am trying to remember the name of a restaurant that in the mid 70’s, was located along the northbound side of Loop 610, between Westheimer and San Felipe, on the top floor of an office building. I think the name of the restaurant started with letter “R”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 The restaurant was Raffles, a high pay grade fine dining restaurant. Raffles has restaurants, resorts and luxury hotels all over the world, but, not in Houston anymore. Don't know when it closed. Maybe when oil went south in the 70s and a lot of big companies folded or moved out of Houston taking a lot of Raffles' deep-pockets clientele with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 7 hours ago, FilioScotia said: The restaurant was Raffles, a high pay grade fine dining restaurant. Raffles has restaurants, resorts and luxury hotels all over the world, but, not in Houston anymore. Don't know when it closed. Maybe when oil went south in the 70s and a lot of big companies folded or moved out of Houston taking a lot of Raffles' deep-pockets clientele with them. Good memory, FilioScotia. I could vaguely remember the name started with an 'R' and had a double consonant but I knew it wasn't "Ruggles." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Ruggles was a trendy yuppie eatery in the Montrose area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 There was also a Ruggles in the Rice Village at Rice Blvd. and Chaucer. I've visited Ruggles Black on Kirby between Richmond and US 59 a few times recently. The latter has some unique keto and paleo dishes but I am especially fond of their cocktails. 😋 I do not know if any of the restaurants were "related" but I would suppose there is some connection. I believe I'm way to old and no longer so mobile as to be a yuppie. I am still a professional though, FWIW. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 22 hours ago, Specwriter said: There was also a Ruggles in the Rice Village at Rice Blvd. and Chaucer. I've visited Ruggles Black on Kirby between Richmond and US 59 a few times recently. The latter has some unique keto and paleo dishes but I am especially fond of their cocktails. 😋 I do not know if any of the restaurants were "related" but I would suppose there is some connection. I believe I'm way to old and no longer so mobile as to be a yuppie. I am still a professional though, FWIW. 😊 They were definitely related, part of a mini-empire that Bruce Molzan and his ex-wife Susan grew out of the original Ruggles, before they divorced amid much acrimony. Susan wound up with the Village location, and subsequently closed it. I can't seem to find a particular article I recall as being a pretty comprehensive airing of much of the dirty laundry involved, but there's no shortage of other articles out there that don't exactly paint Mr. Molzan in a flattering light, for example: https://www.google.com/search?q=bruce+molzan+ruggles+village+divorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Wasn't there a Ruggles on Westheimer just east of Montrose. I remember it was trendy and over-priced, owned by a man and wife whose names were always in the gossip columns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 1 hour ago, FilioScotia said: Wasn't there a Ruggles on Westheimer just east of Montrose. I remember it was trendy and over-priced, owned by a man and wife whose names were always in the gossip columns. Yes indeed. Really what I remember of it was that the portions were too large to eat. Before that the location was a jazz club called Birdwatchers, if anyone remembers that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 On 10/4/2019 at 9:00 AM, FilioScotia said: The restaurant was Raffles, a high pay grade fine dining restaurant. Raffles has restaurants, resorts and luxury hotels all over the world, but, not in Houston anymore. Don't know when it closed. Maybe when oil went south in the 70s and a lot of big companies folded or moved out of Houston taking a lot of Raffles' deep-pockets clientele with them. Different Raffles. The Houston Raffles restaurant was a one-shot operation by local restaurateur Leo Kalantzakis at 1455 West Loop South (in what was then Armco Steel Building), opened in 1969. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Really! I honestly did not know that. Thanks for correcting me. Maybe the big worldwide Raffles didn't appreciate a locally owned restaurant using their name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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