503-507 Westheimer Rd.

[hindesky]

Apparently they are about to open soon, they have a "Hiring Now" banner in front. This is next to the old Bar Method that looks to be a yoga studio now.

[gene]

i wondered if anything was going to ever become of this "mystery" plaza...

it has been what i thought to be empty for quite a long time

[hindesky]

Saucy Low Country-Style Seafood Boils Have Officially Arrived in Montrose

 

At Seafood Connection, find saucy crab, shrimp, corn, and potatoes, prepared in this iconic East Coast style 

by Brittanie Shey@brittanieshey  Mar 23, 2021, 1:42pm CDT

 

A brand new seafood restaurant is now slinging East Coast-style Low Country seafood boils in Montrose. 

Seafood Connection, which opened at March 12 at 507 Westheimer Road, is already drawing long lines and loyal fans of the restaurant’s famous secret sauce. The restaurant was founded in 2015 as a food truck in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it sold massive platters of boiled crab, shrimp, corn and potatoes in church parking lots and at social events. In 2016, founder Jamie Walker opened a popular brick-and mortar restaurant in Charlotte. A second location opened in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2020, but closed shortly after due to the coronavirus. 

“We were like the Turkey Leg Hut in Charlotte,” says director of marketing Von Juan, who recently moved to Houston with the rest of the Seafood Connection team to open the Montrose restaurant.

 

The restaurant quickly developed a cult following thanks to its house-made Flava Sauce, which comes in original, Cajun and spicy versions and is sold online. The restaurant’s motto is “It’s something in the sauce,” which it proudly displays as a neon sign inside the Montrose location.

In a typical Low County boil (here, Low Country refers to coastal regions in the South like Georgia and the Carolinas), shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn and sometimes other vegetables and seafood are cooked together with spices in a giant pot. It’s also sometimes also called Frogmore Stew, a reference to a small Gullah-Geechee fishing community between Savannah and Charleston. Like a crawfish boil in Houston, a Low Country boil isn’t just a meal. It’s an event.

At Seafood Connection, the boils are then topped with a sauce of the diner’s choosing. “Our whole thing is the sauce, it’s something that you’ve never tasted before,” Juan said.

When Walker started looking into expanding to other states, Houston immediately came to mind, Juan said. “Behind Charlotte, Houston was the second most-popular place buying our sauce (online),” he said.

One of Seafood Connection’s most popular offerings is the Flavorbox, a boil topped with a cluster of king crab legs. Another, the Lockjaw Platter, contains half a pound of shrimp, a lobster tail, and corn and potatoes. Other dishes include wings, fried shrimp, crab rice and seafood salad. 

Juan said he knows Houstonians have their own style of seafood, but he’s confident that there’s room for Low Country style as well. “I don’t think we’re really comparable,” he said. “We’re looking forward to making our mark and staying in our lane. Just come and get the sauce. We’ll make you a believer.”

https://houston.eater.com/2021/3/23/22346814/seafood-connection-low-country-boils-open-montrose-houston-crab-shrimp

[hindesky]

https://www.instagram.com/seafoodconnectionhouston/?hl=en

[hindesky]

Seafood Connection used to be at this location.

Architect - https://www.architangent.com

[IntheKnowHouston]

  

On 7/30/2023 at 5:43 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

I think ChòpnBlọk / ChopnBlok has plans for a brick-and-mortar location in Montrose. Has anyone heard anything about a possible brick-and-mortar restaurant? 

ChòpnBlọk is a West African eatery at downtown Houston's POST Market, the food hall and market in POST Houston ( 401 Franklinn St). 

 

On 9/3/2023 at 1:08 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

As @BEES?! pointed out in another topic, Eater Houston mentions ChòpnBlọk / ChopnBlok's plans for a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Although the article doesn't refer to a location, the eatery is opening in the Montrose area. 

An entity for ChopnBlok Montrose was filed with the state a few months ago.


Below is an excerpt from the Eater Houston article:

A second location — a full restaurant intended to be the flagship outpost — is slated to open in Houston in the first half of 2024

https://houston.eater.com/2023/8/31/23854192/houston-chopd-stewd-festival-african-diaspora-chopnblok

 

16 minutes ago, hindesky said:

 

 

This is the brick-and-mortar location for ChòpnBlọk / ChopnBlok. As noted over the summer, the West African eatery is opening a restaurant in Montrose.

I'm certain they'll do well in their new home at 507 Westheimer Rd.

Edited Tuesday at 03:55 PM by IntheKnowHouston

[hindesky]

[IntheKnowHouston]

Also, @hindesky, you already started a topic for this property:


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/46417-seafood-connection-at-507-westheimer-rd

@Urbannizer @Triton can you please merge this with the existing topic for the same property? Also, please consider changing the title to 503-507 Westheimer Rd only.

This is a retail center consisting of two units: 503 Westheimer and 507 Westheimer.



Sources:

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/503-507-Westheimer-Rd-Houston-TX/27491952/

https://members.catylist.com/api/images/data/og/media/user_uploads/6154e5582b3c3f00015367df_503_507westheimerrd_v4.pdf

Edited Tuesday at 04:14 PM by IntheKnowHouston

[IntheKnowHouston]

13 hours ago, hindesky said:

 

Following the filing of an architectural barriers project with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), a plan review fee permit for ChòpnBlọk / ChopnBlok was filed today.

ChòpnBlọk is a locally-owned West African dining concept. It is currently operating in the downtown food hall and market Post Market (401 Franklin St). 

The eatery is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the retail center at 503-507 Westheimer Rd. ChòpnBlọk will be located in the 507 Westheimer unit.