Jump to content

Bun B's Trill Burgers - former James Coney Island location


Recommended Posts

"Dear JCI Customer,

We made the difficult decision to permanently close this location. We are tremendously grateful for your patronage at Shepherd for many years. We are a small, local business and we hope you will continue to support us at our other Houston Area locations. In fact, our 99-year Houston tradition depends on your support. Please know that all employees from the location have been offered employment within the company."

https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/07-11-22-james-coney-island-jci-grill-shepherd-location-closed-shuttered/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=dlvr.it

  • Like 1
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I go to this JCI at least twice a year but whoever remodeled their restaurants didn't do them any favors. They always looked closed due to the window treatments they added. Same thing with the one on the Gulf Frwy at Rustic St. that closed a couple years ago.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hard to believe there will be no more JCIs inside the loop, but I think they kind of lost their way when they rebranded to JCI Grill and tried to move more upscale with new menu items and cross-promotions with local chefs. The majority of customers I see at JCI order the tried-and-true items that made them what they were - the original coney, chili, frito pie, etc.

I haven't been there in quite a while, but my go-to location was the one near 45 and Crosstimbers, so I'm sad to see that one listed as also being for lease. When they have the annual anniversary special with 99-cent coneys, the line is almost out the door there.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed.  Come to think of it, I don't even remember any of the grill items; I may have never looked at that part of the menu.  They did neither themselves nor the participating chefs any favors with that promotion.  The resulting products in the stores were very poorly executed in my experience the 2 times I went in to try one.  I had to wait for a manager to return from an errand to fix one for me, no one else in the building knew what to do.  Neither did he, it turned out.  He delivered it to the table himself, beaming.  The bun was toasted to a crisp and significantly charred; the sausage was worse.  Several of the items mentioned in the press release were missing.

I hope they don't go away completely but if they do, 100 years ain't too shabby a run in the restaurant biz.

I tell everyone/out-of-towners, stick to the legacy menu.  Many people working there can make those blindfolded.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
On 7/12/2022 at 2:22 PM, mkultra25 said:

Hard to believe there will be no more JCIs inside the loop, but I think they kind of lost their way when they rebranded to JCI Grill and tried to move more upscale with new menu items and cross-promotions with local chefs. The majority of customers I see at JCI order the tried-and-true items that made them what they were - the original coney, chili, frito pie, etc.

I haven't been there in quite a while, but my go-to location was the one near 45 and Crosstimbers, so I'm sad to see that one listed as also being for lease. When they have the annual anniversary special with 99-cent coneys, the line is almost out the door there.

It always looks closed but that location on 45 is still operating, and it’s practically “at the loop.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, steve1363 said:

It always looks closed but that location on 45 is still operating, and it’s practically “at the loop.”

I suspect the only reason it's still operating is that there hasn't been much interest in leasing the building from anyone else.

Per Loopnet it's still available:

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/4200-North-Fwy-Houston-TX/25732684/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/retail/article/james-coney-island-jci-new-locations-closings-17726476.php

 

"But while drivers may take the large "closed" signs on Westheimer Road and South Shepherd Drive as signs of weakness, JCI President Darrin Straughan says it's all part of a plan. In the past decade, the local chain has changed names, switched up its menu and shifted its strategy toward the suburbs to make sure the century-old Houston institution will be around for several years to come."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • The title was changed to Bun B's Trill Burgers - former James Coney Island location

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...