flatline

Went on Friday. Food is excellent. Service is very friendly and hardworking, and it seemed to be fully staffed, but still working out the kinks, as one would expect for a soft open. . .lost tickets, etc. Will be a good addition to the 'hood once they find their groove on front/back of the house.

I'll second that. . .

Lots of moves in quick succession for Cooking Girl. They're taking the old Revival/Lagniappe space on Heights @ White Oak.

Demo was in progress this morning.

Big blow to the 'hood. Sounds like she will be opening more of a retail storefront nearby. . . https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/Sonoma-in-the-Heights-wine-bar-to-close-June-26-17133472.php Sonoma in the Heights, the wine bar at 801 Studewood, will close on June 26 after 10 years of operation in the Heights neighborhood. Owner Farrah Cauley, who built three Sonoma Wine Bar concepts in Houston and Katy, said she was unable to continue her lease at the Heights location. Sonoma’s other locations at 2720 Richmond and 9920 Gaston Road in Katy are unaffected by this decision and will remain open. “This was not the outcome I had hoped for after several months of negotiations with the landlord, but I had to make this extremely tough and sad decision based on what my business can afford,” she said of Sonoma in the Heights. . . .

There appears to be at least one new steel truss installed on the bridge.

The infrastructure in this neighborhood has been absolutely overwhelmed. If you only had a view of the railroad, the modest two-lane asphalt, and the overhead utility lines, you'd think you were on the outskirts of Angleton or some such. Then zoom out to four story apartment complexes being thrown up in the blink of an eye, tucked right on to the right of way. Heaven forbid if the train is rolling by at rush hour. With Sawyer Yards just really getting started, it's going to get way worse before it gets better.

That's a hiiiggghhh bar. . .

Speaking of clearing lots of their previous contents. . . resurrecting this string, as the houses on the lots have been demoed and/or cleared. Apologies for not snapping a photo, and I did not see any signage as to future use.

Went with a group of 6 for dinner at Savoir then strolled over to LGR to share a post-dinner bottle. I was truly surprised at how expansive the space is on the inside - you don't really get a feel for that from the street. The buildout is beautiful, with a mix of polished concrete, tile, and wood. U-shaped bar setup is great in Savoir - LGR bar was more of a traditional L but also worked in the space. Savoir was packed so the noise level was high, but not as bad/unbearable as some of the new places (ahem, I'm looking at you, Calle Onze. . .). Savoir had the cursed banquette setup in about half the space, but also a good number of 4-tops. LGR had a good mix of seating, from the traditional bar, to some hotel-lounge type low chairs, to bar-high tables. Very comfortable and good vibe. Looks like the valets were parking in the parking lots for La Paz spa next to the Sunny's convenience store and at the instrument repair shop on the NW corner of the intersection. I don't want to turn this in to a yelp review, but the food was outstanding, the old fashioneds were spot-on, and the wine lists on both sides were interesting with a reasonable markup. That we could comfortably walk on a late summer evening from our house to what had previously been an eyesore abandoned storefront was pretty awesome.

A sign has gone up in the vacant lot at the 3400-ish block of the eastbound Katy Freeway frontage road (between the Shell Station and the vape lounge), heralding that Russo's Brewing Co. (est. 2019) is coming soon. Can any of our talented Heights HAIF investigators dig up any scoop?

Good news, but too bad they couldn't have gotten it while they were doing the JW construction. I seem to recall media reports indicating that the hotel developers made offers but couldn't reach a deal. My own wild speculation is that they have some contingencies drawn up for back-of-the-house uses for it. Agree parking seems like an impossibility. If nothing else, a refresh of street-side face should be on the way, and long overdue.

Finn is also directly across the street from the JW Marriott and the under-construction AC Marriott, and one block from the Club Quarters, to augment its dinner/bar business.

Any guesses as to the "celebrated barbecue house reborn"???

Whoa. Had seemed to be turning over tables okay the times that I've been in them recently. Might be some macro issues going on at the corporate level: http://swamplot.com/pi-pizza-starfish-lease-lockouts-hit-both-ends-of-the-heights-blvd-strip-by-the-bayou/2018-08-02/

Dinner crowds will be supplemented by the JW Marriott directly across Rusk, and the under-construction AC Marriott directly across Main.

You're building a brand new, "premium" RV park. You've got hundreds of acres of land in a pine forest. So, naturally, of course, you . . . clear cut and bulldoze the site. Not a piece of shade to be had. There weren't five or six pines on the site that wouldn't be in the way of your concrete pour or utilities trenching?? Crank up the rooftop a/c on your Jayco, brother, because you're going to need it come July. . .

This new spot looks very close to opening in the Bedford/Stella Sola/Black & White space on Studewood: https://www.maisonpucha.com/story/ Shepard Ross (formerly Glass Wall, currently Pax Americana) is consulting with them.

Does NRG still have a presence in the 1000 Main/former Reliant Energy Plaza that would be consolidated in One Shell?

For what it's worth, "Regency Main" is the entity to whom tenants in 712 Main/The Jones cut their rent checks. I'm speculating they are building the garage to provide tenant parking.

Is this the lot just west of Berryhill, perhaps? There is an old "lease space coming soon" on it that's been there for years.

La Michoacana already sells beer. I've had occasion to pick up a cheap, cold six-pack of tall boys to go with deliciously-marinated fajita meat and crispy chicharrones, whereupon I immediately transported my quarry to, and consumed it in, the Dry Heights.

Is that a (proposed) ACADEMY logo I spot in the former Tarkett site?!?!? Hey, if you're gonna Katyville, then do it right . . .

They do a nice job downtown (lamb keema taco FTW). Good add for the 'hood.

Re: the Pi Pizza Truck story: kind of a buried lede that Lee Ellis and Lance Feagan have parted ways. . .