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The Heights Restaurant And Bar Scene - More Coming


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  • 2 weeks later...

Calle Onze closing, but another Mexican concept is taking its place.

I thought Calle Onze was great when it first opened, but quality sank like a stone and the crowd after 8 pm would pull a bit too much from Midtown.  

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/Calle-Onze-in-the-Heights-to-become-Chivos-under-16431145.php

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6 hours ago, s3mh said:

Calle Onze closing, but another Mexican concept is taking its place.

I thought Calle Onze was great when it first opened, but quality sank like a stone and the crowd after 8 pm would pull a bit too much from Midtown.  

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/Calle-Onze-in-the-Heights-to-become-Chivos-under-16431145.php

Yeah I am absolutely not sad about this news one bit. Glad the space will get a second chance!

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The world just kind of sucks today.  Golden Bagels is closing.  And Angela's Oven is closing their retail cafe on Harvard and will only be at farmer's markets.  I think Angela's scaled back because of family reasons (kids who worked in the store going off to college).  But no clue why Golden Bagels is closing.  

 

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/09/08/beloved-bagel-shop-closing-in-the-heights/

https://www.facebook.com/112451162140402/photos/a.1730145393704296/4528110877241053/

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Once Golden Bagel closes shop this, this stretch of White Oak will have quite a number of vacant store fronts. Hopefully there's a new spot that can anchor this corners soon.

Anyone have news on the stalled construction near Coltivare (old Blue Line)? Haven't seen any progress there in quite a while. I know there was a lot of neighborhood pushback about a potential bar opening in one of the spots, but last I saw on that was back in January or so. They've also boarded up the tiny Mexican restaurant nearby where the trail crosses White Oak. 

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Wildly Popular Hot Dog Purveyor Yoyo’s Will Open Its First Permanent Location in Houston

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The Rice Village favorite is known for attracting lengthy lines for its juicy, crispy dogs 

by Brittanie Shey@brittanieshey  Sep 20, 2021, 12:15pm CDT
 

A wildly-popular late night food cart known for its elaborately loaded all-beef hot dogs will soon land a permanent home on Washington Avenue.

Yoyo’s Hot Dog’s first standalone restaurant will be located at 4620 Washington Avenue. An opening timeline for the restaurant has not yet been announced, but signage at the spot is already up.

Yoyo’s was first founded in 2010 with the goal of elevating a “universally cherished but ultimately misunderstood” food item — the hot dog. In the decade since, the stand has developed a massive cult following, with fans calling the food a “life-changing experience,” “the dankest dogs in Houston,” “a revolutionary hot dog experience,” and “Like New York, but better.” Recent video from the cart’s Rice Village location shows several dozen people lined up for the dogs at half past midnight on a Saturday evening.

According to the restaurant’s website, owner Danny “Yoyo” Kim spent years refining his method of cooking the restaurant’s all-beef Nathan’s Famous franks, resulting in a crispy-skinned, extra-juicy, flavorful dog. Diners can then dress up their dogs with all manner of toppings, including crunchy fried onions, curry ketchup, warm cream cheese, spicy mustard, and honey mayo.

Though the stand first got its start at Washington Avenue-adjacent bar Fox Hollow, it eventually moved to Rice Village. There’s also now a food truck, a location in College Station, and a halal outpost in Sugar Land that is open for both lunch and late into the night.

The Washington Avenue location, when it opens, will likely be a popular spot for late night customers of the neighborhood’s many bars. Eater has reached out to the restaurant for more details and will update this post as more information becomes available.

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https://houston.eater.com/2021/9/20/22684062/yoyos-hot-dogs-opening-washington-avenue-houston-permanent-location

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/2/2021 at 8:11 PM, BigRed said:

So it's looking like Taqo may have closed... Signage had come town and things have been very dark for the last week.

Anyone have any Intel?

Good question.  They closed unexpectedly a few weeks back and took down the big tent they had up.  But they reopened for a few days and then closed up again.  I wonder whether the city came down on them for the tent.  They had live music on weekends and may have pissed off some neighbors.  Just speculation at this point.

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1 hour ago, wilcal said:

Finally got to Pinkerton's BBQ on holy @#!@ it was good. Easily the best bbq I've had in the Houston metro area. Don't get me wrong, the brisket is $28/lb right now, but I was particularly impressed with the chees/jalapeno sausage. 

agreed, went to burns BBQ right after trying this place cause I had heard so much about burns, but the meat there was definitely less flavorful, albeit a lot cheaper  

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Chef Billy Kin, known for beloved Heights restaurant Blackbird Izakaya and Galleria-area spot Hidden Omakase, has a new project in the works for the former Golden Bagels location at 3119 White Oak Drive.

The spot will be two restaurants in one — a reservations-only omakase restaurant, and a more casual izakaya-style eatery. The first phase of the project, the omakase restaurant, is expected to open in early November. Both restaurants will incorporate influences from Kin’s many projects and previous jobs, as well as establishments run by his father and grandfather throughout Asia and San Francisco. Called Kinokawa, the omakase portion is named after a Japanese restaurant Kin’s father ran in Taiwan for more than three decades.

The izakaya half, which will be called Tesserack, will likely open in early 2022, once Kin secures a liquor license. That aspect of the restaurant is inspired in part by the science fiction film Interstellar, a favorite of Kin and his daughter. The restaurants, like the movie, are “about communicating with the past and the present,” Kin says.

Kin’s previous Heights restaurant, Blackbird Izakaya, opened in 2018 and gained a loyal following for its innovated take on Japanese cuisine, including dishes like curry katsu and super-fresh sushi. However, the restaurant could not withstand the early days of the pandemic and Houston stay-home ordinance, and shuttered in July 2020.

Kin took a few months off of cooking, but was quickly tapped by restaurateur Tuan Tran to help open Hidden Omakase, which debuted in a Galleria-area office building in December 2020. Kin worked to get the much-lauded restaurant off the ground, eventually handing the kitchen over to chef Niki Vongthong at the end of March.

Like many people at the beginning of the pandemic, Kin says he went through a low period, especially after the closure of Blackbird. But working at Hidden re-inspired him. “I was thinking, ‘I’m never going to open a restaurant again,’” he says. “But Tuan’s the one who helped me rediscover that it’s fun to cook again.”

He also never thought he’d land in the Heights again, saying he had an “emotional attachment” to Blackbird’s location and his many neighborhood regulars. But when Golden Bagels closed in September, the timing — and the location — were just right.

https://houston.eater.com/2021/10/4/22709046/kinokawa-opening-chef-billy-kin-houston-heights-restaurant-golden-bagels-location

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/10/2021 at 9:12 AM, s3mh said:

Someone is building a new deck in front of the former El Gallo de Jalisco.  No idea who or what is planned.  No TABC notice.  

Apple Maps shows it as "The Boiling Point by Chuck and Dave's". Chuck and Dave's seems to be a wholesaler of seafood so I'm expecting Boil House 2.0.

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Northwood said:

The former Beck’s Prime in the former bank building at Heights/19th (115 W 19th) has a TABC notice up. The LLC seems to tie back to Bluestone Lane which is a chain of Australian-inspired cafes/coffee shops based out of NYC. 
 

https://bluestonelane.com5E8DC172-4845-43AE-8DB3-26A77B6B4C29.thumb.jpeg.7689bbf35cc38e37d22ea1c982a994b9.jpeg

Yup.

 

https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/11-03-21-bluestone-new-coffee-shop-cafe-australian-heights/#slide=0

 

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On 10/4/2021 at 10:50 AM, s3mh said:

Good question.  They closed unexpectedly a few weeks back and took down the big tent they had up.  But they reopened for a few days and then closed up again.  I wonder whether the city came down on them for the tent.  They had live music on weekends and may have pissed off some neighbors.  Just speculation at this point.

Got some intel from the Savior folks - apparently the Savoir owners are making moves to take over the space that was once Taqo!

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On 11/5/2021 at 8:13 PM, BigRed said:

Got some intel from the Savior folks - apparently the Savoir owners are making moves to take over the space that was once Taqo!

 

Yeah, the news of a new concept from Savoir's owners was disclosed last month in the Facebook group Houston Heights Foodies.

Here's the text of the post shared in the group:

 

"It looks like there will be a new occupant in the former home of Taqo.

The taqueria and tequileria located at 1343 Yale St in the Greater Heights recently shuttered. So, who's taking over the space? The group involved with Savoir, La Grande Rue, and Sip.

I think plans...will center on a...bar-forward concept."

Edited by IntheKnowHouston
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14 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

 

Yeah, the news of a new concept from Savoir's owners was disclosed last month in the Facebook group Houston Heights Foodies.

Here's the text of the post shared in the group:

 

"It looks like there will be a new occupant in the former home of Taqo.

The taqueria and tequileria located at 1343 Yale St in the Greater Heights recently shuttered. So, who's taking over the space? The group involved with Savoir, La Grande Rue, and Sip.

I think plans...will center on a...bar-forward concept."

I kinda dig it. I wonder if this means La Grand Rue will return and Sip gets a stand alone home across the street?

Enjoyed the Taqo folks but always hoped the lot and property would get a bit more love. Maybe this is what gets it that. So much room and potential for patio and a touch of landscaping.

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Bluestone Lane, an Australian-inspired coffee roaster and neighborhood café based in New York, leased a 4,400-square-foot building at 115 W. 19th St. in the Heights neighborhood for its first Texas location. The building, now owned by Wolf Capital Partners, was previously home to Becks Prime.

Daniel Bodner, senior director at Alvarez & Marsal Property Solutions in New York, along with Chris Reyes and Tyler Trevino of Shop Cos. represented the tenant.

“Houston is a market with huge growth potential as it offers a great mix of local residents and urban professionals,” Nick Stone, founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane, said in an announcement. “Our first venture into Texas, this location will provide our signature premium coffee along with our entire cafe menu of deliciously healthy all-day fare.”

Bluestone Lane operates 51 coffee shops and cafés across the U.S., including locations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston and San Francisco. The Houston shop plans an early 2022 opening.

 

 

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