The Out of Towners
Non-local restaurant operators are high on the Houston dining scene
The Houston restaurant landscape is like a special birthday cake presentation. Everything is fun and cheery until the sparklers go out. As diverse and welcoming as the city’s dining scene is painted, it also can be ruthless, especially to out-of-state operators who might have miscalculated our unique market. Hello and goodbye to the high-flying Katsuya, Taverna and Bradley’s Fine Diner, to name just three examples. Still, there are many outside-of-Houston restaurant concepts that have shown staying power in H-town, some of which have even flourished, with multiple outposts. These are the newbies making waves now.
Eunice: New Orleans-based BRG Hospitality — a tweak of Besh Restaurant Group after its former namesake principal’s sexual misconduct scandal — opened its first restaurant in October in a sun-drenched, glass-walled space in Greenway Plaza. Chef-partner Drake Leonards offers a modern take on classic Cajun and Creole dishes (gumbo, shrimp and grits, blue crab and shrimp étouffée) in a grand café setting. 3737 Buffalo Speedway, 832-491-1717; eunicerestaurant.com
Postino Wine Café: Only months after opening in Heights Mercantile, the Phoenix-based owners of this wine bar concept announced they would plant a second location in Montrose. The brand’s co-founder, Lauren Bailey, says she’s mad about Houston and its distinct neighborhood communities. Could more of the chic Postinos — with its fabulous bruschetta and stellar wines by the glass — be in H-town’s future? 642 Yale, 346-223-1111; postinowinecafe.com
La Lucha and Superica: Atlanta-based restaurateur Ford Fry, who opened State of Grace in River Oaks in 2015, tripled his Houston footprint with the side-by-side openings this fall of La Lucha (fried dinners inspired by the San Jacinto Inn and other Houston legacy foods) and Superica (classic Tex-Mex). Both places have set the Heights afire, and Fry promises yet another Heights eatery in the new year. 1801 N. Shepherd. La Lucha: 713-955-4765; laluchatx.com. Superica: 713-955-3215; superica.com/heights
Flower Child: Never underestimate the power of organic salads, grain bowls and healthy wraps. Fox Restaurant Concepts certainly hasn’t. The recent boffo opening of Flower Child in Uptown came with the promise of more: A location in The Woodlands in 2019, followed by four additional Houston outposts. Phoenix-based Fox was already sold on Houston, with its North Italia going strong and Blanco Tacos & Tequila opening soon in the Galleria. 1101 Uptown Park Blvd., 713-730-4261; iamaflowerchild.com
International Smoke: San Francisco chef Michael Mina, a fan of the Houston dining scene, threw his hat in ring when he opened International Smoke at CityCentre — a project with cookbook author Ayesha Curry celebrating barbecue cuisine. He’s cemented his relationship with Houston by teaming with Hugo Ortega for a project called Mi Almita, opening in Los Angeles next year. During a recent visit he did not rule out future Mina endeavors here. Who are we to argue? 800 Sorella Court, CityCentre, 713-714-0126; internationalsmoke.com