A few weeks ago, Eater Houston reported that Blu in Sugar Land was closing and would re-emerge as the second location of Songkran Thai. We noted their post in our weekly Openings & Closings roundup.
Chef Junnajet "Jett" Hurapan and Songkran Hospitality, LP co-owner Amy Karnani informed us that Eater Houston's story was not correct. Blu remains open and Songkran is being built-out next door. Eater Houston has since deleted the story.
People who love vegetarian Indian food may be sad to hear that Madras Pavilion at 3910 Kirby has closed due to the planned demolition of the building. An employee at their Richardson location says that they are working on finding a new space. The other location at 16260 Kensington in Sugar Land remains open.
That same building Madras Pavilion is in also houses Japanese restaurant Miyako. However, they will remain for another two or three months. At that point, they will relocate to 4601 Washington in the same complex as Commonwealth. They will take over the space that formerly held 360 Sports Lounge.
Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle reports that The Rice Box truck is going brick-and-mortar, but perhaps at a smaller, more manageable scale than most of Houston's food truck compatriots who have made the same kind of move. The new place will be located in the food court in Greenway Plaza just down the way from Greenway Coffee. Now, that's a dynamic duo.
Whitney Faloon for Eater Houston notes that B&B Butchers retail butcher component will open for business May 13, while the upscale steakhouse plans to get cooking on May 21. It's located at 1814 Washington, roughly across the street from Julep.
Eater Houston, in an openings roundup, also says that Sud Italia is also now open at 2347 University. It replaces nostalgic favorite Bistro des Amis. Also new (to us, at least) is Filipino restaurant Kalesa Kitchen at 13480 Veterans Memorial in the intriguing melting pot area of north Houston.
Syd Kearney at the Houston Chronicle says that Dallas-based rotisserie franchise Cowboy Chicken is opening a Katy location. Lease negotiations are underway, but the company is already eying expanding in a big way. They are planning 15 locations in the Greater Houston area.
Austin-based wing bar Pluckers is opening a second location in Houston in the former 59 Diner spot at at 10407 Katy Freeway. The old building is being completely demolished and a new, 7,800 square foot restaurant will be built in its place. This will be the company's 18th location overall. Pluckers' first Houston location opened in 2013 at 1400 Shepherd.
Cheeburger Cheeburger at 106 Vintage Park has closed. The phone number is no longer in service, the windows are papered over and a sign on the door indicates the restaurant was locked out for nonpayment of rent. A comment on Yelp indicates that it has been closed since at least March 27. The '50s diner-style restaurant specialized in burgers, fries and shakes. There's only one other Texas franchise and it's in Longview.
A fresh juice and smoothie specialty store called Juice It Up! is now open in the Pearland Market Shopping Center. It's located at 2708 Pearland Parkway, Suite 150. It's the fourth Texas location of the California-based franchise.
That's it for this edition of Openings & Closings. Go to the next page for a list of all the openings and closings we covered in April 2015.
