Openings & Closings: Hello, Daddy-O’s

Daddy-O’s Pizza at 861 Dairy Ashford soft opened on February 16 and throughout the weekend. Pizza fans in the Memorial area have been anxiously awaiting this opening since November 2016. The family-owned and operated pizza chain has been in business since 1995. According to its site, the New York inspired pizzas feature made-from-scratch sauce, daily-baked dough and fresh ingredients including 100 percent whole milk cheese.

Skinny Rita’s Cantina at 607 West Gray has shuttered abruptly. A Swamplot reader noted a public lock-out notice on the building. Skinny Rita’s second location opened in March of last year. A large ‘For Lease By Landlord’ sign has replaced restaurant signage. No additional information about the closing is available at this time.

Houston Business Journal reported expansion plans for Saint Arnold’s Brewery at 2000 Lyons. According to the article, Houston’s iconic craft brewery submitted a plat application to the city which outlined plans to add onto the existing brewery site. Saint Arnoldville, the new 20,000-square-foot space will include a new restaurant, outdoor deck, beer garden and lawn with outdoor games.


Roostar Vietnamese Grill announced on Facebook that plans to open its second location in the Galleria/Uptown area by early 2017 have been delayed by the Super Bowl and holiday season. Roostar Galleria is now scheduled to open its doors at 5551 Richmond (former site of Napoli) by April 2017.

The new restaurant will feature six rotating taps, to include local Conroe B-52 Brewing beers. The original restaurant at 1411 Gessner does not serve alcohol. Co-owner Ronnie Nguyen invites fans to follow the progress of the new eatery through Snapchat @RoostarGrill.

Mastro’s Steakhouse is breaking ground at 1540 West Loop South in the Galleria area and slated to open in fall 2017. Houston Business Journal reported that local billionaire Tillman Fertitta’s Landry Inc. acquired Mastro’s from Soros & Kinderhook in 2013. Soros & Kinderhook bought the Mastro's Group Inc. from brothers Jeff and Michael Mastro back in 2007.

The Mastro brothers opened Arizona-based Steak 48 in June of last year in the River Oaks District, which is about a mile away from the new Mastro’s Steakhouse.


After more than six months in an R&D kitchen, perfecting the hand-battered, fried and grilled chicken sandwich, Chef and owner Ben McPherson (formerly of Prohibition) and his team will debut Krisp Bird & Batter next week at 5922 Richmond.

The fast casual restaurant will feature breasts from pasture-raised chicken from Crystal Farms Ranch on GMO-free, fresh-made rolls or vegan whole wheat buns made with King Arthur Flour baked daily.  "During our extensive research and development process, this was decidedly the chicken that tasted like chicken. For us, it was clearly the “wagyu” of chicken," said McPherson in a press release.

Plans for a second location at 2400 North Shepherd in the Heights is already in motion and slated to open by June.

The first franchised location of Bar Louie is coming to Houston. The restaurant filed an application with TABC for a mixed beverage permit to operate at 16089 City Walk in Sugar Land Town Square . An employee at the Baybrook location told the Houston Press that the new store won’t be ready to open until this summer. In the meantime, go try them out at the Baybrook Mall, Willowbrook Mall, or at 24 Waterway in The Woodlands.

We missed the shuttering of the Outback Steakhouse at Beechnut and Loop 610 back on January 22, but it appears that several Bloomin’ Brands underperforming restaurants will close soon. A press release announced that Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company which owns Outback, Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill plans to shut down 43 of 1,500 total locations throughout the country. Details about which locations will close have not been released.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the former Outback space at 8731 West Loop South 610 may be torn down to construct South Cross Center, which could contain a mix of stores including a dental office, insurance firm and restaurants.

A new El Pollo Loco opened in Webster at 481 Bay Area Boulevard on February 20. The national restaurant chain is known for its citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken and operates more than 460 company-owned and franchised locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Utah. This is the first store to open in Webster and the 14th in the Houston area. The Webster store will have an open-kitchen layout which will allow guests to watch as the chicken is prepared, a press release reports.


The Press discovered that as of February 14, Ingenious Brewing Company had filed an application for a license with TABC to operate as a brew pub at 1986 South Houston Avenue in Humble. The new craft beer brewery made its presence known on social media as early as June 2015, but have had delays and issues with construction permitting throughout this period. A representative of Ingenious told the Press that they anticipate having beer available for bars in April with the tasting room opening in May or June. Follow its progress on Facebook.

CultureMap Houston reported that Chef Eric Aldis and pitmaster Brett Jackson have decided to leave Midtown Barbecue, 2708 Bagby, to focus more attention on Agave Rio, the Katy restaurant where Aldis currently serves as the executive chef.

A Twitter post displayed a paper sign from the window of Midtown Barbecue saying that the restaurant was “closed for plumbing problems.” But more shockingly, the article went on to say that in order for the “Midtown restaurant to continue serving barbecue, it will either need to purchase Aldis and Jackson’s equipment and hire a new pitmaster or start fresh with new people and a new barbecue pit.”

Umaki Sushi Burrito is heading to 10111 Louetta Road at Vintage Marketplace in April, the Houston Business Journal reports. The restaurant will specialize in, well, sushi burritos, which are basically like large, unsliced sushi rolls, no tortilla involved.

Houston is also getting yet another poke spot, according to Eater.  The California-based chain Poké Bar will open its sixteenth location here in the Bayou City with build-you-own bowls and a signature build-you-own poke nachos option.

The Chronicle reported that Hopdoddy will open in Rice Village at 11 a.m. on March 6. The Austin-based burger chain announced that the store at 5510 Morningside (former home of Baker Street Pub & Grill) will also mark the introduction of the Hoss' Hot Chicken, made with a fried Nashville hot chicken breast and baby kale slaw.

The store in Rice Village will donate $1 of each Goodnight Burger sold to The Periwinkle Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that supports the fight against cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The foundation benefits families who are being treated at the Texas Children’s Hospital.

The 142 Vintage Park location is still on-schedule for a spring 2017 opening.

A reader’s tip noted a new restaurant coming to Cypress. Crafthouse Grill filed an application for a mixed beverage permit to operate at 12910 Malcomson. According to its Facebook page, the casual neighborhood restaurant will feature craft burgers and beer, a full bar and relaxed patio dining. No additional information is available at this time.

NOLA Poboys, a new Houston offshoot from New Orleans restaurateur Murry Tate, is now open with po' boys, Creole, and Cajun fare at 1333 Old Spanish Trail at Kirby, the Chronicle reported.

An East Texas catfish restaurant called Flying Fish is scheduled to open in the corner of North Durham and West 19th Street in the Heights later this year. Construction at the site, a former Houston Tire Shop, will commence this summer. In addition to catfish, the restaurant will serve gulf shrimp and oysters, seafood gumbo, crab and grilled fish.

The restaurant is also known for being a “Big Mouth Billy Bass” Adoption Center. The loud-mouthed, singing fish has been known to drive people crazy. Customers are encouraged to bring a Big Mouth Billy Bass (without the batteries included) for adoption in exchange for a free basket of catfish. There are six other locations in the region, including three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, two in Arkansas and one in Tennessee.


Two new restaurants will open this year from Irish restaurateur, Ian Tucker. A press release revealed plans for a burger joint called Balls Out Burger at 1603 North Durham to open in the spring. Following in the fall will be PoitÍn (pronounced Putt-cheen), slated for Sawyer Yards in the Washington Avenue Arts District. PoitÍn will be a “sophisticated, concept-driven cocktail bar and restaurant.”

Balls Out Burger will be open Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Representatives of Luv Me Tenders announced the closure of its brick and mortar location at 4400 Yale in the Heights through a February 20 Facebook post. The statement read:

We have made the decision to shut down our brick and mortar. It was a tough decision but with our month to month lease ending and having to make a decision to sign a five year lease in an unproven area didn't make sense. But we have decided to focus on the truck and Ubereats and Door Dash delivery and pick up from the truck at Sassafras bar on Pinemont. Our Hours will change Tuesday -Sunday 11-12, which means 3 extra hours for delivery.

Denver-based Snooze, an A.M. Eatery announced plans to expand again, this time into Katy’s La Centerra by the end of 2017. CultureMap Houston reported that the company’s CEO David Birzon said, "Snooze's company mission is to be an integral part of the communities in which we are located and we believe that Katy is an incredible community."

The outpost in Katy will be the fourth location in the Houston area. Last summer, the popular breakfast and brunch eatery opened its first store in Montrose. The second location is scheduled to open in the Heights and a third to open in Memorial/ West Houston near City Centre both by this summer.

That's it for this week's restaurant openings and closings! Leave us a comment or send us an email to let us know if we missed something.