Feast
When Houstonians are polled about the restaurants they miss the most, Feast frequently comes up. The final feast took place on June 14 with a sold-out crowd eager to get one final taste of some offal from the skilled hands of chefs James Silk and Richard Knight. Feast helped raise awareness of nose-to-tail dining in Houston, but a failed concept in New Orleans spelled the beginning of the end for the restaurant. In our coverage of the end of Feast, Phaedra Cook wrote, "The same foodies and writers who waved the banner of Feast so ardently when it first started were now down the road chasing the new hotness, as we do. During the last night of service, Chef Silk said, 'If every night had been like tonight, we wouldn't be closing.'"
Flora & Muse
In one of the most surprising — yet epic — ways for a restaurant to close, Flora & Muse informed its customers it would no longer be open for business...and did so during a Greek Wine Dinner. Talk about going out with a bang! In late October, the general manager, Evan Turner, informed guests that the restaurant would be closing for good that night after service. Rather than wasting away with no customers, Flora & Muse went out on its own terms. Props to them for doing so in style.
Jeannine's Bistro
The beloved Belgian bistro from half of the duo that brought us Café Montrose made a temporary closure permanent in May. On its Facebook page, the Belgian bistro wrote, "We've sadly decided to close, and wanted to thank all our friends & patrons for their support during the past 4 years. You were the reasons we were here & want you to know that you were appreciated. We will miss you all, as well as our staff tremendously!" Jeannine's was renowned for its moules in every variety from marinières to congolaise, as well as its perfect frites.
Katsuya
Katsuya was a favorite among athletes and socialites hoping to see and be seen in the chic space in West Ave, so it wasn't a lack of business that caused the sushi restaurant to close. Instead, it was conflict among the managing partners, particularly master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi, who no longer wanted to be involved in the restaurant. It closed over the Fourth of July weekend. Late this year, Donald Chang's new Korean and Japanese restaurant, Nara, opened in its place, and though Nara, too, is an Asian restaurant, it's a little more subdued and less...um...gaudy than Katsuya. Nara has already been getting great reviews, so hopefully it will last longer than its predecessor.
Perry's Italian Grille
Fans of the Perry's Steakhouse empire were sad to see Perry's Italian Grille close in late June. Residents of Clear Lake, where the restaurant was located, took to Yelp to lament the closure of the neighborhood favorite, reminiscing about date nights and pre-dance dinners that took place at the Italian eatery. Perry's Steakhouse is still open across the country, as is Perry & Sons Market and Grille. Why they spell grill with an "e" in every restaurant name remains a mystery.
Roots Bistro
A mere two months after Roots caused a stir with an ill-advised sign outside that read "Beer should be like violence: Domestic," the popular vegetarian restaurant bid Houston adieu in June. According to reports from CultureMap, a "disengaged investor" was behind the closure, not, as many people assumed, a drop in business after the tasteless domestic violence joke. Eric Sandler, at the time reporting for Eater, did point out a positive aspect to Roots's closure: "no more having to overenunciate the words 'Roost' and 'Roots' when talking about the two different, but very similarly named, restaurants." Indeed.
Taco Milagro
The modern Upper Kirby Mexican restaurant closed at the end of May, when its 15-year lease was up, due to increases in rent in the popular neighborhood. At the time, Candice Schiller of the Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group, which owned and operated Taco Milagro, told the Chronicle's Greg Morago: "(Kirby) has become a street of upscale restaurants; most of them well financed multi-unit groups. Our littler counter service taco shop can't pay those kinds of rents." The space once occupied by Taco Milagro at the corner of Kirby and Westheimer remains empty.
Thelma's Bar B Que
Thelma's Bar B Que won accolades year after year for its smoky brisket, sausage and pork chops, but after a fire in 2009 felled the downtown location, a new shop that sprung up in the Third Ward just wasn't as good. In a Houston Chronicle article from 2010, Alison Cook called Thelma "cantankerous" and lamented that the restaurant wouldn't allow any changes or substitutions without a surcharge. Thelma's was quickly replaced with Abdel's BBQ, which describes itself as "a small black owned bbq bussiness thats hopefully gonna blow up...God willing [sic]." We're still waiting for that to happen.
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