B4-U-Eat reports that Doneraki on Westheimer closed last week without any fanfare. Fortunately for fans of the "authentic Mexican restaurant" (their words, not ours), the Gulfgate location just completed construction on a new deck and celebrated with a 40th-anniversary party, so it looks like the local chain is poised to be around for a while longer.
Dulce Spoon Ice Cream and Desserts in Spring Branch has closed to make way for Habibi Cakes Bakery, which will be opening in mid-August, according to B4-U-Eat. It looks like Habibi Cakes has been in the cake-making business for a while now, but the bakery hasn't previously had a storefront.
The Kroger at 3665 Highway 6 in Sugar Land will soon be closing, Swamplot reports, and it seems that competition from surrounding grocers (including two newer just-down-the-highway stores that Kroger itself put in) might be the cause. On Facebook, Kroger wrote, "Since 1988, this location has served families in the community. During that time, we have met thousands of residents like you who have become valued customers. Within in the past several years, we attempted to increase sales, profitability and store conditions. Despite our best efforts, we weren't successful. We've made the very difficult decision to close the store later this summer." Fortunately, there are those two other Krogers in close proximity, as well as two H-E-Bs, Whole Foods, Randalls, Food Town and Walmart Supercenter. Sugar Land will not go hungry.
Now for the good news: Sprouts opened its fourth Houston location on August 7 with a grand-opening celebration that included free coffee and muffins as well as goodie bags for the first 200 paying customers.
Eater reports that the owners of Guru Burgers & Crepes have opened a new restaurant in Sugar Land called Jupiter Pizza & Waffle Co. The menu includes "stone baked Neapolitan pizza" and Belgian waffles as well as farm-to-table salads.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Fusion Taco has opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant at 801 Congress. The menu has expanded to include items like 24-hour Beef Short Rib Vindaloo with raita and cucumber tomato relish and Tempura Rock Shrimp with jalapeño/wasabi aioli, watercress and togarashi. It's already getting rave reviews from Gastronaut, and we agree that the menu looks pretty tasty.
The new Midtown hot spot 3rd Floor opened July 24 with a big crowd who came to see what all the hype was about. The menu has eight cocktails on tap as well as 50 American draft beers and 50 American draft wines. The bar also has a small dinner/snack menu. The coolest thing about 3rd Floor is its view: Two large patios look out over the downtown skyline to the north and Midtown to the south.
Though it hasn't opened quite yet, the date is getting closer. Radical Eats will open for breakfast and lunch (and brunch) in Montrose on August 11. Radical Eats has taken the place of the vegan/vegetarian-only joint Roots Bistro and will now be offering a few dishes for omnivores in addition to the beloved veggie fare. Owner Staci Davis promises that the menu will still be "radical," but now it will be radical with some sustainably raised meat. Dinner service begins soon after opening week, and a grand-opening celebration will be held August 28. The new menu isn't yet available on the Radical Eats Web site, but we're pretty interested to see what Davis decides to cook up next.
