On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Benjy Levit and Dylan Murray, the owner and chef-partner of Local Foods, join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss the rapidly growing sandwich shop. Later this month, Local Foods will open its fifth Houston-area location at the Heights Mercantile mixed-use development.
Murray and Levit discuss the reasons for Local Foods' success, the way the concept has evolved over the years, the reasons they thought The Heights would be a good fit for the fifth location, and where they think additional locations might open (hint: not in Houston). The conversation then turns to Levit's new project, The Classic - All Day, which will replace Benjy's on Washington. Sandler asks Levit to describe what patrons can expect when they visit The Classic.
"What we're trying to do is to create a gathering spot for the neighborhood. That was the first thought with the location," Levit says. "As far as 'diner' goes, in the sense that we're going to have a considerable amount of counter service, I think it's 35 seats that wrap the kitchen, and people will be able to see us preparing the food, which I think will be fun and exciting. It's going to have primarily booth seating, so I think those are two features of a typical diner. The menu will be what we're calling an all-day menu. We're going to be serving the same menu throughout the day. It will be a mix of breakfast items, sandwiches, as well as hot entrees that will be available seven days a week, starting at about 10 am and going until 11 pm."
Prior to Levit and Murray's interview, L'Olivier owner Mary Clarkson and Sandler discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Common Bond's plans to expand to The Heights, Felix Florez's signing on to The Bravery Chef Hall, Pappa Charlies Barbeque's new location in Cypress, and Clarkson offers take on the situation between Jennifer and Bryan Caswell and the owners of the Le Meridien hotel downtown. In the restaurants of the week segment, the duo describe their visits to Holman Draft Hall in Midtown and Houston's fourth Snooze location that just opened in The Heights.
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Murray describes the challenges of operating Local Foods downtown.
