Pappas Restaurants Closures

Prominent Houston restaurant group shutters 5 locations

The economic recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has affected all sectors of the U.S. economy, but restaurants have been hit particularly hard. Houston has seen a number of high profile closings since the start of the pandemic, and now they have reached one of the city's most prominent restaurant groups.

Pappas Restaurants has permanently closed five of its Houston-area establishments, including three inside the Loop. They are:

Yia Yia Mary's Mediterranean Kitchen
Pappas Seafood House at I-45 North at Aldine Bender
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen on Richmond near Kirby
Pappas Shrimp Shack at I-45 and Woodridge
Little Pappas Seafood House on Shepherd and West Alabama

The company's three restaurants in downtown Houston — Pappasito's in the Hilton Americas Hotel, Pappadeaux in the George R. Brown Convention Center, and Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in the Shops at Houston Center — will reopen "as soon as it is possible to do so," Pappas director of marketing Christina Pappas tells CultureMap.

"Through this unbelievably trying time, our amazing team members have worked exceptionally hard, and we are so proud of each and every one of them," Pappas writes in an email. "We have remained strong because of the innovation of our team. We have more than 80 locations that either remained open or have reopened."

All of the employees at the closed restaurants have been offered positions at the company's other locations, and the company is looking to hire additional employees for some of the reopened restaurants. All locations now offers online ordering, and the company will introduce online reservations soon, Pappas adds.

While the closures mean the end of Yia Yia Mary's beef tenderloin souvlaki and Pappas Shrimp Shack's salt and pepper Dungeness crab, all hope is not lost. The company could reopen one or more of the concepts in new locations at a later date.

Of course, veteran Houston restaurant watchers will be sad about the closures for a reason other than missed meals. Permanently closing Pappadeaux's Upper Kirby locations means one fewer source of inspiration for Mickey Kapoor’s retorts on the marquee at Khyber. Maybe he'll turn his eyes across the street to Picos.

The signage has been removed from the former Pappadeaux on Richmond Ave.

Photo by Eric Sandler

The signage has been removed from the former Pappadeaux on Richmond Ave.

closings

NYT best dishes

Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

news-you-can-eat media lists desserts