Make Lemonade

New location of steakhouse owner's lively comfort food spot arrives in Montrose next week

Montrose residents won't have to wait too much longer to feast on blue crab beignets, hog wings, and Texas wagyu beef cheeseburgers. Houston's second location of B.B. Lemon will open in the former Pax Americana space on July 8, the restaurant announced.

Changes to the space at 4319 Montrose give it the same look and feel as its sister restaurant on Washington Avenue. That means green plaid wallpaper, checked tablecloths, and, of course, a winged lemon neon sign. The restaurant will seat approximately 75 in its main dining room, 30 in a private dining room, 11 at the bar (an antique that has been untouched by the renovations), and 60 on the patio. Perhaps most impressively, those changes took place less than two months after owner Ben Berg revealed his plans to bring B.B. Lemon to Montrose.

One lesson learned from the first B.B. Lemon is that Houstonians prefer to treat it as more of a restaurant than a bar. Therefore, chef Emily Trusler has expanded the menu with additional seafood dishes, such as snapper crudo, steamed mussels, Mediterranean snapper, and seared scallops with sweet corn purée and chorizo. Of course, all the dishes that earned B.B. Lemon a CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant nomination — including the beignets and the cheeseburger — are present and accounted for.

Similarly, beverage director Monique Cioffi-Hernandez, a nominee for the Tastemaker Award for Bartender of the Year, has expanded the cocktail menu slightly. Her focus is still on the classics, but using housemade, infused syrups helps ensure each drink gets to customers as quickly as possible.

"I wasn’t necessarily looking to expand B.B. Lemon, but the space was perfect for it,” Berg said in a statement. “B.B. Lemon is meant to be a fun, neighborhood spot with a great ambiance, and this location reminded me of the local spots I grew up with in New York City combined with all the features that Houstonians will love – a beautiful, outdoor patio and upscale comfort food."

This year has been a busy one for Berg's company, Berg Hospitality Group. In addition to opening a second B.B. Lemon, he recently relaunched Memorial-area favorite Carmelo's as B.B. Italia. Later this fall, he'll relaunch legendary Houston restaurant Cafe Annie as The Cafe Annie.

A crowd gets a sneak peek at the new B.B. Lemon.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

A crowd gets a sneak peek at the new B.B. Lemon.

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ps, we're closed

Houston's most pretty-in-pink restaurant quietly closes in Upper Kirby

Photo by Jenn Duncan

You'll see a lot of pink at PostScript.

PostScript, Upper Kirby’ posh pink restaurant, has quietly closed, CultureMap has learned.

Although the restaurant is still accepting reservations on OpenTable — and is, as of this article’s publication, listed as open on both Yelp and Google — reports circulated on social media this weekend that it had abruptly canceled diners’ Mother’s Day reservations. In addition, its dining room in the Shops at Arrive mixed-use development has been emptied of furniture.

[Update: After the publication of this article, PostScript's management provided CultureMap with the following statement:

We are saddened to announce the closure of PostScript HTX.

We sincerely thank our patrons for their loyalty and support. It has been an honor to serve you and be part of your special moments. The people and culture in Houston are first class. We wish you all the best and hope our paths cross again in the future.]

PostScript opened with considerable fanfare in February 2024. Owners Veeral Rathod and Obi Ibeto, brought their experiences as partners in the Dallas-based GAP Hospitality to the project, which operates establishments such as XOXO Dining Room, Lyla, and Drai’s Dallas. Particularly inspired by XOXO Dining Room, they created an ode to pink that included pink exterior and interior walls, a pink quartz bar, and a pink grand piano. “Push for Champagne” buttons added to the lively spirit.

Chef Bryan Caswell created the menu. Best known for his pioneering Gulf Coast seafood restaurant Reef that closed in 2019, Caswell’s menu included fried chicken with hummus, oysters three ways (raw, roasted, and fried), a sushi roll, and the double smoked pork chop that was a Reef staple. A doughnut topped with caviar became a customer favorite.

Since Caswell was only consulting on the project, he left a couple of months after opening. Latuli, Caswell’s new Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant in the Memorial area, is expected to open soon.

CultureMap has reached out to PostScript via email, phone, and Instagram message for comment on the decision to close the restaurant. We will update this article if they reply.

PostScript’s closure follows that of Cru, which ended a 13-year run in December 2024. On the other hand, Kira, a sushi hand roll concept from Houston’s Comma Hospitality that’s also located in the development, is thriving, having earned the No. 4 spot on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s best new restaurants. The development is also home to beloved Indian restaurant Pondicheri, an outpost of the steakhouse chain Eddie V’s, and top tier Houston shopping destination Tootsie’s.

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