Bellaire residents have a fresh, new dining option at their neighborhood park. Betsy’s, a new concept from the owners of Adair Concepts (Adair Kitchen, Bebidas, Eloise Nichols), opened this week at Evelyn’s Park.
The restaurant replaces the Ivy & James, which closed in June after two years. Modeled after Adair Kitchen, Betsy’s serves a wide array of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Mornings start with breakfast tacos, smoothies, or a composed plate like avocado toast. Lunch and dinner feature burgers and other sandwiches, salads and bowls, or one of four pizzas (plus a build-your-own option). Highlights include a the Park Burger, a thin patty cheeseburger that’s inspired by Whataburger; the Green Pizza, which is topped with pesto, feta, mushrooms, artichokes, and tomatoes; and the Super Foods bowl that includes brown rice, avocado, kale, and more with a sweet ginger-miso dressing.
Adair Concepts co-owners (and siblings) Katie Adair Barnhart and Nick Adair grew up two blocks away from Evelyn’s Park, and their parents still live in the neighborhood. For them, the opportunity to bring their brand of fast casual, family-friendly fare to the neighborhood seemed like a can’t-miss opportunity.
“From a restaurant perspective, it’s a dream deal: fully built out, equipment, easy takeover,” Katie Adair Barnhart tells CultureMap. “We felt like what they were looking for matched our model at Adair Kitchen. I think their interest was getting an operator who can be efficient [and] knows the neighborhood.”
In designing Betsy’s, the siblings designed to focus on the space’s strengths — specifically, the spacious patio that blends into the park — and minimize its weaknesses, especially the lack of interior seating and limited parking, by focusing on people in the neighborhood who can walk or ride bikes to the restaurant.
“We want to give discounts to people who ride bikes or walk up,” Nick Adair says. “We look at it, we have the biggest patio there is. We have plenty of parking for people on bikes. We think if you drew a square mile circle around this place, that’s who our customers are and that’s who we’re catering towards.”
Once they get things dialed in, their plans include catering to park visitors with grab-and-go options that can eaten in the park and setting up grills on Friday and Saturday nights that could serve dishes during movie nights or other events. “We like that event side, having yoga or movie nights, where parents can come with their kids and hang out,” Nick Adair says.
Currently, Betsy’s serves beer and wine, but the operators are in negotiations with the City of Bellaire about the possibility of upgrading to full mixed beverage. For now, diners will find a mix of Texas craft beers, wines by-the-glass or bottle, and wine-based cocktails like sangria and frosé.
The next twelve months are shaping up to be a busy time for Adair Concepts. Once they get Betsy’s running smoothly, the partners can turn their attention to their plans for a new restaurant in downtown’s Wells Fargo Plaza.
Adair also hints that they have other plans, but they aren’t quite ready to share what those are. For now, their focus is on bringing a new taste to their old neighborhood.
Nick Adair and Katie Adair Barnhart.
Veterans will receive a 30-percent discount at Phat Eatery.
Photo by Dragana Harris