5 things to know

5 things to know in Houston food right now: Openings and a farewell to Ouisie

Elouise Adams Jones died Monday.

Photo via www.ouisiestable.com

Editor's note: Houston’s restaurant scene moves pretty fast. In order to prevent CultureMap readers from missing anything, let’s stop to look around at all the latest news to know.

Openings and coming attractions

Chicago-based restaurant 5411 Empanadas has opened its second Houston-area location in Midtown at 309 Gray Street. the international dialing code for Buenos Aires, 5411 Empanadas offers a taste of Argentina with flavors like smoked ham and cheese, spinach and cheese, mac and cheese, and, for dessert, banana Nutella. The restaurant opens at 11 am Monday-Friday and 9 am on Saturday and Sunday.

Mikki’s Soulfood Cafe, a restaurant with locations in Southwest Houston and Pearland, recently added a food truck to its offerings. Mikki’s on Wheels will be soon be rolling throughout the Houston area. Check the restaurant’s Facebook page for its current schedule.

Successful Houston-based restaurant Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen will add new locations in Katy and Richmond this spring. Both will be owned by first-time franchisee Carmen Maria Torres. Known for its New York-style pizza and Italian-American dishes, Russo’s operates locations across the Houston area, throughout Texas, and beyond.

Investment news

Mambo Seafood, a Houston-based restaurant with 11 locations, announced that Garnett Station Partners, a New York-based investment firm, has partnered with it. Garnett will “recapitalize and provide growth capital” to the company, which is led by founder Michael Ho and CEO Robert McKinley. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Garnett Station is an ideal partner for Mambo, given their many years of success within the restaurant industry,” Ho said in a statement. “The entire GSP team have been highly collaborative and have executed on every commitment they made during this process. Mambo is in the right hands and I’m excited for this next chapter for the brand."

Passings

Ouisie’s Table founder Elouise Adams Jones died Monday on her 79th birthday after a long illness. Jones opened the first location of her eponymous restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in 1973. She made her mark by serving a daily rotating menu that was grounded in classic Southern fare like shrimp and grits, chicken fried steak, and pimento cheese sandwiches.

After a six year hiatus, she reopened the restaurant in 1995 at its current location on San Felipe. General manager Wafi Dinari purchased Ouisie’s Table in 2016 and continues to operate it to this day.

A graduate of the Kinkaid School, Jones worked for the Houston Chronicle before establishing her restaurant. She will be remembered as pioneering female restaurateur as well as a writer and philanthropist. At the time of her death, she was working on a cookbook but was unable to finish.

A memorial service will be held in Houston at St. Luke’s Memorial Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer, at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19th, with Rev. Cliff Ritter officiating. Jones will be interred in Kerrville, Texas. For information on the memorial service or to leave remembrances go to kerrvillefuneralhometx.com.

news-you-can-eat

an offer he couldn't refuse

Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

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Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

“Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

closings barbecue the-woodlands