Foodie News

Is the party over for Fiesta? Dunlavy H-E-B rumors are flying

The southwest corner of Dunlavy and West Alabama —the former site of the dilapidated Wilshire Village apartments—may soon be more than a large swath of empty land.

Reports are buzzing at Swamplot that the 7-plus acre plot might be home to a new H-E-B grocery store. And separately, some have noticed that the oak trees on the property have all been marked with a white ribbon, with the exception of a few along West Alabama and flanking the former Sul Ross entrance, which are marked with green ribbons. The theory says that the white-ribbon trees are to be torn down for construction.

As Swamplot notes, "A new Wilshire Village H-E-B would jibe with the tree-clearance theory. And there aren’t too many grocery stores already in the area — unless of course you count the Randalls Flagship at Shepherd Square, the Kroger on Montrose, the Whole Foods just down West Alabama, and the Fiesta directly across the street."

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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