Sam's Shutters

Insta-worthy fried chicken and doughnuts restaurant flies away from The Heights

Sam's fried chicken & donuts exterior new sign

Sam's has closed.

Courtesy photo

The Heights has lost a reliable destination for two classic comfort foods. Sam's Fried Chicken and Donuts closed on Monday, March 9, owner Sambrooks Management Company announced.

The company will not replace Sam's with another concept. Owner Michael Sambrooks issued the following statement about the closing through a representative:

Sam’s Fried Chicken and Donuts was a fun concept with tasty and Instagram worthy fare. With our recent closing of Pi Pizza, and now the closing of Sam’s, we are fully focused on our 'Big Four' concepts – The Pit Room BBQ, The Patio at The Pit Room, 1751 Sea and Bar, and Candente. Several of our Sam’s employees are moving to our other concepts and we wish the best to those talented folks that are going off to other opportunities.

Originally Lee's Fried Chicken & Donuts, the restaurant quickly became known for well-executed versions of its namesake menu items — in particular, the apple fritter and blueberry cake flavors — as well as over-the-top chicken sandwiches. One memorable combination swapped traditional buns for doughnuts and a dessert take offered a couple of scoops of ice cream in between two doughnuts.

In September 2018, Sambrooks purchased the restaurant, along with Pi Pizza and Star Fish, from Cherry Pie Hospitality. By December, it had a new name and an expanded menu that added Southern specialities such as chicken and waffle wings, collard greens, and pork cracklins.

As Michael Sambrooks noted in his statement, the company has moved on from two of the restaurants it acquired in the transaction. The company ceased operations at Pi Pizza in February.

Despite the closings, the company had a busy 2019 that included opening two new restaurants: 1751 Sea & Bar, an upscale seafood restaurant that replaced Star Fish, and Candente, a Tex-Mex restaurant that incorporates some barbecue elements from its sister concept, Texas Monthly top 50 barbecue joint The Pit Room.

the-heights closings

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.

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