3 restaurant closings

3 closings to know in Houston food: Last chance to visit some neighborhood staples

Fegen's has served its last meal.

Photo by Carla Gomez

Over the past week or so, two Houston restaurants and a coffee shop announced they're shutting their doors. Thankfully, customers have a little time to say goodbye to two of the businesses.

Fegen's, the contemporary American restaurant in The Heights, announced it had closed effective April 12. Chef-owner Lance Fegen released the following statement on behalf of his partners in the F.E.E.D. TX restaurant group:

“While it’s regrettable that the end of our tenure has come, it’s been an honor and a privilege to serve the Heights community and beyond for over fifteen years. We are grateful for each and every one of our patrons and will miss you all—we have memories to cherish for a lifetime.”

Opened in April 2021, Fegen's evolved out of Liberty Kitchen, the chef's lively, seafood-oriented comfort food restaurant. F.E.E.D. sold the other two locations of Liberty Kitchen to the Culinary Khancepts group (State Fare) in 2020, but opted to keep the restaurant's original Heights location and transform it into Fegen's. Its menu featured classic American fare mixed with Southern Italian-inspired pizzas. It is not clear at this time whether F.E.E.D. plans to repurpose the space with another concept.

Montrose coffee shop Southside Espresso will close after service this Saturday, April 16. Open since the fall of 2012, it has been a staple for well crafted espresso drinks made with locally roasted coffee from Fusion Beans.

In a post to social media, owner Sean Marshall writes that he's working on opening a coffee trailer at the Montrose Marketplace, a street market at the corner of Montrose and Westheimer. In the meantime, patrons are invited to a farewell party that will be held Saturday from 5-7 pm.

Polish restaurant Pierogi Queen will close its original location in League City on May 20, the restaurant announced on Facebook. It had already closed its stand at Railway Heights Market on April.

"Sadly, all our achievements did not help us enough to keep running any longer. We are grateful for all we got, but at this point with current food prices and not able to find reliable help we came to the decision and closing our League City location as well," the post reads.

Owner Eva Sek told the Chronicle that a lack of customers who knew Polish food contributed to the decision to close. The restaurant may continue to sell its frozen pierogis at the Henderson & Kane market.

Until the restaurant bids farewell, it will operate with extended hours of 12-8 pm Thursday and Friday and 12-4 pm Saturday.

closings

can't-miss pies

Top Houston chefs fire up new pizza pop-up series for local nonprofit

Courtesy of Shredders Pizza

Nick Wong's honey pecan shrimp pizza will be available this Saturday, August 8.

A Houston pizzeria has recruited some of the city’s top chefs for one-day-only collaborations. Super Pizza Friends will unite Shredders Pizza with five culinary talents — and all the proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation, the Houston-based nonprofit that provides emergency assistance and mental health services to hospitality workers.

Beginning this Saturday, August 8, Shredders will host the following chefs:

August 8: Nick Wong, Agnes and Sherman
September 12: Graham Laborde, Winnie’s
October 10: Lucas McKinney, Josephine’s
November 14: Evelyn Garcia, Jūn
December 12: Aaron Bludorn, Bludorn Hospitality

They’re an accomplished group. Garcia and her business partner Henry Lu just won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas for Jūn, the eclectic restaurant in the Heights. Similarly, Wong earned a James Beard Award finalist nomination for Best New Restaurant for Agnes and Sherman, his Asian American diner that’s also in the Heights. Josephine’s and Bludorn hold Recommended designations in the Michelin Guide, and Winnie’s has received multiple nominations in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

Guest chefs are given full creative control over their pizzas. They’ll be available in limited quantities, with pre-sales beginning the Thursday before. All of the $30 from each pizza sold will be donated to Southern Smoke.

“This is an idea we’ve had since before we even opened,” Shredders co-owner Benjy Mason said in a statement. “We knew we wanted to build the shop with built in ways to give back to the community, and we love the work Chris and the crew at Southern Smoke are doing.”

Inspired by the honey pecan shrimp toast served at Agnes and Sherman, Wong’s pizza is topped with shrimp, shredded lettuce, honey mayo sauce, candied pecans, and sesame seeds. It’s served with a side of Calabrian chile crisp, and every pizza comes with a collectible, Garbage Pail Kids-style trading card.

“When we opened we decided to really focus on on what we felt like were the pizza delivery classics, your pepperonis and your sausages,” chef and co-owner Jason Kerr added, “but we are also chefs and we can’t turn off all the wacky ideas. This gives us a way to make really fun and exciting pizzas and to work with friends.”

Mason and Kerr opened Shredders in January. The restaurant serves New York-style pizza, salads, sides, and desserts. Primarily focused on delivery and to-go, diners can pair their pizzas with a tidy, well-priced selection of Italian and/or natural wines.

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