escape to the cellar

Tilman Fertitta's Post Oak Hotel uncorks record-shattering $3 million wine room

One of Houston’s most luxurious hotels just got even more luxurious. Tilman Fertitta’s swank Post Oak Hotel has uncorked The Cellar, an intimate wine room ready to create bespoke experiences, exclusive social gatherings, and world-class private dining.

The Cellar hews closely to the hotel’s raison d’etre as an upscale urban oasis. Billed as an “oenophile’s utopia,” The Cellar is poised to be the perfect venue for guests to enjoy the hotel’s record-shattering wine collection, featuring more than $3 million worth of inventory, and wines from more than 25 countries. The space houses more than 30,000 bottles with vintages dating back to the 1800s.

Located on the hotel’s sixth floor, The Cellar might have guests mistakenly think they’re in the wine vault of a French Château or a cellar in a Tuscan Villa. Exposed brick, a cross-vault ceiling, glittering chandeliers, and dramatically backlit wine vaults highlight the space.

The idea is to create a distinctive destination for celebrating all those special moments — from wedding rehearsal receptions to indulgent romantic dinners.

“This will be an experience not only unique to Houston, but a top wine experience of the world,” says Jorge Gonzalez, general manager of The Post Oak Hotel. “We perfected our wine selections to offer the very best, most sought-after wineries from around the globe.”

Sumptuous design transports guests to the wine vault of a French Château or a cellar in a Tuscan Villa. Elegant highlights range from exposed brick, a cross-vault ceiling and glittering chandeliers to dramatically backlit wine vaults, making The Cellar a distinctive destination to celebrate special moments from wedding rehearsal receptions to indulgent romantic dinners.

“Every bottle of wine has a story to tell and every cork popped is an opportunity to create your own,” says master sommelier Keith Goldston, who brings more than 30 years of experience to curating and managing The Cellar’s wines and who, in 2001, became the 47th master sommelier in the U.S. “The Cellar at The Post Oak is your chance to drink your way through some of the greatest wine stories ever told.”

The Cellar will offer dining events with menus skillfully selected by the hotel’s culinary team. Led by executive chef Jean Luc Royere, sophisticated menus are thoughtfully coupled with Cellar selections, ensuring every course provides a personalized experience to please the most discriminating of tastes.

This spring, look for the launch of a “Sommelier Series” of exclusive dinners featuring epicurean experiences limited to 12 guests and hosted by the hotel’s sommelier team of Goldston and four advanced sommeliers. The team of accredited sommeliers will journey guests through some of the world’s greatest wines and wine regions, all paired with dishes expertly crafted by the hotel’s executive chefs.

From the Grand Crus of Burgundy to the “Cult Cabs” of the Napa Valley; memorable selections and conversations will be presented throughout the series. “Sommelier Series” events include:

April 25: Grand Crus of Burgundy. A night exploring some of the world’s greatest wines, discovering why this region has been celebrated for its wine for thousands of years.
June 27: Napa versus Sonoma. A “Battle Royale” between two of California’s finest regions.
August 29: Journey through Italy. Often viewed by insiders as the single greatest wine producing region, experience the diversity of Italy’s Northern and Southern vines.
October 24: Beef and Bordeaux. The Classification of 1855 was a ranking of the best of Bordeaux, taste through the five levels of the Classification ending with a “1st Growth” and a night to remember.
December 12: 100 Point Dinner. Nothing but 100 point wines all night long, a great way to wrap up the year.

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To book an event or Sommelier Series dinner or private dinner, visit the Cellar’s official site.

The lavish Cellar boasts a $3 million inventory.

Photo courtesy of The Post Oak Hotel

The lavish Cellar boasts a $3 million inventory.

hotels wine

Chris Cusack explains

Houston bar owner speaks out about surprise arrest for health code violations

Photo by Sergio Trevino

Chris Cusack owns two locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse.

Certainly one of the most unusual interactions between a restaurant and City of Houston officials took place on Wednesday, May 6 when Betelgeuse Betelgeuse owner Chris Cusack was arrested for health code violations at his location on Washington Avenue.

News of the arrest spread quickly across social media over the weekend. Now, Cusack is ready to tell his side of the story.

Cusack, whose time operating restaurants in Houston goes back more than 15 years to Down House and its affiliated restaurants such as Hunky Dory and D&T Drive Inn, tells CultureMap the problem began on Monday, May 4 when a health department inspector came to Betelgeuse Betelgeuse and asked to see the restaurant’s grease trap.

The only problem is that location has never had a grease trap. Prior to becoming Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, it was Liberty Station, a pioneering bar in Houston’s craft beer and craft cocktail scenes. In the early days, Betelgeuse served food from a food truck. More recently, it prepares its food next door at The Bell and Crane. Cusack acknowledges he didn’t share this information with the inspector.

“Usually I’m a charmer with the health department, but I was a little defensive. She kept asking me. I said, ‘ma’am, we don’t make food here,’” he explains. “The tone wasn’t my finest moment, but there was no name calling or anything like that. She said, ‘where does the food come from?’ I said, ‘it doesn’t matter where it comes from. It’s produced in a commercial kitchen.’”

Cusack says he knew there would be a follow up, but he was shocked when the inspector returned two days later with more colleagues from the health department, TABC inspectors, and Houston Police Department officers.

“I got somewhere between 21 and 25 citations,” Cusack says about the return visit. He got dinged for everything from graffiti in the bathroom to a missing Harris County tax stamp on the photo booth he leases from a vendor (it has both State of Texas and City of Houston stamps, Cusack says).

One inspector told Cusack he needed a food dealer’s permit. He showed the inspector that a food dealer’s permit had been issued for the restaurant's address under the former food truck’s LLC but not to the LLC that operates Betelgeuse Betelgeuse. Cusack says he had renewed the food truck’s permit in March, but that wasn’t good enough for the inspector. In Cusack’s telling, he was arrested for not having the permit, since it was also flagged as missing in an inspection from October 2025. He's the only person he knows who has ever been arrested for a misdemeanor violation of the health code.

Cusack says he spent 21 hours in the Harris County Jail. When he got out, he says he was contacted by a more senior official within the Health Department. Once Cusack confirmed he owned both LLCs, he was told he could reopen. Both locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse have been operating normally since Friday, May 8.

Cusack maintains he never knew about the October 2025 inspection, which is why he renewed the food dealer’s permit for the food truck’s LLC rather than applying for one under Betelgeuse Betelgeuse’s LLC. “There’s no paper trail that shows I was given this information,” he says. “I did not get the email [from the Health Department].”

As for why things got so out of hand, Cusack theorizes he was a victim of Houston Mayor John Whitemire’s crack down on “reckless behavior” on Washington Avenue and stepped up enforcement on bars generally that led to the temporary closure of near northside cocktail bar Rabbit’s Got the Gun.

Cusack says he’s a “huge supporter” of efforts to reduce crimes like street racing, drug dealing, and sex trafficking along Washington and in its surrounding neighborhoods. Still, he feels targeting by the city for being impolite to a health inspector.

He plans to fight both the arrest and the citations in court. “I want the charges dropped, and I want it expunged completely from my record. That’s the first thing, and I’m going to try very hard to do it,” he says.

“That’s going to end up costing thousands of dollars just to deal with the sheer volume,” he adds.

CultureMap contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office. A representative said the mayor was not aware of the situation and has no comment on an open investigation.

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