Let the supermarket wars begin

Whole Foods Montrose store plans June 22 opening; celebrates with art car

Whole Foods will debut its new art car at Sunday's Art Car Parade

The new Whole Foods Market under construction in Montrose will open on June 22.

The 40,450 square-foot store, with a limestone facade reminiscent of the Texas Hill Country and gold walls that bring to mind a Tuscan sunset, hugs the corner of West Dallas Street and Waugh Drive. It was designed by Austin-based Stone Soup 6 Architecture, which counts the Whole Foods flagship store in the state capital and a large Whole Foods store in Chicago among its projects.

To celebrate the announcement of the Montrose store opening, Whole Foods will be showcasing its first art car at the Houston Art Car Parade on Sunday.

“We have wanted to have an art car for years and with the opening of the new store, this was the best time,” Kimberly Crowder, media relations coordinator for Whole Foods Market Houston, said in a statement. “We are very excited to be a part of such a historic Houston event and thrilled about opening a new store in the area."

The opening is expected to be the first salvo in an all-out supermarket war in Montrose.

The Kroger Signature store at 3300 Montrose Boulevard is undergoing a "complete floor-to-roof makeover" that will add a second level, a new "customer-friendly" layout, cozy décor and new equipment. A much-discussed H-E-B is beginning construction on West Alabama at Dunlavy, with a planned November opening. It will include such amenities as a fresh-squeezed juice bar, an in-store RediClinic, a Central Market Cafe on the Run and one of the chain's largest wine and beer selections.

Across the street on Dunlavy, the longtime Fiesta market is rumored to be planning a redo as well.

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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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