a peaceful patio bar

Chef trio unites for Midtown patio bar serving fancy po' boys and frozen cocktails

Three chefs and former colleagues are reuniting to open Midtown's newest patio bar. Johnny's Gold Brick owner Benjy Mason (formerly a chef at Down House) has teamed up with former Bernadine's chefs Graham Laborde and Chris Roy to open Winnie's later this fall.

Located in the former Natachee's space in the Mid-Main development, Winnie's will offer a modern, cocktail-forward take on a classic po' boy shop. The project evolved out of the Peace Maker pop-up the trio launched last year.

“We knew we wanted to do something fun and unique,” Laborde said in a statement. "We’ve done fine dining, but we really love sandwiches and frozen drinks. This bar
grew out of things that we truly love, hanging out, arguing about sandwiches, and drinking tasty beverages.”

Those arguments led to an eclectic lineup of eight sandwiches. Naturally, the Peace Maker, a combination of fried shrimp and fried oysters, will be available. Another option will be the Mississippi Beef Debris po' boy with with braised beef, pepperoncinis, beer queso, roasted carrot ranch dressing, and Cool Ranch Doritos.

The menu will also feature shareable snacks such as pink peppercorn lemon pepper chicken wings, salads such as the Muffaletta Chop Salad, and oysters — raw and roasted. The menu will be served from lunch to late night for dine-in, to-go, or delivery via third party apps.

Johnny's bartender Garrett Lendermann developed a cocktail menu of frozen, draft, and traditional sips that aim to be refreshing. Options include a cafe su da take on a frozen Irish coffee, a hurricane soda highball, a Sherry smash, and a frozen raspberry Negroni.

“We see this bar as following in Johnny’s footsteps and being a neighborhood gathering spot for all the people who live nearby and we really wanted to take advantage of the amazing patio for people who want to get a drink and a snack in the afternoon,” Mason said.

Design elements will include exposed wood ceilings and two new bay windows that will let in more natural light. The bar top and back bar are being made by local sculptor Patrick Renner out of reclaimed wood.

The classic Peacemaker po' boy.

Photo by Emily Jaschke

The classic Peacemaker po' boy.

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truffle shuffle

Fine dining chef serves up casual sandwich shop in Houston suburb

Photo by Hungry AF Media

Richmond may not be top of mind among the Houston suburbs with destination-worthy restaurants — other than Larry’s Original Mexican, of course — but a new cafe could have sandwich lovers from across greater Houston contemplating a visit to Fort Bend County.

Meet Truffle & Rye Market & Café. The new restaurant, which celebrated its grand opening earlier this month, serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. In the morning, look for freshly baked pastries such as muffins and banana bread alongside breakfast sandwiches that are made with organic sourdough bagels.

Lunch is built around sandwiches made with freshly baked schiacciata bread, an Italian-style flatbread that’s similar to focaccia, that Truffle & Rye sources from Houston's Artisan Bread Gallery. They include The Pig (mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio, pesto, and pistachio crumble), The Boar (spicy salami, whipped ricotta cheese, Italian pepper spread, and arugula), and The Bird (roasted turkey, basil pesto, provolone, roasted tomato, and arugula). Three salads are also available.

Beverage options include a full coffee program, including lattes made with Mill-King milk and house made syrups, as well as teas, lemonade, and bottles of wine.

Truffle and Rye restaurant Kaitlyn Chavez and Joey Chavez Truffle and Rye owners Kaitlyn and Joey Chavez.Courtesy of Truffle & Rye Market & Café

Photo by Hungry AF Media

The Bird is made with turkey, pesto, provolone, and roasted tomatoes.

Chef Joey Chavez and his wife Kaitlyn are the husband-and-wife duo behind Truffle & Rye. Prior to launching his private chef company The Hidden Truffle, chef Chavez worked at a number of notable restaurants, including The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s legendary, three-star Michelin fine dining restaurant in California; the Caribou Club in Aspen; and Brennan’s of Houston, where he had a brief stint as executive chef. Kaitlyn Chavez also brings top-level hospitality experience, having worked for The Ritz Carlton luxury hotel chain.

“We built The Hidden Truffle around private dining and elevated experiences,” Kaitlyn shares. “But we kept coming back to the idea of wanting something for our community, somewhere people could come in regularly, feel taken care of, and enjoy food that still holds that same level of quality.”

While the restaurant won’t serve dinner daily, it will be open on select nights for wine tastings, sourdough classes, pop-up dinners, and other happenings.

Although he has a fine dining background, chef Chavez said he’s excited to bring this more casual concept to Richmond. “We wanted to build something we would want to go to ourselves,” he said. “A place where the food is intentional, the ingredients matter, and people feel comfortable coming in multiple times a week.”

Truffle & Rye is located in Richmond at 107 S. Third Street. It opens at 7 am Monday-Thursday and 8 am on Friday and Saturday.

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