Pizza Motus shutters

West U Roman-inspired pizzeria folds after less than a year

Pizza Motus has closed.

Photo by Becca Wright

West University Place residents and pizza fans across the Houston area suffered a loss over the weekend. Pizza Motus, the Roman-inspired pizzeria, has shuttered after less than a year in business.

Owner Will Gruy confirmed the closure but declined CultureMap's request to comment on the circumstances surrounding his decision to cease operations. His experience living in Rome, where he attended school and had a brief career as a professional motorcycle racer, inspired him to open the restaurant.

When it opened last August, the restaurant seemed to have a lot going for it: a neighborhood-friendly BYOB policy with no corkage fee, a convenient location near neighborhood staples like Tiny's No. 5 and Little Matt's, and being one of the few restaurants in Houston to serve pizza al taglio. The style, which is popular in Rome, is known for using dough with a longer fermentation period that yields a light, airy crust. Sold as whole pies or by-the-slice, Gruy hoped to appeal to West U families.

So why didn't it catch on? For some insight, we turned to CultureMap's resident expert on both West U and pizza: columnist Ken Hoffman. He had concerns about Pizza Motus' prospects from the beginning.

"To win in Houston's extremely competitive pizza market, you need to offer a terrific product at a reasonable price. Pizza Motus did neither," Hoffman says. "Plus parking was an issue, and they didn't offer home delivery. I thought it was doomed the day it opened. Personally, I'm disappointed because I could walk there from my spring/summer house [note: it's also his fall/winter house]."

Thanks to Ken for his insight.

Fans of Pizza Motus' pizza al taglio will find a modified version at Vinny's, Agricole Hospitality's pizza by-the-slice restaurant in EaDo. True fans of the style might hope that Bonci, the acclaimed Rome-based restaurants with locations in Chicago and New Orleans, will someday make its way to the Bayou City.

pizza 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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