Foodie News

Polo Becerra shutters another one: Midtown Habaneros closes, Tavern on Milamtaking over

It looks like a new concept couldn't save Polo Becerra's fortunes in Midtown. His Habaneros Mex-Grill concept on Milam has shuttered after just over a year.

Habaneros replaced Becerra's Post Oak Grill in the same location, which also failed to win over customers. Habanero served decent Tex-Mex favorites on my early trips, but service issues I thought were opening jitters only seemed to get worse, and the place seemed perennially understaffed. The second Habaneros location, on San Felipe in the Galleria area, remains open.

Habaneros is the second Becerra restaurant to close in 2011. Polo's Signature near Greenway Plaza shut down in March, with the landlord physically barring the restaurant doors.

The Milam space has signs for a new concept called "Tavern on Milam," which is registered to The Tavern on Gray proprietor Charlie Watkins. With Tavern on Gray scheduled to close to make way for an apartment complex, our guess is that Tavern on Milam will be the replacement.

Did you like Habaneros? What do you think of a new midtown Tavern?

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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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