another montrose relocation

Wine-fueled Italian restaurant will close and relocate after 20 years in Montrose

Divino will close its location on Saturday, July 31.

Divino Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar/Facebook

Another Montrose dining staple has announced it will soon have a new home. Divino Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar will cease operations in its current location on Saturday, July 31, the restaurant announced on Facebook.

Divino has occupied its space at 1830 West Alabama St. for more than 20 years. The restaurant's property has been sold and will be put up for lease to a new tenant, according to the announcement. Still, a glimmer of hope remains for the restaurant's fans.

"After over two decades of memories, shuttering Divino will be bittersweet, however, it provides us an opportunity for a fresh start in a new space," the post reads. "Change can be a challenge, but we hope our customers will find this an exciting one."

Led by the restaurant's chef, sommelier, and owner Patrick McCray, Divino has been a Montrose neighborhood staple. Area residents could count on it for classic Italian fare such as housemade pastas, veal scallopini, and seafood dishes.

Beyond the food, the restaurant's all-Italian wine list made it a destination for oenophiles. Five years ago, that expertise in wine led McCray to open Vinology, a boutique wine shop and wine bar near Rice Village.

Divino is only the latest Montrose staple to announce it will have a new home. The Chocolate Bar will also close this weekend in advance of a relocation. Fellow wine bar and restaurant Avondale Food & Wine closed earlier this week with plans to reopen in the fall. Neither the Chocolate Bar nor Avondale have revealed their new locations.

CultureMap has contacted McCray to request more information about Divino's future. We will update this article when we receive a reply.

closings

crawfish season is here

Essential Houston crawfish joint heads to Beaumont for new location

Photo by Paulina Olague

BB's Tex-Orleans is bringing its boiled seafood to Beaumont.

One of Houston’s favorite destinations for crawfish is heading east. BB’s Tex-Orleans will open 12th location in Beaumont.

Slated to open in April, BB’s will occupy the former home of The Park on Calder (2325 Calder Avenue). With 3,200 square feet inside and a massive, 5,000-square-foot patio, BB’s will seat 70 people inside and 175 people outdoors. The patio has enough space for a children’s play area and a 225-inch outdoor screen for showing the day’s games.

“At BB’s, we like to say that our culture is making Maw Maw, my grandmother, proud,” founder and CEO Brooks Bassler said in a statement. “So many of our recipes are inspired by Maw Maw’s cooking, but even more than the great food, it’s a way of living: family, hard work, fairness. Maw Maw was born in Winnie, and her sister still lives there, so BB’s roots actually start in the Golden Triangle. Finally opening a location in Beaumont feels like coming home.”

The menu will feature all of the dishes that have made BB’s a go-to for Cajun fare. That starts will boiled seafood, including crawfish, shrimp, and crab legs — all of which can be enhanced with Prasek’s smoked garlic sausage, alligator andouille sausage, corn, button mushrooms, red potatoes, and BB’s “Monsta Greens.”

Diners also turn to the restaurant for po’ boys, such as the Bedtime in the Bayou (fried shrimp) and the South Texas Fire Po’boy (marinated outside skirt steak topped with melted pepper jack cheese, avocado, sautéed peppers, and onions, topped with a spicy pepper cheese sauce).

Here’s founder Brooks Bassler with a Bedtime in the Bayou.

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Founded in 2007 in Montrose as a late night po’ boy destination, BB’s has grown across the Houston area. BB’s Cajun Cantina in San Antonio adds Tex-Mex flavors to the mix.

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