Foodie News
New over-the-top Houston steakhouse sees its general manager leave just days after opening
CultureMap has learned that general manager Tim Kohler and beverage director Rachel Roberts Kohler have both abruptly left the new steak and seafood restaurant Mr. Peeples just days after it opened.
Considering Mr. Peeples' owner Landmark Hospitality Group defended Kohler against a lawsuit from his previous employer Landry's Restaurants that charged Kohler violated a non-compete agreement and kept him on through the restaurant's launch last week, the news that he's gone is highly surprising. Kohler insists that everything is fine though and any thoughts of impending doom for Mr. Peeples are misguided.
"You can't blame Lucky for dreaming big. It's ballsy, but it's great."
Kohler tells CultureMap he has accepted an "executive position" within the Gringo's Mexican Kitchen group and will be helping that company open several new locations.
As for the timing, Kohler says that Landmark owner Lucky Chopra "Sought me out to get it open. I pushed it through and got it open. I put together a culinary team and now I'm moving on . . . I want nothing but success for those guys."
Kohler is baffled by the way people have reacted negatively to Mr. Peeples' 1980s-style interior. "You can't blame Lucky for dreaming big. It's ballsy, but it's great," Kohler says.
As to where Mr. Peeples goes from here, Kohler reveals that former Reef/Stella Sola manager Bronwyn Noyes is the restaurant's new GM.
