Little Big's to Close
Slider joint set to close soon, but hopes to live again as neighborhood gathering spot
The rising cost of real estate has brought an end to another Houston restaurant — at least temporarily. Little Bigs, Reef chef-owner Bryan Caswell's slider joint, will close at the end of September.
According to Bryan's wife Jennifer Caswell, the restaurant and its landlord couldn't come to terms on a lease rate for the space that Little Bigs occupies in the Chelsea Market complex. That means diners only have a couple more weeks to get their fill of Little Bigs' signature sliders, crispy fries, and boozy milkshakes. Some Little Bigs employees are being offered jobs at Caswell's other restaurants, including El Real.
However, the closing doesn't mean Little Bigs is gone for good. The couple are currently on the hunt for a new home for Little Bigs and have looked at options in both Montrose, the Heights, and Tanglewood. Jennifer Caswell tells CultureMap that she wants any future location to recapture the family-friendly atmosphere and focused menu of Little Bigs' original location in Montrose, which is now home to The Burger Joint.
"We'll be pairing back the menu a bit. It's lost its original vision as serving sliders, fries, shakes, and booze," Caswell says. "We're really focusing on areas like the Heights that are a (place where) people eat in the neighborhood and they want to see their friends at the restaurants."
Meanwhile, Oxbow 7, the Caswells' new restaurant in the Le Meridien hotel downtown, is almost ready to open. Unfortunately, Hoggbirds, Oxbow's companion rooftop bar, will be delayed a couple weeks, but the restaurant will be ready.
"We open on Wednesday (September 20), officially," Caswell says. "That's it, and I'm sticking to it."
Chef Christina Au won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2022 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.
Courtesy of Blacksmith