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    White Elm sprouts

    Houston's 'bread man' rises with exciting new restaurant and bakery

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 23, 2019 | 4:00 pm

    Houston’s bread man keeps rising. Over the course of two years, Tasos Katsaounis has turned Bread Man Baking Company from a side hustle into a rapidly growing small business that provides artisan bread to many of Houston’s top restaurants as well as several locations of Whole Foods Market.

    Now, Katsaounis is getting into the restaurant business. He’s partnered with Chico Ramirez, formerly of Field & Tides, and Chez Nous owners Scott Simonson and Stacy Crowe-Simonson to open White Elm Cafe Bakery.

    Slated to open in January 2020 in a former location of The Egg & I at 14079 Memorial Dr., White Elm will feature a bread and pastry program developed by Katsaounis and Bread Man baker Desirae Vasquez alongside a savory, French-influenced menu created by Crowe-Simonson. Ramirez, who sold his ownership stake in Field & Tides in June, will manage the cafe day-to-day as its operating partner.

    “He had known it was an interest of mine to do something from a retail perspective,” Katsaounis says about Ramirez. “I think the stars just aligned and the timing was right.”

    With their partnership established, Ramirez recruited the Simonsons to join. As he explains, he’s been eating at Chez Nous for decades and admires the Humble restaurant’s status as a beloved institution where people go to celebrate special occasions. The structure of White Elm allows the couple to become involved in another restaurant without having to take time away from Chez Nous.

    Katsaounis didn’t use the term “dream team” to describe the project, but it’s certainly a veteran crew that’s earned a laudable reputation for executing at a high level. That confidence shows itself in the cafe's name; "White Elm" is the street in Dallas where he grew up and learned to bake bread from his mother.

    “If you’ve got a good solid product that’s doing well in the market and you’ve got other people with talent on the savory side, you put those together with Chico who’s been operating in this market for years and had success,” Katsaounis says. “To us, it was a good equation for everything you need for a successful concept.”

    Although the menu is still under development, Simonson-Crowe, Chez Nous’ executive chef, describes it as French-Mediterranean influenced with a focus on comfort food. Locally-sourced, seasonal produce will feature prominently in the dishes. As at Chez Nous, all dishes will be made from scratch.

    On the pastry side, expect breads made with heirloom and artisan grains such as those sourced from Barton Springs Mill. In addition, the cafe will serve croissants, Danish, and other items Bread Man typically features at its stand at the weekly Urban Harvest farmers market.

    Scott Simonson also promises service in line with what diners have come to expect from Chez Nous.

    “The customer service we’re going to bring to this place, too, not just food knowledge but the feel that you get when you come in,” he says. “It’s a better feel when people actually give a shit, because they love what’s happening.”

    According to Ramirez, part of the location’s appeal is that the neighborhood seems relatively underserved for this kind of casual cafe. If White Elm takes off, more locations could follow.

    “This is something we think has legs,” Ramirez says. “It’s something we all enjoy. Who doesn’t like the best bread in the world?”

    Bread Man's country sourdough.

    Bread Man Baking Company Country sourdough
      
    Photo by BrandTree Media
    Bread Man's country sourdough.
    news-you-can-eatopenings
    news/restaurants-bars

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    Immersive, speakeasy-style tiki bar brings the underworld to Montrose

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 24, 2025 | 6:00 am
    Endless Bummer tiki bar
    Photo by Sergio Trevino
    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

    This year has already been a good one for Houstonians who enjoy well made cocktails, as new bars such as Starduster Lounge, The Kid, and Augustine Lounge have given the city some intriguing new drinking dens. Other recent openings, ranging from Brennan’s refreshed bar to Latin American-inspired Botonica, demonstrate that the trend won’t be slowing down any time soon.

    Add veteran Houston restaurateur Chris Cusack to the list. Known as a co-founder of the late, lamented Heights restaurant Down House and for his intergalactic pizza and cocktail spot Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, Cusack is preparing to unleash a speakeasy-style, immersive tiki bar on Montrose.

    Called Endless Bummer, it’s currently in a quiet soft opening ahead of a grand opening on Wednesday. July 2. Cusack collaborated with Houston artist Brian Dibala (aka Neon Thrash) to transform a 700-square-foot room at Betelgeuse’s Montrose location into a 50-person space that’s equally inspired by tropical destinations and purgatory.

    “Our original thought was along the lines of, ‘How can we make this special?’ and ‘What unique experience can we create that will be unlike other places in Houston?” Cusack said in a statement. “I had known Brian a little bit from mutual friends, his work at Meow Wolf, and a design project we worked on several years before. I reached out and it was really an instant click where our ideas lined up and he really took it from there.”

    Fittingly for an experiential bar, patrons enter through an unmarked entrance that’s accessed by using a code they’ll receive when booking a reservation on Resy (limited walk-ins are also available). Once inside, people will sit at either one of the cozy booths or the 10-seat bar. Either way, they’ll be surrounded by vignettes and other artifacts curated by Dibala. Just like Meow Wolf, the room has a few easter eggs for those will to explore.

    “I was so lucky to get a chance to bring one of my dream bars to life, and even luckier to get to include several other Houston artists to really make it magical,” Diabala added. “Houston is having a big art moment and hopefully, with this project, we're able to show people what the artists in this city are capable of creating.”

    Just as the decor is anything but traditional, Endless Bummer puts its own spin on familiar tiki drinks and other classic cocktails. The drinks have a strong emphasis on presentation, as in the Pistachio Mai Tai, which is flamed tableside, or the Silver Surfer, which has a LED light dropped in that sparkles like a star (please don’t drink it). Other options include a Brown Butter Rum Old Fashioned and the This Sunset Should be Illegal, a mezcal-based riff on the Tequila Sunrise.

    Endless Bummer will be open from 5 pm-12 am Wednesday through Saturday. As noted above, reservations are recommended but not required.

    Endless Bummer tiki bar
      

    Photo by Sergio Trevino

    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

    openingsendless bummer tiki barnightlifecocktails
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