Dish Society Six

Farm-to-table neighborhood cafe rolls into new development at old Bellaire bowling alley

One of the Houston area's fastest growing farm to table restaurants has plans to open a sixth location. Dish Society will open its third Inner Loop outpost at the new Southside Commons mixed-use development, the restaurant announced.

Slated to open next fall, the new Dish Society will occupy 3,600-square-feet and offer seating for 100 inside and 50 on its patio. Like both the Memorial Green and Heights locations, owner Aaron Lyons has retained local designer Gin Braverman of Gin Designs Group to create the interior.

"Southside Commons is very family-friendly yet elevated and cutting edge, which is why I was drawn to this project. Having like-minded neighbors that attract the same type of guests as co-tenants is very important to me,” Lyons said in a statement.

First opened in Tanglewood in 2014, Dish Society currently has locations in Katy, Memorial, The Heights, and in downtown food hall Finn Hall. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant mixes a core menu of comfort food with rotating seasonal specials. It sources approximately 75-percent of its ingredients from Texas.

“I think there’s a need for what we offer because, outside of Rice Village, there aren’t many options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Lyons added. "We send a lot of delivery that way, so there are probably people in the area whose only experience with Dish Society has been out of a paper bag. It will be nice to give them their own dine-in experience.”

Developed by local firm Triple Crown Investments, Southside Commons will transform the former Palace Lanes building at 4191 Bellaire Blvd. The property will feature medical offices, including one affiliated with Methodist Hospital, as well as Palace Social, a new bar and bowling alley that will maintain the property's historic legacy.

“Houston Methodist carries a reputation for being an outstanding health care organization, and its spacious new location at Southside Commons will provide easier access to some of the best physicians in the city,” John Morton, managing partner of Triple Crown Investments, said in a release. “We are excited to also welcome another hyper-localized concept to our tenant mix. Dish Society has struck a chord with Houstonians at each of their locations, and I have no doubt that Southside Commons will be any different.”

Dish Society is growing again.

Photo by Jeff Solomon

Dish Society is growing again.

openings

an offer he couldn't refuse

Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

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Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

“Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

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