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    What's Eric Eating Episode 220

    Inside CityCentre's eclectic new gathering spot, plus high-style Italian in The Heights

    CultureMap Staff
    Dec 9, 2021 | 1:05 pm

    On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Aaron Lyons and chef Brandi Key join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss Daily Gather. Scheduled to open in late December or early January in CityCentre, Daily Gather will be an eclectic restaurant designed to service a diverse array of needs.

     

     

     

    The conversation begins with Key discussing her decision to join Five 12 Restaurant Concepts, the company behind Daily Gather and Dish Society. Lyons, Five 12's founder and CEO, explains why Key was the right fit for the job.

     

    From there, Lyons and Key dive into all aspects of Daily Gather, including the overall concept, menu format, and design details. Slotting between a fast casual restaurant like Dish Society and some of CityCentre's more fine dining options like Capital Grille, Daily Gather aims to be flexible enough to serve as a lunch and happy hour for area office workers as well as a family-friendly option that will include a kid's menu.

     

    Lyons also provides an update on his plans to grow Dish Society beyond its six Houston-area outposts. Revealing that he recently returned from a trip to Austin to scout for locations, he predicts it will debut in a new Texas city sometime in 2022.

     

    Finally, Sandler asks Key about the current state of the restaurant industry. The chef, who will need to hire Daily Gather's staff, sees opportunity coming out of the pandemic.

     
     

    One of the things I keep reminding myself is that people who are applying for jobs who want to come into the industry, all of these people have a true desire to be in this spot. Maybe their perspective isn't what I've looked for in the past. I've had people come in, maybe they don't have the experience to be an amazing line cook, but they have a skillset from another job. We'll teach you how to be a line cook. I think there's a lot of potential in how we treat out staff, how we develop people, and how we gain passion back. The people who are in it right now, I just find it so refreshing.

     

     

    Prior to the interview, Sandler and co-host Linda Salinas discuss the news of the week. Their topics include the two exciting restaurants coming to the Blossom Hotel in the Medical Center; Mala Sichuan opening a new location in the M-K-T mixed-use development; and Goode Company's plans to swap barbecue for seafood in The Woodlands.

     

    In the restaurant of the week segment, they discuss a recent meal at Trattoria Sofia. Tune in to hear their thoughts ono Ben Berg's high-style Italian restaurant that just opened in The Heights.

     

    -----

     

     Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Listen to it Saturday at 1 pm on ESPN 97.5.

    Aaron Lyons, second from left, and Brandi Key are this week's guests.

    Daily Gather Trent Patterson Aaron Lyons Brandi Key
      
    Photo by Kimberly Park
    Aaron Lyons, second from left, and Brandi Key are this week's guests.
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    Ready. Set. Go.

    Exclusive: New cocktail bar from Houston hospitality stars coming to the Heights

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 2, 2025 | 12:25 pm
    Bobby Heugel Jacki Schromm Ready Room
    Courtesy of Thorough Fare
    Bobby Heugel and Jacki Schromm are opening a new bar in the former Ready Room space.

    The Heights’ growing bar scene will soon welcome a new addition with serious cocktail cred. Anvil owner Bobby Heugel has partnered with bartender Jacki Schromm to open a new cocktail bar in the former Ready Room space (2626 White Oak Drive) in the Heights, the duo tell CultureMap.

    Slated to open in the fall, the still-unnamed cocktail bar will be the latest project from Thorough Fare, the hospitality company Heugel operates in partnership with James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu. The group’s portfolio also includes Heights restaurants Squable and Better Luck Tomorrow; cocktail bars Anvil and Refuge; neighborhood bars Catbirds and Blue Lagoon Club; and Theodore Rex, Yu’s fine dining restaurant in downtown that earned a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide.

    The new bar will also be Heugel’s first new concept since opening Refuge in 2022. However, since Refuge evolved out of Tongue-cut Sparrow, Heugel’s Japanese-inspired cocktail bar, it retained certain elements from its predecessor. The new project aims to bring a fresh perspective to Houston’s cocktail scene.

     Bobby Heugel Jacki Schromm Ready Room The new bar is expected to open this fall.Courtesy of Thorough Fare

    “While I love Refuge and still think it’s one of the best bars we’ve ever done, it was a continuation of some disjointed history,” Heugel says. “It’s exciting to do a cocktail bar where we get to talk about a fresh concept, fresh ideas — really update those ideas for where the scene is at today.”

    Partnering with Schromm is a key source of those new ideas, Heugel explains. Since moving to Houston from Boston in 2019, she worked with Heugel at both Better Luck Tomorrow and Anvil. Currently, she’s the general manager of Reserve 101, the downtown cocktail bar known for its extensive whiskey selection, knowledgeable staff, and extensive inventory of vintage spirits. Schromm describes Heugel’s invitation to partner with him as “a shock in the most delightful way.”

    “I think it’s every bartender’s dream — when you’ve worked in X amount of spaces with X amount of owners — you start to think, I could do this,” she says. “I thought that was still five-plus years away. We’re jumping into it maybe a little sooner than what my goals were, but it’s incredibly exciting.”

    First opened by restaurateur Ken Bridge in 2018, the Ready Room distinguished itself with its intimate atmosphere, vintage decor, and live music. Permission Whiskey owner Peter Nolan took over operating the bar in 2023. The bar closed last year when Bridge shuttered his Korean restaurant Mapojeong, ending his lease on the property that also includes Ready Room. Neither Heugel nor Schromm are ready to share specifics about the bar’s concept, but Schromm promises it will be a welcome addition to the Heights.

    “What this cocktail bar will become is something that we don’t have in the Heights yet,” she says. “I think it will be a really fun and exciting addition to the Heights community.”

    Schromm has about a month left at Reserve 101 before she devotes her full attention to the new bar. She’s eager to make a splash in a neighborhood that’s recently welcomed new additions like Starduster Lounge and The Kid — and she recognizes how meaningful it is to work with a partner who has a track record as solid as Heugel’s.

    “It does not sit lightly with me. This is an incredible opportunity,” Schromm says. “I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling from the moment that we talked about it. It’s a really rewarding feeling to be recognized like that. Just feeling really blessed and grateful.”

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