Paris is Sweet

Parisian-inspired crepe cafe plants stylish flag in Highland Village

Sweet Paris Crêperie & Cafe quietly opened its new flagship store in Highland Village on Saturday, December 8. While the menu may match the cafe’s other locations in Rice Village, CityCentre, Katy, and College Station, it represents a major step up in terms of design.

Husband-and-wife co-founders Allison and Ivan Chavez worked with New York-based architecture and design firm the Rockwell Group to make the newest Sweet Paris stand out. With marble-pattern table tops, leather banquettes, and two chandeliers, the space looks far more luxurious than a typical fast casual restaurant. The new location also features a partially-covered patio and a semi-private room designed to accommodate bridal parties, baby showers, and the like.

Stepping up the design seemed appropriate, not just to distinguish the flagship from its corporate siblings, but also to fit in with the other occupants of Highland Village. Sweet Paris occupies a space that had previously belonged to Kate Spade and is across Drexel Dr from recently-shuttered steakhouse Smith & Wollensky.

“I’m from Houston, and so Highland Village has always been a staple place that everyone comes,” Allison Chavez tells CultureMap. “We were excited for the opportunity to come here. Obviously, it’s changed so much over the years. There’s all these international brands. That they wanted to bring in some local flavor was really cool.”

Opening Highland Village continues a busy year for the fast-growing restaurant. A Katy location in the LaCenterra development opened in April, and a College Station outpost in real estate developer Midway’s Century Square project arrived in July. In 2019, the cafe will add Houston-area locations in The Woodlands and Baybrook before expanding to San Antonio. The owners have even more ambitious plans for the future.

“If you ask my husband, he sees Tokyo, Dubai. He’s in the resort development business. He sees us going all over the world. I’m a little more practical about the approach,” Chavez says. “Going forward, we feel like Southern California and Southern Florida, we feel like those demographics align with Houston in some ways. That would be the goal. I’m thinking of a five year plan.”

Why not? As the restaurant’s success demonstrates, everyone loves crepes. Inspired by Ivan Chavez’s trips to Paris, the cafe serves both traditional combinations like ham and cheese and nutella and fruit, as well as riffs like chicken enchilada and the Le Californian (turkey, pepper jack, avocado, bacon, etc). Waffles, salads, and milkshakes round out the menu by giving people non-crepe options. As Allison Chavez says, generous portions aim to satiate the hungry Houstonians who have embraced the concept for breakfast, lunch, and even date night.

“At the end of the day, we’re still a fast casual restaurant,” Chavez says. “Our price point, everything is $10.95 or under. It’s not a fine dining restaurant, but we’re trying to create an aspirational experience.”

With a stylish design and a proven, crowd-pleasing menu, finding people who want a little of the Sweet Paris experience after a trip to Crate & Barrel or the Apple store shouldn’t be a problem.

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Sweet Paris Crêperie & Cafe; 2701 Drexel Dr.; 346-867-1157; Sunday through Thursday 8 am to 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 8 am to 11 pm

A look inside the new Sweet Paris in Highland Village.

Sweet Paris Creperie Highland Village interior

Photo by Shannon O’Hara

A look inside the new Sweet Paris in Highland Village.

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they're back

2 treasured Houston Mexican restaurants reopen after brief closures

Courtesy of Picos

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Two staple Houston-area Mexican restaurants are making comebacks after brief closures. Picos has already returned to service, while El Tiempo Cantina’s Webster location isn’t far behind.

After closing its Upper Kirby location on August 30, Picos reopened Saturday, September 12 in the former Cyclone Anaya’s space in River Oaks (3736 Westheimer Rd.). The move is only about two miles from Picos’ former home at Kirby and Richmond.

Chef-owner Arnaldo Richards partnered with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group to transform the space into Picos. It allows Richards to preserve Picos, which opened on Bellaire Blvd. in 1984 and operated on Kirby Dr. for 12 years. Last year, Richards announced Picos would close due to declining sales but later stated his intentions to find a new, slightly smaller home for the restaurant. That dream was realized via a “last-minute agreement” with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group according to press materials.

“After spending the past year searching for a new home, it truly feels like the stars aligned,” Richards said in a statement. “We were willing to do anything we could to keep Picos, and we finally found the right space for this next-generation evolution of Picos.”

Picos Westheimer River Oaks interior The new Picos features an indoor-outdoor bar.Photo by Becca Wright

At over 6,000 square feet, the new Picos still offers a spacious environment that includes an indoor-outdoor bar. It will serve the same menu as the prior locations, including fan favorites such as moles from all seven regions on Mexico, enchiladas, and the signature shaker margaritas.

“As native Houstonians, we understand what Picos means to this city and the generations of Houstonians who have supported the restaurant for more than 40 years,” said Usman Dhanani of The Dhanani Group, which still operates five other locations of Cyclone Anaya’s across Houston. “We’re excited to partner with Arnaldo and his family to carry the Picos tradition forward and ensure that a restaurant so deeply rooted in Houston remains part of the city’s dining community for years to come.”

The Houston Chronicle was first to report that Picos had reopened.

El Tiempo Cantina Post Houston El Tiempo is returning to Webster. Courtesy of El Tiempo Cantina

As for El Tiempo, franchisee Liquid Gold Hospitality surprised Bay Area diners when it abruptly closed the location at 20237 Gulf Fwy at the end of August. In a Facebook post, El Tiempo announced the location will reopen under direct management of the Laurenzo family, which founded El Tiempo and operates most of its other locations.

Notably, the post did not specify an opening date, merely that the restaurant is “reopening soon.”

El Tiempo’s Webster location opened at the end of 2017 after significant delays, including a lawsuit between the Laurenzo family and Liquid Gold. Overall, Houston is home to 18 locations of El Tiempo, with its outpost at The Post in downtown Houston being the most recent to open.

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