temporary covid closures

Running list of Houston restaurants and bars temporarily closed due to latest COVID outbreak

Restaurants across Houston are temporarily closed due to Covid outbreaks.

Photo by Claudia Casbarian

Over the weekend, a number of Houston restaurants announced temporary closures due to outbreaks of COVID-19 among their employees.

Temporary closures had been a part of the early days of the pandemic, but they waned as more people became vaccinated and businesses followed CDC guidelines regarding quarantines and testing. Sadly, the Omicron variant — currently responsible for over 80 percent of new cases in Houston — has triggered breakthrough infections, as demonstrated by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s announcement that he’d be quarantining after testing positive on Friday.

Conversations with some employees of affected establishments reveal mostly good news for the people involved; thankfully, their symptoms are relatively mild. Most restaurants are so short staffed that losing even a couple of key employees degrades a business’ ability to operate properly.

While the closures have only lasted for a few days at any individual establishment, the timing almost couldn’t be worse. Restaurants rely on revenues from the busy holiday season to sustain them during the traditionally slower months of January and February. Employees need to earn money for everything from Christmas gifts to January living expenses like rent and groceries.

CultureMap will update this list as necessary over the next few days. Customers should also keep an eye on a restaurant’s social media pages for the latest updates.

Acme Oyster House - Temporarily closed Monday, December 20 through Wednesday, December 22.
Angel Share HTX - Temporarily closed beginning Saturday, December 18. Reopened Monday, December 20.
Awesome Bites Co. - Closed from Wednesday, December 29 until Wednesday, January 5.
The Bearded Baker - Closed from Tuesday, December 28 until Wednesday, January 5.
Better Luck Tomorrow - Closed from Tuesday, December 21 until Tuesday, December 28. Reopens Wednesday, December 29 with limited hours of 3:30 pm to 12 am through Sunday, January 2.
Brasil - Reopened Monday, December 20.
Caracol - Closed until further notice beginning Monday, December 27.
Dandelion Cafe - Closed Friday, December 17. Plans to reopen Monday, December 27.
Davis St. at Hermann Park - Closed from Tuesday, December 21 until Tuesday, December 28. Reopened Wednesday, December 29.
Double Trouble - Closed until Wednesday, December 22.
Hughie's - Both locations open for patio dining and to-go effective Monday, December 27.
Hugo's - Closed until further notice beginning Monday, December 27.
J-Bar-M Barbecue - Closed until Tuesday, December 28. Will fulfill existing holiday pre-orders.
Johnny's Gold Brick - Closed until further notice beginning Sunday, December 26.
La Table - Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, December 28 and 29.
Lei Low - Open for to-go only from Tuesday, December 28 until Friday, December, 31. Reopens for dine-in on Tuesday, January 4.
March - Closed Tuesday, December 28 through Thursday, December 30.
Nancy's Hustle - Closed Tuesday, December 28 and Wednesday, December 29.
93 'Til - Closed from Thursday, December 23 until Monday, December 27. Reopened Tuesday, December 28.
Nobie’s - Closed until Tuesday, December 28.
Pearl Bar - Closed until further notice beginning Saturday, December 18.
Relish Restaurant & Bar - To-go only through Wednesday, December 22. Closed December 23-26. Reopened Monday, December 27.
Roots Wine Bar - Open for retail wine sales only through Sunday, December 26.
Rosalie Italian Soul - Closed from Tuesday, December 28 until Wednesday, January 5.
Rosewater Clear Lake - Closed until further notice beginning Tuesday, December 21.
Squable - Closed from Friday, December 17 until Monday, December 27. Reopened Tuesday, December 28.
Tea + Victory - Closed from Monday, December 27 until Sunday, January 2.
Tiny Champions - Closed for dine-in beginning Friday, December 18. Resumes full service Tuesday, December 21.
Underbelly Hospitality - All restaurants closed through Tuesday, December 21.
Urbe - Closed from Monday, December 27 through Wednesday, December 29. Reopened for lunch service on Thursday, December 30.
Winnie's - Operating with reduced hours of 4 pm - midnight until further notice. Closed Christmas Eve.
Xochi - Closed until further notice beginning Monday, December 27.

news-you-can-eat

the more things change

Houston's essential Jewish diner looks better than ever after refresh

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

It’s tricky to renovate a restaurant that’s as essential to its community as New York Deli. A staple of Houston’s Jewish community for almost 50 years, the tiny restaurant near Meyerland will serve as many as 400 people during a busy Sunday brunch.

Still, the time had come, as the tape on the deteriorating banquettes and peeling wallpaper illustrated. With the restaurant’s lease up for renewal, co-owner Michael Saghian saw an opportunity for some updates.

“I couldn’t be the new guy who ruined the place by moving it,” he tells CultureMap. “We worked out a deal with the landlord [to stay] and did a big refresh.”

The most noticeable change is the removal of the restaurant’s front door and vestibule. Instead, diners enter through the restaurant’s companion bagel shop. Separate entrances made sense when the bagel shop was certified kosher by local religious authorities, but now that designation only applies to the Bellaire location that opened in 2020. Not only is the new setup easier for people with mobility issues to navigate, it allows more light into the dining room, brightening the place considerably..

Saghian and co-owner Riana Sherman worked with interior designer Erin Hicks on the refresh. Tables, chairs, and banquettes are all new, but the color scheme remains the same. The process yielded 10 more seats, and the furniture is a little more durable, too.

“People have flipped chairs because they’re so lightweight,” Sherman says. “We got a sturdier chair.”

Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen allows for the restaurant’s cooks to work faster and more efficiently. An additional egg cooker should cut down the amount of time people wait for their food to arrive.

“The kitchen had one of everything. Now we have two of everything. We can pump out a lot more food,” Saghian says.

Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers such as the “bagel girls,” a group of woman who’ve eaten breakfast at the restaurant since the ‘80s. A piece of old wallpaper has been framed and hung on the wall, too, as a nod to the space’s history.

New York Deli interior changes Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers.Photo by Sergio Trevino

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

Saghian says he suffered from sleepless nights as he worried about people’s reactions to the changes, but so far his customers have been effusive.

“It still feels like an old school diner,” Saghian says. “It has pieces you remember. Even the new stuff is old school.”

While the physical environment is new, the staff remains the same. To ensure he kept the same team of cooks and servers, Saghian paid their wages for the two weeks the restaurant was closed for renovations.

Even more importantly, the prices are the same. That’s something that will make even the oldest regulars happy.

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