Food Hall Bonanza

Houston food hall gurus expanding to EaDo, Midtown, The Heights, and Galleria in 2020

Prohibition and Conservatory are coming to EaDo.

Rendering by Loe Ortega Architecture, PLLC

The company behind downtown Houston’s first food hall has an ambitious slate of projects lined up for 2020. The Company of Nomads, the organization behind food halls Conservatory and Bravery Chef Hall, will open three new venues and relocate a fourth.

In a letter to the company’s investors, co-owner Anh Mai outlined the plans he’s developed with his partners, Lian Pham and Shepard Ross, that will give the Company of Nomads a presence in four of Houston’s most popular neighborhoods: downtown, EaDo, near The Heights, and near the Galleria. In chronological order, they are:

Close the current location of Prohibition and Conservatory and relocate both concepts to the space in EaDo currently occupied by Chapman and Kirby
Open Railway Heights Market, a previously-announced project at the northern end of Washington Avenue in Lazybrook/Timbergrove
Open Conservatory 2 in the space once occupied by Galleria-area nightclub The Roxy
Open Hawker Asian Night Market in the former Greensheet building in Midtown

Both Conservatory and Prohibition will close after service on December 31, Mai tells CultureMap, as will Chapman & Kirby. Performances by the Midnight Dolls burlesque troupe will begin in Prohibition’s new home in EaDo within approximately two weeks. Mai estimates that Conservatory will reopen in late March or early April — depending on how long it takes to build the vendor booths — with the “full” version of Prohibition, including an all-new rooftop bar, to follow shortly thereafter.

The decision to relocate Conservatory and Prohibition stems from challenges with the current location — specifically the physical condition of the building and increased competition from other food halls in downtown — as well as the lure of the opportunity to be part of EaDo’s bustling nightlife district, Mai says. He sees an opportunity for Conservatory to become a popular dining destination both before and after people visit other establishments in the area such as Truck Yard, Pitch 25, and 8th Wonder Brewery.

From there, the Company of Nomads will turn its attention to Railway Heights Market. Construction is moving quickly on the 40,000-square-foot venue, which will eventually include a grocery store, a farmers market, a wine bar, a beer garden, a dog park, and 50 vendors selling both retail items and food. While specific vendors for the restaurant and retail spaces haven’t been announced, the grocery store will have sustainable offerings including hydroponic and “ugly” produce.

Conservatory 2 is scheduled to open in September at 5353 West Alabama, which is the same Galleria-area office building that will also be home to a second location of burger-chan and South Korean coffee shop Tom N Toms. The 12,000-square foot space will feature 11 food vendors and three bars.

Finally, the Hawker Asian Night Market is intended to expand the number of Asian-style establishments in Midtown, which is already home to a number of full service restaurants that serve cuisines from different Asian countries, including Jinya Ramen, Pho Saigon, One Dim Sum, Japanese barbecue restaurant Gyu Kaku, and Chinese barbecue restaurant Siu Lap City. The 11 vendors at the Hawker Market will include both “rooftop dim sum” and “a shanty bar alley.”

1-800-Lucky, an Asian food hall from Miami, will also open in the neighborhood at the former site of Celtic Gardens/Irish Cowboy. Mai says he’s aware of that project, but is confident that the Company of Nomad’s experience in the marketplace will allow them to distinguish Hawker Market from its competition.

All of these additions will mean that the Company of Nomads has worked with some of the city's most successful real estate developers, including Hines (Bravery), Ancorian (Conservatory), and Braun Enterprises (Conservatory 2). Inevitably, Houstonians will have to decide for themselves which of the city's food halls become dining staples and which fade away, but the Nomads seem particularly well-positioned to capitalize on the growing trend.

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bring on the Bacalhau

Michelin-starred Houston restaurant heads to Portugal for new season

Photo by Zach Horst

No conversation about Houston’s best restaurants would be complete without mentioning March, Goodnight Hospitality’s Mediterranean-inspired, fine dining, tasting menu restaurant in Montrose.

For its 12th season, which begins this Friday, August 7, March will take a broad look at Portugal. Over the course of pre-dinner snacks in its lounge, seven courses in its dining room, and take away desserts, chef-partner Felipe Riccio and his team will guide diners through all aspects of Portuguese cuisine, including its trade routes with China, India, and North Africa.

Riccio tells CultureMap that Portugal was the logical follow up to March’s 11th season, which examined northern Spain. He began the research process a few months ago, drawing upon published literature, cookbooks, and his own experiences as a stage at a restaurant in Lisbon. More than a menu update, seasons at March also include changes to the beverage offerings and creating service touches that enhance the experience.

Photo by Zach Horst

Rabbit cozido.

“Portugal is so close geographically to the north of Spain, and there’s a lot of similarities,” he says. “The menu really explores a lot of places outside of the Mediterranean where the Portuguese had influence and were influenced by. It’s all these trade routes.”

Priced at $230 plus drinks, tax, and gratuity, a meal at March begins in the lounge with four snacks, including a peri peri-spiced duck rillette, a delicate tart with lobster and caviar, a tempura-fried fish (peixinhos da horta) and the Macau-inspired porcho balichao made with manilla clams.

As always, March brings premium ingredients to its take on classic dishes. For example, it sources Japanese Almaco Jack for a crudo that’s inspired by Portuguese salt cod (bacalahua). Cozido, a slow-cooked stew that’s a staple of Portuguese cooking, gets reinterpreted as a house made rabbit sauce with foie gras. Riccio acknowledges that diners expect a certain level of luxury at this price point, but diners may not always realize how valuable properly-sourced ingredients are.

“I don’t think it always has to be so overt. I think the majority of people, the experience as a whole delivers that value,” Riccio says.

Similarly, the Portugal menu continues March’s move to a set, seven-course menu instead of giving diners the choice of either six or nine courses. Riccio see that as another sign of the restaurant’s maturity.

“A tasting menu is restrictive. We needed to earn that trust and give people options. I felt like people trust us and we’ve proved we can create an experience,” he says.

Since part of the criteria for a Michelin star is consistency across visits, March’s ability to hold its star while still changing its menu twice a year is a testament to the kitchen’s skill. Add in the server’s deep knowledge of every dish on the menu, its comprehensive beverage offerings, and a dining room that features museum- quality art, and it’s reasonable to think that March might become Texas’ first restaurant to earn a two-star rating. For his part, Riccio would welcome the recognition.

“I think March as an entire experience, as a restaurant day-in and day-out, we can be at that level. We strive to give people that experience to where they have that menu and feel it’s well worth it,” he says. “That recognition. I’ve seen what it means for the team, for the guests, and for the validation of the experience, and, obviously, for my career and the restaurant as a business.”

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