food news roundup
4 Houston restaurant closings to know: Doughnuts, schnitzel, and Dogwood
The Dogwood is closing this Sunday, July 5.
This year’s refrain of bar and restaurant closings continues this week, as three more establishments have either announced their final dates of service or quietly shuttered. These announcement follow other recent closures, including Southern-inspired restaurant Killen’s, which is closing July 19, and Mexican staple Picos, which will serve its final meals on August 30.
Here are four more closings to know about this week.
Blue Tuba
The Heights restaurant known for its Eastern European cuisine closed after service on Saturday, June 27, musician David DaLuca shared on Instagram. Opened in the spring of 2024, owners Vlado Kolenic and Giga Leszayova created Blue Tuba after operating a restaurant in New York. Kolenic, a former professional musician (that’s him playing bass on ‘80s classic “Somebody’s Watching Me”) divided his time between the kitchen and the restaurant’s stage, where he’d perform any number of classic hits. Its menu included European specialities rarely seen on Houston menus, such as Hungarian goulash, schnitzel, and chicken paprikash.
The Dogwood
The lively Midtown patio bar will close on Sunday, July 5, according to a post on Instagram. Open since April 2013, the Austin-based concept drew patrons thanks to its indoor-outdoor format and the views from its second story.
Co-owner Jason Carrier paid tribute to the establishment with his own Instagram post, writing in part: “Admittedly, I held on too tight for too long and I’m personally paying the price for that. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. Opening our Dogwood in Houston allowed me to get back to my roots and was a place where my extended family and I had a place we could all connect regularly. I’m so fortunate and lucky that the Astros’ success mirrored Dogwood’s success for those years and Christina was cool with me ‘working’ so much during all the playoff and World Series runs!”
Dogwood will mark its closing with a party on July 4. It will feature live music, drinks, and a view of the fireworks from the second floor.
Istanbul Grill
The celebrated Turkish restaurant is saying goodbye on Sunday, July 19. Part of Rice Village for almost 30 years, the restaurant is closing “due to lease circumstances beyond our control,” according to a message on Facebook. Fan favorite dishes include the meze tabagi mixed appetizer plate, well-cooked kebabs, and fluffy, Turkish-style pizzas (lahmancun).
Voodoo Doughnut
Both the Montrose and Katy locations of the Portland, Oregon-based doughnut shop have quietly closed, Chron reports. That leaves Houston with only one Voodoo outpost — its original Houston location at 3715 Washington Avenue. Open 24 hours a day, Voodoo Doughnut is known for treats such as the such as the Bacon Maple Bar, the Diablos Rex with a vanilla frost pentagram, and the signature Voodoo Doll with raspberry jelly filling.
