2 Heights-area shutters

2 Heights-area restaurants set to shutter — for very different reasons

Two more Houston restaurants announced they will soon cease operations. Alice Blue and Urban Eats both revealed imminent closing dates, but the circumstances around the decisions are very different.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

Alice Blue will close next month.

Diners have until February 25 to make their final visits to Alice Blue, proprietor Claire Smith announced. The next month will be a celebration as customers and former employees are invited to wish Smith well after a 30-year career in hospitality.

In response to CultureMap’s request for comment about the decision to close Alice Blue, Smith simply says it was time. She could have renewed her lease on terms that would have allowed the restaurant to remain open, a representative adds, but is ready for a well-earned break.

“I’m excited to see what the next chapter of my life brings. Hopefully lots of quality time with friends and family,” Smith says. “You never know, I may want a coffee shop one day. But for now, I will be watching all of the amazing things happening in the Houston restaurant scene.”

Smith launched Alice Blue in 2017 — with the assistance of Nancy’s Hustle owners Sean Jensen and chef Jason Vaughan — but she’s occupied the space since 2003 when she opened Shade. One of the first chef-driven restaurants to operate in the Heights, Shade helped paved the way for the neighborhood to become one of the city’s premier dining destinations.

Her history owning restaurants goes back to the Daily Review Cafe, which opened in 1994. She also operated Canopy in Montrose for 10 years.

Alice Blue will pay tribute to that legacy by serving popular dishes from all of those restaurants, including chicken pot pie, spinach salad, and lamb stew.

“[I’ll remember] experiencing the Heights as it exploded from a quiet, dry area to a vibrant ‘new Houston neighborhood’ with so many fabulous restaurants , bars, shopping destinations, homes, and families without losing its small town character,” Smith adds. “More than anything, I think of the amazing people I have worked with over the last 20 years and am so very proud of their multitude of achievements. I have learned so much from every one of them!”

As for Urban Eats, its late day will be this Sunday, January 28. In a lengthy post to social media, owners Levi Rollins and Eric Munoz write that they’re closing due to unpaid rent and taxes that accrued as the restaurant struggled to stay afloat during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rollins told Houston Food Finder that the amount totals $150,000.

Earlier this month, the restaurant launched a viral social media campaign to encourage diners to visit and help it raise the necessary funds to remain open. Although many flocked to support the business, the efforts were not sufficient to generate the entire amount.

While the closing is sad, Rollins and Munoz promised to pay their employees everything they’re owed and help them find new jobs at other restaurants. They also thank their customers.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the incredible nine years we’ve spent with you,” the couple writes. “Your support has allowed us to realize our dream of owning and operating our restaurant. Houston, you’ve embraced our delicious, comfy gourmet food, served by an amazing staff, in a warm, welcoming environment. Serving you has been the honor of a lifetime, and we will forever cherish those moments.”

Rollins opened Urban Eats in 2015. He divided the two-story space into a first-floor market with ready-to-eat items and a full-service restaurant devoted to sliders and comfort food on the second floor. It became a neighborhood brunch favorite thanks to its second-floor patio and welcoming atmosphere.

The beginning of this year has already seen a number of high-profile restaurant closings. Picnik, a healthy eating concept from Austin, closed last week in the Montrose Collective mixed-use development. Dish Society shuttered its original Tanglewood location after 10 years, and Montrose patio bar La Grange quietly closed after almost nine years of operations.

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rumor no more

East Coast-style Austin pizzeria confirms plans to open in the Heights

Home Slice Pizza Heights location rendering

Courtesy of the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

A rendering previews Home Slice Pizza's new location in the Heights.

One of Austin’s pizzerias is expanding its presence in Houston. Home Slice Pizza has claimed the former Mapojeong space in the Heights (602 Studewood) for a new location that will open in the fall of 2026.

Founder Joseph Strickland tells CultureMap that Home Slice wanted to add a second Houston location that would build on the success of its Midtown restaurant that opened in late 2022. Unlike Midtown, which is counter service and offers limited seating, the Heights location will offer full service, an expanded menu, and cocktails, which is in line with Home Slice’s North Austin location.

“We saw a lot of synergy in North Austin and the Heights,” Strickland says. “They have a similar feel, a lot of families, a lot of people looking to get together in big groups. There’s also a robust bar scene on White Oak that we’re happy to be part of.”

Strickland says Home Slice had several requirements for a new location, including a larger dining room than Midtown, a decent-sized parking lot, and enough kitchen capacity to serve both dine-in and larger to-go orders. Not only did they find the right building, but they established a productive relationship with the property’s owner, Revive Development, the Houston-based firm that also owns properties that are home to Loro, Squable, Camaraderie, and the Stomping Grounds development in Garden Oaks.

“It was hard to believe at first. The more we talked with the Revive folks, there was a lot of alignment and opportunity for us to expand what we’re showing Houston,” Stickland says.

Home Slice is working with the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture to renovate the building. Strickland notes that it will require some extensive changes, including removing the butcher shop that was installed as part of its iteration as Ritual, a steakhouse that closed in 2021. Assuming everything goes according to plan, the restaurant should open sometime in the fall of 2026.

Home Slice Pizza food spread Home Slice serves New York-style pizza.Photo by Garrett Smith

Once open, Home Slice will serve its East Coast-inspired menu of New York-style pizzas (whole or by-the-slice), hot and cold Italian deli sandwiches, salads, and desserts — all of which utilize dough or bread that’s made in-house. In particular, the restaurant is known for its white clam pizza, as well as classics such as pepperoni and mushroom or sausage with ricotta and roasted peppers. In 2024, the Houston Press awarded “Best Sandwich” to the restaurant’s Italian Assorted, which is made with ham, dry salami, capicola, genoa salami, vegetables, provolone, mayo, and oil & vinegar.

Critically, the Heights Home Slice location will add wings to the New York and Sicilian-style pizzas, salads, and sandwiches that the restaurant serves in Midtown. Inspired by the wings served at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, Home Slice keeps its wings simple — medium or hot and served with a house made blue cheese dressing. “It goes with our pizza quite wonderfully,” Stickland says.

He hopes that the the wide-ranging menu, flexible menu, and late night hours will appeal to Heights locals, people patronizing the nearby bars on White Oak, and anyone else looking for a slice and a drink. The larger location and full service should make home slice an option for date nights, office happy hours, any just about any other occasion.

“We hope the neighborhood will be happy to have another offering that’s like ours, where you can bring a first date or your office or go by yourself. We offer all those experiences,” Strickland says.

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