Spicing up the Bay Area

California-based Nashville hot chicken chain makes Texas debut in Houston

Angry Chickz is known for its signature sliders.

Courtesy of Angry Chickz

A Nashville hot chicken chain from California is coming to Texas: Called Angry Chickz, it'll make its Lone Star State debut in Houston, at 18207 Egret Bay Blvd. in the space that was previously Bay Area Turning Point Resale Shop. According to a spokesperson, it'll open in October.

Angry Chickz was founded by David Mkhitaryan, an entrepreneur who came from a restaurant family, and who opened his first location in Hollywood in 2018. The chain now has 26 locations in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Angry is known for its spicy-hot chicken — available as a tender, on white bread, or in their signature slider format, served with coleslaw and french fries. They also do a trio of bowls, in which tenders are combined with rice, fries, or mac & cheese.

Bringing the chain to Houston is Jim Wang, who operates more than 50 restaurants across seven states, including the Houston locations of Japanese concept Jinya Ramen Bar, all-you-can-eat concept Gen Korean BBQ, and the French cafe and bakery Paris Baguette. Notably, the first Angry Chickz location is in the same shopping center as the Bay Area outpost of Jinya Ramen.

After visiting Angry Chickz at its location in Aliso Viejo, California, Wang was inspired by the brand’s growth story and unique flavors.

“While I was visiting California recently, I heard about the concept and its unique history and had to try it firsthand,” Wang said in a statement. “Not only was the chicken utterly fantastic, but I immediately recognized the opportunity to scale this concept and stand out in the chicken category.”

Once Houston is open, Wang plans to take the concept to San Antonio, too.

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the sylvie switcheroo

Loch Bar owner takes over downtown tower's cafe, add Japanese eatery

The Sylvie/Facebook

Atlas Restaurants has taken over operations at The Sylvie.

Downtown Houston will soon welcome a new, upscale Japanese restaurant. When it opens later this year, Kannon will be the newest Houston concept from Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurants.

Located in downtown’s Texas Tower, Kannon will a Japanese fine dining restaurant. The 7,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 200 diners, including a 70-seat patio. Atlas Concept Chef Timur Fazilov will create the restaurant’s menu of elevated Japanese fare.

That may sound familiar, since it’s very similar to Azumi, Atlas’ upscale Japanese restaurant in River Oaks District that opened in 2024 and also features a menu by Fazilov. Atlas president and CEO Alex Smith acknowledges the two restaurants will have similar menus, but he tells CultureMap that Kannon will have a different “design and feel” than Azumi.

Along with opening Kannon, Atlas has also taken over operations at The Sylvie, the Texas Tower’s European-inspired all-day cafe. Fans of the concept can take comfort in knowing that Atlas does not plan any major changes to the restaurant’s existing menu.

Atlas also operates Loch Bar, an East Coast-style seafood tavern in River Oaks District, and Marmo, an Italian steakhouse in the Montrose Collective.

“We opened our first concept in Houston in 2019 and have loved getting to know the River Oaks and Montrose Collective communities. We’re eager to expand into Downtown Houston with The Sylvie and Kannon, and are thrilled to partner with Texas Tower,” Smith added in a statement.

It has been a bit of a journey to bring an upscale restaurant to the Texas Tower, the 47-story high-rise on the site of the former Houston Chronicle headquarters. In 2021, Chicago's What If Syndicate hospitality group announced plans to bring its Italian concept Etta to the property, but those plans fell through.

Then, Berg Hospitality opened The Sylvie in 2024. At the time, the company, which is known for restaurants such as B&B Butchers, Trattoria Sofia, and Turner’s, also planned to open Dune Road, a New England-inspired seafood restaurant in the space that had been slated for Etta, but the restaurant was quietly shelved. Berg still operates Real Agave at 1100 Louisiana.

A represented for Berg Hospitality declined to comment on the company’s decision to exit The Sylvie.

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