Austin Simmons speaks
Houston chef breaks his silence on sudden exit from Woodlands restaurant
Austin Simmons is trading his knives for a horse.
Chef Austin Simmons has broken his silence about his sudden departure from Tris, the fine dining restaurant in The Woodlands that closed following his resignation.
Shared exclusively with CultureMap, Simmons provided a lengthy statement about why he chose to end his tenure as both executive chef of Tris and president of Piney Woods Hospitality, the subsidiary of Black Forest Ventures that operated both Tris and The Kitchen, a casual restaurant in The Woodlands.
Despite Black Forest’s decision to close Tris rather than continue on without him, Simmons is proud of the work he did and the team he built to execute his vision for the restaurant.
“I enjoyed and appreciated my time as Executive Chef and President of Piney Woods Hospitality, and I hated to leave,” he writes. “I am grateful to the owners and to The Woodlands residents for their support over the years, and I am very proud of the 16 years of working extremely hard and of what we accomplished during those years.”
Deciding to leave wasn’t easy, but he felt he could no longer continue operating in the space given its current condition. He cites issues that stem from the building’s time as Hubbell & Hudson, a grocery store that closed in 2014, and its companion restaurant Hubbell & Hudson Bistro, the restaurant that became Tris in 2018. Black Forest Ventures, the majority partner in Tris owner Piney Woods Hospitality, also has a separate subsidiary that owns the building that housed Tris and its predecessors.
Simmons continues as follows:
Due to current issues with the Tris lease, site, and the landlord's unwillingness to negotiate on fundamental operational items, I had to, in good faith, resign as President & Executive Chef. The space was remodeled twice by previous presidents and owners after the market closed. It was nothing but the easiest band aid for the landlord. We spent way too much time fixing legacy issues in plumbing and AC. We had a flood from the building last year and the response from the landlord after the TRIS team squeezed for 8 hours to save the space was nothing short of a force out.
It was clear they no longer wanted to be in the restaurant industry at this location. I did everything I could all year to negotiate the future space and lease issues to save Tris, but unfortunately, I got nowhere. My job as a leader is to mitigate risk and make sure there is a future for the team. A sustainable runway for growth and development and we can invest back into the team. When this road came to an end after all these years it left me with very few choices.
I wish them nothing but the best and look forward to my next venture going forward.
Simmons was busier than ever in 2024 as he fulfilled multiple roles for Tris, The Kitchen, and Black Walnut Cafe, the fast casual restaurant operated by Black Forest Ventures. Not only did he oversee culinary operations from both Tris and The Kitchen, but he consulted on a new menu for Black Walnut that debuted at the Rice Village location in late 2023 before being implemented at the reestaurants other locations in Houston and Dallas. In addition, he created a new version of The Kitchen for the recently-opened Terminal D West at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. He also cooked at numerous charitable events and fundraisers, including making his debut appearance at the Southern Smoke Festival. After burning the candle at both ends, he says he's looking forward to spending more time with his family.
As for his next move, the chef says he’s trading his knives for a horse by launching his own breed of wagyu cattle under the name Chef Austin Wagyu Hoof to Fork. More details about that project will be released once the product is ready for market, but he’s looking forward to getting better beef into the hands of chefs who are as obsessed with their ingredients as he is.
When he returns to restaurants remains to be seen, but it's hard to imagine that someone who's dedicated his entire career to feeding people has hung up his whites permanently.
