What's Eric Eating Episodes 474 and 475

Houston chef dishes on his comeback restaurant in Memorial

On the most recent episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chef Bryan Caswell and his business partner Allison Knight join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Latuli, their new restaurant in Memorial.

Open since late May, the new establishment is a bit of a comeback for Caswell, the Houston chef who earned a James Beard Award finalist nomination and a Food & Wine Best New Chef Award for Reef, his pioneering Gulf Coast seafood restaurant. He also operated Stella Sola, an Italian restaurant, and El Real Tex-Mex Cafe.

Caswell discusses the way that all of those influences play out on Latuli’s menu. “At the end of the day, you want to give people what they what. Some of those are things I love. They’re a huge part of my life. There are stories and anecdotes that go along with the crab cake or the mac and cheese, all those different things that I had throughout my career that people love. I wanted to have some of that,” he says.

“What people don’t see is the evolution of those dishes. Even though they might have had them at one point, they’ve still been tweaked and perfected along those 15 to 20 years. A lot of them we’re doing differently, or we’ve added something.”

Knight brings a background in both finance and commercial real estate to the restaurant. Sandler asks her about the restaurant’s size, which includes a spacious dining room, an adults-only bar and lounge, a covered patio, and a second-floor private dining room.

“Part of it was a function of the real estate. We did purchase the real estate,” she says. “Before that, we had to make sure we’d generate enough revenue to support the costs, which meant a certain number of seats. Starting from scratch gave us the opportunity to do what is right for the restaurant, rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole . . . It was a larger project than I intended, but it gave us the opportunity to check a lot of boxes.”

Listen to the full episode to hear Caswell talk about the lessons he’s learned that throughout his career that have been applied to Latuli. Knight also shares her vision for the restaurant’s future.

In another recent episode, Sandler and co-host Chelsea Thomas discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Thomas Bille winning Best Chef: Texas in the James Beard Awards, Tristen Epps winning Top Chef, and Austin’s Emmer & Rye Hospitality’s plans to open a restaurant in Houston.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Thomas and Sandler recap their meal at King Steak, the new, casual steakhouse near the Galleria. They find some highs as well as areas for improvement.

-----

Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Latuli Bryan Caswell and Allison Knight_

Photo by Alex Montoya

Bryan Caswell and Allison Knight are this episode's guests.

interview bryan caswell openings podcast latuli

THE 'BUCKS STOP HERE

1 Houston-area Starbucks to shutter among 250 nationwide

Photo by ANKUR MADAN on Unsplash

undefined

Starbucks is closing a Houston-area locations this week as part of a broader plan to shutter 250 underperforming stores across North America, the company says.

In a September 24 press release, chief operating officer Mike Grams revealed Starbucks would close the coffee shops where the company doesn't "see a path to acceptable financial performance" or locations where the company doesn't believe can "consistently deliver the experience [they] want" for customers and employees.

The Seattle-based coffee chain operates more than 40,000 coffee shops globally, and over 18,000 in North America. The recent closings make up about 1 percent of the total stores operating in North America alone.

Starbucks has not publicly released a list of the locations that will be closing, but an online list has been confirmed by CultureMap's content partner KVUE.

The Tanger Outlets Houston Starbucks at 5885 Gulf Freeway in Texas City is included in the list of closures. The Starbucks store locator indicates affected stores will be closed after Saturday, September 26.

Grams says the company is speaking directly with affected employees and will transfer them to other stores whenever possible. Employees who cannot secure transfers will receive severance support.

Other Starbucks locations in Texas that are set to close include:

Snider Plaza – 6733 Hillcrest Ave., Dallas, 75205
Preston & Alexis – 14760 Preston Rd., Dallas, 75254
6115 Camp Bowie – 6115 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 76116
Hwy 59 & Miller St. – 202 Loop 59 N., Atlanta, 75551
Loop 360 & Westlake – 3801 N. Capital Of Texas Hwy., Austin, 78746
SR 71 & US 290 – 7015 W. U.S. Hwy. 290, Austin, 78736
N. Bell & 1431 – 1109 N. Bell Blvd., Cedar Park, 78613
S. Home St. & FM 942 – 609 S. Home St., Corrigan, 75939
Main St. & TX-361 – 2975 Main St., Ingleside, 78362
College & 9th – 812 College Ave., Levelland, 79336
Murphy & Blackburn – 6600 Murphy Rd., Sachse, 75048
Wurzbach Rd. & Gardendale St. – 8746 Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, 78240
FM 544 & Hwy 78 – 410 Highway 78, Wylie, 75098

"Every year we close some coffeehouses and open others as part of managing our portfolio," Grams says in the release. "And as we shared previously, we remain excited about the significant long-term growth opportunity ahead in North America."

In May, Starbucks said it would close some U.S. offices, including one in Dallas, and would lay off 300 corporate employees and as part of its ongoing turnaround.

Starbucks has been trying to reduce costs and complexity under Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last year, the company laid off 2,000 corporate employees and closed hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Niccol said last spring that the simplified structure would help the company innovate more quickly.

---

This story contains material from the Associated Press.

starbucks closings coffee shop houston