Two more Houston restaurants served their final meals as 2022 came to an end. Maize and Cherry Block Smokehouse have closed their doors.
Only open since September, Cherry Block Smokehouse served Southern-inspired steakhouse fare in a casual, family-friendly environment. It evolved out of Cherry Block Craft Butcher & Kitchen, a stand in downtown’s Bravery Chef Hall that earned praise for its use of Texas ingredients and a decadent cheeseburger. It joined restaurants such as Rooster & Rice and LuLoo's Day & Night in Garden Oaks' Stomping Grounds development.
In a message posted to Instagram, Cherry Block owner Felix Florez stated that the restaurant lacked the financial resources to continue operations.
“An unfortunate accumulation of insurmountable losses and delays leading up to our opening consumed our operating capital, and these setbacks we experienced left us extremely short of our cashflow goal,” he wrote. “We pushed forward, but by the time we opened our doors in mid September, our operations were plagued too much to overcome in a short time.”
Cherry Block Butcher, Florez’s butcher shop and market in Katy, remains open.
Like Cherry Block, Maize had a relatively brief tenure. Located in the former Carmelo’s space in the Energy Corridor, the Mexican restaurant opened in December 2021.
Maize has served its last taco.
Photo by Becca Wright
Led by Fabian Saldana, formerly the executive chef at Hugo Ortega’s downtown restaurant Xochi, Maize offered an ambitious menu of traditional Mexican cuisine built around corn-based dishes such as a huarache, tamal, and tostada. While the concept drew praise both locally and regionally — Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat included the restaurant on his Houston Taco Trail — a representative tells CultureMap that the restaurant didn’t draw enough diners to remain viable.
“Maize’s closure has been tough for me and my team, but we all see this as an opportunity to continue growing in our craft,” Saldana said in a statement. “I am so grateful for the team and customers at Maize that made the last year a dream come true for me.”
