Although Local Foods just closed its Tanglewood location to move closer to the Galleria, the space won’t stay empty for long. Common Bond has claimed it for the restaurant’s fifth bistro location.
Slated to open as soon as May, the new location will serve Common Bond’s full menu of savory breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes alongside the bakery’s signature breads and pastries. Andrew Miller, chief operating officer for Common Bond ownership group Garza Management, tells CultureMap the company had been looking for someplace in the area when the Local Foods space became available.
“We knew we wanted to be in the area,” Miller says. “As far as getting into that building, it kind of meshed together. We’re fortunate that the space was coming available.”
Miller has assessed the breakfast options nearby. Given how popular places like Adair Kitchen and Kenny & Ziggy’s are with area residents and workers, he thinks Common Bond will fit in nicely with its full bistro menu paired with a selection of beer and wine.
That includes favorites like soft scrambled eggs and shrimp and grits in the morning, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich at lunch, and steak frites at dinner. The extensive pastry selection includes chocolate chip cookies, croissants and other viennoiserie, macarons, and cakes.
At 4,600-square-feet, it will be a little larger than the Montrose and Heights location with a similar seating capacity to the CityPlace restaurant. “We’ll have upstairs seating, downstairs seating, and a back patio. We have the ability to do a front patio,” Miller says.
It’s been about a year since Common Bond owner George Joseph partnered with Garza Management to manage the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. Garza Management co-owner Victor Garza tells CultureMap that they’ve spent the time focused on improving Common Bond’s quality. Towards that end, they’re in the process of combining the restaurant’s commissary kitchen and bakehouse into one location. It will allow the company’s chefs to keep a closer eye on preparations and streamline delivery routes.
“It’s been a challenging year but very rewarding,” Garza says. “We’re very happy we took over Common Bond. It’s a great brand. We’re looking forward to the next year.”
Currently, Garza and Miller are focusing on the Bistro locations. An updated savory menu will roll out around the time Tanglewood opens. The bakehouse continues to produce seasonal items, including king cakes through Mardi Gras.
Common Bond will donate $5 for every king cake sold to Sky High for Kids.
Photo by Heirloom Creative
They also see opportunities for more locations of Common Bond On-The-Go. Part of the past year has been spent speeding up coffee service at the drive-thru locations to make them competitive with the wave of coffee concepts opening across Houston.
“There’s a niche market for quality coffee with quality food and quality pastries,” Miller says. “We look at what’s coming into the market. They’re not really offering quality options. We believe we can execute at a high level on the quality of our offerings but also expand to where people who are on the move can get through the drive-thru quickly.”
