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    GJ Tavern shuttered

    Prominent Houston restaurant group suddenly shutters intimate downtown tavern

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 6, 2023 | 2:55 pm
    Georgia James Tavern interior

    GJ Tavern has closed.

    Photo by Claudia Casbarian

    A prominent Houston restaurant group has bid farewell to its downtown location. Underbelly Hospitality announced it has closed GJ Tavern effective immediately.

    “Closing GJ Tavern was an incredibly difficult decision to make but we ultimately realized that operating a 40-seat restaurant in downtown Houston was financially unsustainable,” Underbelly Hospitality president Nina Quincy said in a statement. “We loved building the GJ Tavern brand and are hopeful that it will someday have a place within Underbelly Hospitality.”

    An Instagram post announcing the closure offers a longer tribute to the restaurant’s staff and customers.

    First opened in the summer of 2021 as Georgia James Tavern, the restaurant aimed to serve as an intimate establishment for Theater District patrons and an amenity for residents of the Market Square Tower high-rise. The company changed the restaurant’s name to GJ Tavern in the spring of 2022 to prevent consumer confusion with Georgia James, its luxurious steakhouse. To further differentiate the new GJ Tavern from the original Georgia James Tavern, then-Underbelly Hospitality founder Chris Shepherd recruited chef Tim Reading to lead the kitchen.

    Bringing experiences from Boston chef Michael Schlow’s restaurants and Caracol, James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega’s Galleria-area seafood restaurant, Reading refined GJ Tavern’s menu with classic dishes such as duck fat potatoes, hand-rolled cavatelli pasta, and a mushroom-Swiss burger. He earned a Rising Star Chef of the Year nomination in the 2023 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards for his work at GJ Tavern. Sadly, his time with the company has also come to an end.

    GJ Tavern Tim ReadingUBH laid off chef Tim Reading. Photo by Julie Soefer

    “Tim is an excellent chef with an extraordinary talent. As it stands, we have no executive chef positions available within Underbelly Hospitality. For that reason, he has been laid off,” Quincy said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment. “We are very appreciative of Tim and wish him all the best.”

    Despite today’s news, Underbelly Hospitality has been growing since Shepherd’s departure last year. It recruited star chef Scott Muns to serve as culinary director and recently opened Pastore, an Italian seafood restaurant that’s located next to Georgia James in the Autry Park mixed-use development. It will open Spring Branch locations of Underbelly Burger and Texas comfort food restaurant Wild Oats later this year.

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    wine guy Wednesday

    Chris Shepherd recommends more wines for Thanksgiving, plus a can't-miss meal

    Chris Shepherd
    Nov 12, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Montrose Cheese and Wine Thanksgiving 4-pack
    Photo by Zach Horst
    Find these four wines at Montrose Cheese & Wine.

    I love a great wine event, especially when it’s a winery that I truly love. This one is a true banger.

    On Wednesday, November 19, the team at The Marigold Club will be hosting Scribe Winery owner Andrew Mariani. Scribe has redefined the wine experience in Sonoma, where the breathtaking hacienda estate looks out over the picturesque vineyards and hills of lower Sonoma Valley.

    For one evening only, they will be be bringing an exceptional lineup of wines featuring limited production wines rarely seen outside the winery, new releases that will be making their Houston debut, and a few of their brilliant flagship wines that show their distinctive style.

    We personally love their wines like the Sylvaner which is so bright and clean. The Chardonnays show such distinctive vineyard characteristics and their Pinot Noirs just scream sunshine! They have such an exciting line up that whatever they are pouring is going to hit perfectly with the menu. I know that the culinary team has got this menu on lock, because Scribe makes some of the most food-friendly wines I’ve ever had. I also got a sneak peak at the menu and it looks amazing!

    This, in fact, is a tasting that Lindsey and I must do every time we are out there. Plus, we are club members, so to say this is a special dinner is an understatement. It’s been a hard few weeks and you deserve to treat yourself before the holiday season kicks off.

    Get your tickets here ($295)!

    More Thanksgiving Day wine picks

    We should discuss some more Turkey Day wines while we are at it. Remember that St Joseph Blanc we talked about over at Houston Wine Merchant last week? Well, you guys went and bought all of it, so I spoke with June Rodil, who is one of Houston’s seven master sommeliers, about wines at Montrose Cheese & Wine for this special day.

    Hold on to your cranberry sauce, because we are going deep!

    From June:
    This is our Thanksgiving pack and can be purchased as a 4 pack or individually!

    Domaine du Père Caboche Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Rhone Valley, France, 2023
    Beautiful bright color with light yellow and green reflections. The nose is very complex and pretty with white flowers, peach, and ginger. This wine is unmistakably delicious, with notes of fresh pear at the end. The mouth is smooth and lush with nice aromatics and light peppered notes.

    Tribute to Grace, Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard, California, Grenache Rosé, 2024
    Winemaker Angela Osborne connects deeply with this single vineyard old-vine Grenache grown at 3,200 feet and uses biodynamic principles to convert the energy of the land into this graceful (no pun intended) Rosé. Angela foot treads the whole-cluster fruit before fermentation to extract color for this Rosé. With this bottle, you can expect a palate packed with delicate floral and stone fruit flavors with bright acidity and an herbal anise-tinged finish.

    Claus Preisinger 'Puszta Libre' Burgenland, Austria, 2023
    A wild-yet-lively and very drinkable red wine blend from Burgenland, Austria that's made from Saint Laurent and Zweigelt. Delicate tannins and a vibrant red and black berried fruit character make this an excellent wine for the table. Drinks well with a slight chill.

    Gregoletto, Treviso Sui Lieviti Prosecco, Veneto, Italy, 2023
    Naturally made Prosecco, made by refermenting in bottle without disgorgement. It has the slight cloudiness of a pet-nat with bracingly pure, clean flavors. It is crafted via sustainable, traditional practices in the hilly epicenter of the vast Prosecco zone, and that great terroir shines through with clarity in each mouthwatering sip. You’ll see that the Gregoletto family is in a league all their own when it comes to old-school Italian farmer fizz.

    All of these for $125. That is a damn fine price for this.

    June also reminded me that the annual Beaujolais release is set for November 20 and how this is perfect wine for Thanksgiving. I love Cru Beaujolais, and Montrose Cheese & Wine has put together a 12-pack for the season.

    More from June:
    We have a 12 pack of all the Crus of Beaujolais and then some on presale for Beaujo Day on Nov 20! Tour de Beaujolais, $395 (Par 12)

    Montrose Cheese and Wine Thanksgiving 4-pack

    Photo by Zach Horst

    Find these four wines at Montrose Cheese & Wine.

    Juicy, opulent, palate wetting, and diverse, the array of Beaujolais we’ve put together will provide an immaculate pairing alongside Thanksgiving dinner and festivities alike. Here at Montrose Cheese & Wine, we have a proclivity to the delectable array of expressions based in Beaujolais; you deserve to taste through the entirety of what Beaujolais has to offer as well!

    As a region, Beaujolais is divided into 10 different departments, titled crus, shown by a declaration of which cru on the face of the label. Each of these crus have a unique expression and allow a different part of the delicious gamay grape to shine, from the aromatic nature of Fleurie to the bold presence of Moulin-à-Vent. We’ve put together a selection of 10 bottles, one from each of the 10 crus, plus a Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Village, to make a full 12 bottle case!

    Ten crus, North to South: Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côte de Brouilly, and Brouilly

    Who wants to take the tour with me? I love all of this, and you should add this to that game plan I wrote about in last week’s column. One stop shop is what I’m talking about. Wine dinners, Turkey Day packs, and a tour of Cru Beaujolais?

    Goodnight is right!

    Have fun this Thanksgiving and remember to email me if you have any questions!!!

    ----

    Need any other Thanksgiving advice? Send Chris an email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

    Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $15 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

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