GJ Tavern shuttered

Prominent Houston restaurant group suddenly shutters intimate downtown tavern

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 Reading UBH 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.

closings downtown news-you-can-eat

cheers to that

Texas bourbon named one of 2024's top 10 whiskies

Still Austin Whiskey Co. Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey

Still Austin Whiskey Co./Facebook

Now if only we could snag a bottle...as a Christmas gift, of course.

Three cheers for Still Austin Whiskey Co.! The distillery's Bottled in Bond Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey was recognized as one of Whisky Advocate'sTop 20 Most Exciting Whiskies of 2024.

Every year, Whisky Advocate's expert panelists rank hundreds of whiskies based on their quality, availability, value for the price, and "X-factor," meaning an excitement-inducing component like a unique flavor or an innovative idea. An international panel also reviews contenders through several blind taste tests without knowing each whisky's producer, origin, age, or price.

The magazine ranked Still Austin's five-year Red Corn Bourbon No. 7 on the list with a prestigious score of 94 points. The Red Corn whiskey, which was released in June 2024, has mash bill consisting of 36 percent Jimmy Red corn, 34 percent white corn, 25 percent rye, and 5 percent barley.

According to panelist Shane English, tasting notes start big and bold with cracked pepper, dusty leather, and cocktail cherries, before moving on to a palate of chile pepper, caramel, and buttery cornbread.

"Each sip is electric — the pepper gives this whiskey a zing balanced by poundcake and glazed doughnuts," English said. "Charred oak fades to chocolate, coffee, and pecan pie on the finish."

Still Austin had the only Texas product on the list, which was fitting given the brand's recent boasting that it could match any Kentucky Bourbon. As a game day stunt when the Texas Longhorns played the Kentucky Wildcats in November, Still Austin refilled empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles with its own Cask Strength Bourbon for just $1.

When the brand isn't playfully antagonizing Kentucky fans, its Red Corn Bourbon sells for a retail price of $85 per 750-milliliter bottle, falling nearly in the middle of the price category out of all 20 bourbons on the list, with eight others priced for less.

For additional context, none of the top five bourbons fall under a $100 price tag. In fact, the most expensive bottle on the 2024 list is the Angel's Envy 2023 Cask Strength Port Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon, which ranked No. 12 and retails for $230 per bottle.

"Our top 20 whiskies represent a curated collection that deserves your attention. Each whisky on the list stands out for its superb taste, representing the pinnacle of a year filled with remarkable tastings," said executive editor David Fleming in a release. "This list features whiskies offering exceptional value, leaders in their respective styles, and superbly made expressions that are well worth seeking out."

Whiskey Advocate's 2024 Whiskey of the Year is Laphroaig Elements 2.0 Cask Strength Scotch Single Malt, which earned 95 points and retails for $165 a bottle.

whiskey bourbon distilleries awards lists