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    sayonara izakaya

    Eclectic Midtown Japanese restaurant closing for reboot to Gulf Coast oyster bar-casual seafood spot

    Eric Sandler
    Apr 26, 2023 | 8:50 am

    A Midtown restaurant is trading ramen and soup dumplings for gumbo and po’ boys. Japanese restaurant Izakaya will soon transform into a new Gulf Coast restaurant called Josephine’s.

    Izakaya will close no later than April 30, depending on its food inventory. Josephine’s is expected to follow in June after renovations to the interior and the patio.

    Opened in 2015, Izakaya offers an eclectic menu of Japanese-inspired small plates plus Chinese-style dumplings and a sophisticated cocktail program. While the concept is closing for now, owners Yun Cheng and Sammy Saket intend to find a new home for the Japanese restaurant in another location that will allow them to add sushi to the menu.

    “We’re not closing forever,” Cheng said in a statement. “We’re making the move now because we’ve established the right team for the new concept, and we’re actively searching for an Inner Loop spot for Izakaya. Our current lease doesn’t allow us to serve sushi, and we feel sushi is a key component to the Izakaya concept.”

    That right team starts with executive chef Lucas McKinney and general manager Joseph Ramirez. McKinney is a Mississippi native whose resume includes time there with James Beard Award winner Vishwesh Bhatt at Snackbar in Oxford and multiple roles for Houston’s Underbelly Hospitality, including sous chef at Hay Merchant and chef de cuisine at GJ Tavern. Ramirez is a veteran of Izakaya owner the Azuma Group, including time as general manager at Kata Robata.

    McKinney tells CultureMap he initially intended to consult for Josephine’s but soon realized he wanted a more permanent role. “It represents where I’m from and what I grew up eating,” he says. “It felt like an opportunity I should take.”

    Named for McKinney’s grandmother (and a famous shipwreck), Josephine’s will serve a menu built around Gulf Coast seafood in a casual atmosphere. Dishes will consist of both raw items, including an oyster bar, and shareable plates. At lunch, the restaurant will serve po’ boys, one of which is a crabmeat melt inspired by the Vancleave Special from Rosetti’s Café in Biloxi.

    “I want it to be a neighborhood situation but at the same time somewhere you can treat yourself if you want to,” McKinney says. “I’ve always dreamed of owning an old, divey oyster bar. It’ll have some of those nuances, but it will have some really fun raw bar dishes and small plates. If you want to get a po’ boy and a cup of gumbo, you can.”

    Having the raw bar means that those looking to treat themselves may do so with a seafood tower. McKinney also plans to take inspiration from more recent waves of immigration to the Gulf Coast with dishes that nod to both Croatian and Vietnamese cuisines.

    “When you go to other classic Gulf Coast restaurants, it can be super heavy. I want some lighter entrees, not necessarily stuff you’re going to fill up on,” he says. “I don’t want someone to come in and get etouffee-smothered catfish and that’s the only thing they get..”

    Design firm Nest Interiors will transform Izakaya into Josephine’s. Changes include replacing the dumpling bar with an oyster bar and swapping out the colorful, Japanese-inspired murals for Southern-inspired painted tin ceilings and comfortable banquettes.

    “Our goal is for Josephine’s to be a place to decompress, recharge, and let the gratitude of Southern hospitality take over,” Ramirez added.

    Josephine’s isn’t the Azuma Group’s only new restaurant. It’s also working on opening Katami, a sushi restaurant led by Kata Robata chef Manabu Horiuchi, in the former Vincent’s space in Montrose. Expect to see a lot more about both restaurants as their openings draw closer.


    Izakaya restaurant interior
      

    Izakaya Midtown/Facebook

    Izakaya will close no later than April 30.

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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 461 and 462

    Meet the Houston siblings bringing old school Tex-Mex to the Hill Country

    CultureMap Staff
    Apr 24, 2025 | 6:45 pm
    Katie Adair Barnhart and Nick Adair Concepts
    Photo by Alex Montoya
    Katie Adair Barnhart and Nick Adair are this week's guests.

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Nick Adair and Katie Adair Barnhart join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Adair Concepts. The brother-and-sister duo lead a growing hospitality group that includes Adair Kitchen, Los Tios, Skeeters, Bebidas, and more.



    The conversation begins with Nick Adair explaining his interest in entering the business founded by his father Gary. Katie and Nick teamed up to open the first location of Adair Kitchen in 2012. From there, the company has grown steadily, including a big step forward in 2023 when they brought Los Tios to the former Buca di Beppo space in West U.

    Recently, Los Tios opened a new location in Fredericksburg, which it will follow with the company’s first outpost in San Antonio later this year. Adair explains that he knows the town well, since his in-laws live there. The restaurant is off to a strong start.

    “‘Vintage’ and ‘old school’ and those kind of words are stuff people are trying to replicate. Every one wants to feel old, especially in the Tex-Mex space,” Adair says. “Our oldness has turned into an asset. It’s a heritage brand now. We don’t have to fake trying to look and feel old. It really is that. It’s got 50 years of tried-and-true patina on it in all the right ways.”

    Listen to the full episode to hear the siblings discuss the changes they’ve made at Buffalo Grille since they acquired it last year. They also discuss the recent hiring of Diego Fernandez to be the group’s culinary director.



    In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Chelsea Thomas discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: Burger Chan owners Diane and Willet Feng bringing in a new operating partner; Long Weekend, a cowboy-inspired restaurant opening soon in Lazybrook/Timbergrove; and chef Jane Wild’s new cafe in the Heights.

    In the restaurant of the week segment, Thomas and Sandler discuss their recent meal at Perseid, Aaron Bludorn’s French-inspired restaurant at the Hotel Saint Augustine. Tune in to hear their thoughts on the restaurant’s design and some of their favorite dishes from the meal.

    -----

    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.

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