NBA star James Harden’s time as a Houston restaurant owner may have come to an abrupt end. A lockout notice has been posted on the door of Thirteen, Harden’s restaurant in Midtown.
Thirteen has been locked out by its landlord.Courtesy of a CultureMap reader
As seen in the image above, the letter states that Thirteen owes more than $2.2 million in unpaid rent for its space at 1911 Bagby Street. If the amount is paid, the restaurant would regain access to the space and could resume operations.
As of the afternoon of September 3, Thirteen’s social media accounts remain active, and the restaurant is still accepting reservations on OpenTable, both of which indicate that it might resume service.
Harden opened Thirteen in 2021, shortly after he forced a trade from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets. In the beginning, the restaurant served a Southern-inspired menu created by chef Tobias Dorzon, a former professional football player who competed successfully on TV shows such as Guy’s Grocery Games and Tournament of Champions.
In 2024, the restaurant re-opened with a refreshed interior design and a new menu created by chef Siddartha Cadena that drew on his experiences working at The Apartment in Shanghai and Gaggand Anand, a restaurant in Bangkok that’s currently ranked No. 6 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. At the time, Thirteen’s general manager told CultureMap that Harden had plans to open additional locations of Thirteen in other cities.
Attempts to contact Thirteen’s management for comment on the lockout have been unsuccessful. In July, Harden signed a two-year, $81.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
