who's invited?

Houston chefs react to coveted Michelin Guide ceremony invitations

Justin Yu will repreesnt Theodore Rex at the ceremony.

Theodore Rex/Facebook

The buzz around the Michelin Guide’s impending Texas edition reached a fever pitch on Monday when chefs, restaurateurs, and media members received invites for the ceremony on November 11.

The invite-only event will be held at downtown’s 713 Music Hall. Part of the Post Houston complex, the venue typically hosts concerts that draw a few thousand people but is also available for private parties that want to take advantage of its top-notch lighting and sound technology.

Restaurants that received invitations can take heart. A representative confirms that being included in the ceremony means they will receive some form of recognition — which could include being designated as “Recommended,” a Bib Gourmand award for “restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices,” a Green Star for restaurants committed to sustainability, or the night’s top prize, a designation of one, two, or three Michelin stars.

Gwendal Poullennec, the Guide’s international director, will be present at the ceremony. During the event, restaurants that receive a star will receive a plaque that honors their achievement.

Chef Ronnie Killen, who received an invite for Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, tells CultureMap he’s looking forward to attending the event, regardless of what award his restaurant receives.

“It’s nice to get recognized,” he writes in a text message. “We have a lot of changes coming up at the restaurants. If we can get a Bib, it gives us something to work for.”

Chef Justin Yu, who has already earned a Food & Wine Best New Chef Award and a James Beard Award for his work at Oxheart, expressed a similar sentiment about his invite to the Michelin ceremony on behalf of Theodore Rex.

“I would say that it kinda felt like that rush of adrenaline that you probably got when you got your acceptance letter to college, except that you know it also doesn’t really mean anything except that you get to go to a fancy party,” Yu writes. “I’m excited to hopefully see and celebrate with a lot of colleagues that we haven’t seen together all in one place again, although I assume we’ll all be in there with that looming sense of self doubt, per the usual. I’ll just be happy that the waiting is over.”

Even media members are feeling a sense of excitement about attending the event. Felice Sloan, who contributes to both CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast and the “Full Menu” segment on Houston Public Media’s daily talk show Houston Matters, received one of the coveted media invites.

“When I first heard that the ceremony would be hosted in Houston, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d be fortunate enough to make the guest list. So when the invitation finally arrived, I couldn’t contain my excitement — I let out a scream and did my little happy dance,” she says.

First announced in July, Michelin’s guide to Texas will cover Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and each city’s suburbs. Texas Travel and local tourism boards in each city agreed to provide marketing support — $90,000 per year for the first three years in Houston alone — to bring the guide to Texas. The restaurant announcement follows a ceremony in September that revealed the American hotels to receive Michelin keys, including three in Houston.

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an offer he couldn't refuse

Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

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Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

“Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

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