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Meet the 2 restaurant veterans leading Underbelly into the future
Nina Quincy and Sarah Dowling are this week's guests.
On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Underbelly Hospitality president Nina Quincy and beverage director Sarah Dowling join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the current state of the company. The past year has been a turbulent time for Underbelly, as it relocated Wild Oats to Spring Branch, opened Mexican restaurant Comalito, and open and closed its Italian concept Pastore.
The conversation begins with both women talking about the professional experiences that led them to Underbelly. Quincy spent years working in nightlife and at resorts, while Dowling made her mark locally at Light Years.
Sandler asks Quincy to comment on the decision to close Pastore. He notes that it earned some acclaiming, including a CultureMap Tastemaker Awards nomination and a positive review from Chronicle critic Alison Cook. That wasn’t enough.
“That one was near and dear to my heart. I loved everything about it. A lot of thought went into the creation of it,” she says. “Unfortunately, it never took off. It wasn’t busy enough. People liked it, just liked you, but they weren’t coming back frequently enough. For financial reasons, it was decided to shut it down.”
Listen to the full interview to hear both women offer their perspective on the current state of the company. Quincy shares her goals for the rest of the year, and Dowling shares a couple of insider tips about the wine list at Georgia James, the group’s luxurious steakhouse.
In this week’s other episode, Chelsea Thomas, staff writer for The Infatuation Houston, joins Sandler to discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Magnol French Baking opening a second location in the Heights; Hash Kitchen, a breakfast concept from Arizona, revealing its plans to open two Houston-area locations; and Bazaar Food and Wine, a new food festival coming to Sugar Land in May.
In the restaurant of the week segment, Thomas and Sandler discuss their recent meal at Ema, a Mexican-inspired coffee shop and cafe that recently opened in the Heights. They find a lot to like, including the housemade pastries and pambazo, a massive sandwich loaded with achiote-spiced pork.
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