Surprising steakhouse shutter
'Contractual dispute' compels closure of prime River Oaks steakhouse
Perry's will close its River Oaks location on January 24.
One of Houston’s most prominent steakhouses is closing its only inner loop outpost. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille will shutter its location in the River Oaks Shopping Center on Saturday, January 24.
In a message posted to Facebook, the restaurant wrote that it was “deeply disappointed” by the closure, which it attributed to a “contractual dispute with our landlord.” In response to CultureMap’s request for comment, Perry’s COO Rick Henderson provided the following statement:
"After seven great years, Perry’s has made the difficult decision to close our River Oaks location due to a contractual dispute with our landlord, with our last day serving guests set to be Saturday, January 24, 2026. We are incredibly grateful for the years of memories that our guests and team members have made and are offering every single member of the restaurant’s staff an equivalent position at one of our seven other restaurants in the greater Houston area.
We are deeply disappointed by the first closure of a Perry’s Steakhouse location since our company’s inception in Houston in 1979. However, the Perry’s team remains deeply committed to providing an extraordinary experience and unparalleled service to guests of our other Houston-area restaurants. We look forward to continuing to serve our guests with the same commitment to excellence that has defined Perry’s for over four decades.
Perry's is unable to comment further due to pending litigation. We currently have six other steakhouse locations that serve the greater Houston area and are constantly evaluating additional locations in Houston and across the country."
Perry’s opened its River Oaks location in February 2019. The two-story, 12.000-square-foot restaurant occupied both a former location of California Pizza Kitchen and Baker Street Pub. Like its six other Houston-area siblings, it serves a full menu of steaks and seafood, including the signature seven-finger pork chop.
At the time, founder Chris Perry explained that he served such a massive portion, because people taking home a branded to-go container was an essential form of marketing. “When I first started my business, my plans was to get my name in your fridge,” he said. “It was my only marketing plan that I could really afford. Couldn't afford billboards, and social media wasn’t around [yet].”
The River Oaks Shopping Center has seen significant turnover since Perry’s opened. Staples such as La Griglia and Americas have relocated or closed, replaced by establishments such as Goode Co Kitchen & Cantina, French restaurant Cocody, and recently-opened Chinese restaurant Maison Chinoise.
