domo arigato

Award-winning ramen shop sets opening date for new Memorial location

Memorial-area diners will soon be slurping noodles and chowing down on Sweet & Sour Yodas. Ramen Tatsu-ya is opening its second Houston-area location this Tuesday, December 9.

Located in Town & Country Village (600 West Sam Houston Pkwy North, #605), the new Ramen Tatsu-ya builds on the success of the restaurant’s first Houston location that opened in 2017. It has earned a following for its signature tonkotsu broth, which takes up to three days to prepare.

The menu also includes small plates such as sweet and spicy Brussels sprouts (aka, Yodas), karaage, and gyoza. They can be paired with a full range of drinks, including beer, sake, frozens, and non-alcoholic sips such as lemongrass-cucumber limeade and strawberry-yuzu lemonade.

“Houston has been so good to us since opening our first ramen shop in Montrose in 2017,” Tatsu-ya CEO Todd Coerver said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring our authentic, Japanese-style ramen to Memorial City, and we aren’t stopping there. A third opening in Houston is planned for summer 2026.”

Ramen Tatsu-ya Memorial Briks mural Houston artist Briks painted the restaurant's mural.Courtesy of Ramen Tatsu-ya

The restaurant will open at 2 pm. The first 50 people to dine in will receive a t-shirt that features an image of the location’s mural, which was created by Houston artist Briks.

Founded in 2012 by chefs Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto, Ramen Tatsu-ya took Austin by storm. Fans lined up an hour or more to get a bowl of soup, and the restaurant earned a spot on Bon Appetit’s 2013 list of the country’s best new restaurants. Memorial/Town & Country will be the restaurant’s ninth location, following a to-go window that opened on the Drag near the University of Texas earlier this year. More are coming, as Coerver’s statement makes clear.

Ramen Tatsu-ya joins a dynamic mix of new and new-ish restaurants in Memorial and Town & Country Village, including neighborhood restaurant The Henry, classic American restaurant Relish Restaurant & Bar, Murray’s Pizza & Wine, and Michelin-recognized live-fire concept Credence.

Courtesy of Ramen Tatsu-ya

Ramen Tatsu-ya opens in Town & Country Village on Tuesday, December 9.

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goodbye, grand lux

Eclectic comfort food restaurant to shutter after 21 years in Houston

Grand Lux Cafe/Facebook

Grand Lux Cafe is known for its baked-to-order desserts.

A staple of the Galleria-area dining scene will soon serve its last meal. Grand Lux Cafe will close January 24, 2026.

A representative provided CultureMap with a statement from Alethea Rowe, senior director, public relations and global branding, for Grand Lux owner The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated:

After extensive review and analysis, the company made the difficult decision to discontinue operation of our Grand Lux Cafe in Houston. Our last day of service will be January 24, 2026. We are working with our staff to help transition them to other opportunities, including transfers to our other concepts in the area. We have truly enjoyed being a part of the local community over the last 21 years and hope that our guests will continue to dine with us at our other restaurants in the area.

News of the closing was first reported by Chron after it circulated on social media.

Open since December 2004, the massive, 12,100-square-foot restaurant serves a crowd-pleasing menu of eclectic, globally-inspired comfort food in a setting inspired by European design. Diners can choose from a wide array of dishes, including pot stickers, Buffalo wings, burgers, salads, pastas, steaks, seafood, and more. Baked-to-order desserts — including chocolate chip-pecan cookies and molten chocolate cake — are particularly can’t-miss.

Cheesecake Factory operate a number of restaurants across the Houston area, including those of its subsidiary Fox Restaurant Concepts. It recently opened its “greatest neighborhood restaurant” The Henry in Town & Country Village.

Although Grand Lux is leaving its location at the Centre at Post Oak, the shopping center will remain a likely remain a culinary destination. Various media outlets have reported that Eataly, described by CultureMap Dallas as a “mega-shopping and eating experience, with restaurants, bakery, wine shop, and retail store, all promoting the awesomeness of Italian food” will soon begin construction on its first Houston location at the development.

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