snuffed out

Ronnie Killen's intimate, Memorial-area steakhouse will soon shutter

Killen's STQ will close on September 30.

Photo by Kimberly Park

Chef Ronnie Killen is saying bye-bye to Briargrove. Killen’s STQ will close on September 30, Killen tells CultureMap.

In a series of text messages, Killen noted several factors contributed to the decision not to renew his lease on the space at 2231 S Voss Road. First, business never fully recovered to pre-Covid levels.

“Plus, STQ is one of only two places I lease. I own all the other properties,” he explains. His preference for owning properties rather than leasing them contributed to Killen’s decision to close his Mexican restaurant Killen’s TMX at the end of last year.

Opened in December 2016, Killen’s STQ combined chef Killen’s expertise in barbecue and steakhouses. It served steaks cooked over live fire and a number of dishes infused with smoke in a welcoming environment. Killen splurged on getting the details right, buying high quality linens, glassware, and silverware.

That innovative approach earned considerable acclaim, including a nomination for Best New Restaurant in the 2017 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Texas Monthly ranked it No. 4 on its list of the state’s best new restaurants of 2018, and the Chronicle rated it as the No. 2 best new restaurant of 2016. In an interview, Texas quarterback C.J. Stroud shouted out Killen’s STQ as his favorite restaurant in Houston.

The menu presented some of the chef’s most popular dishes in new ways, such as creamed corn ravioli and smoked salt and pepper short rib with espresso barbecue sauce. Both of those dishes, as well as customer favorites such as the chicken fried ribeye and French onion burger, will live on at Killen’s Steakhouse in Pearland and Killen’s, the chef’s comfort food restaurant near the Heights.

While STQ is closing its doors, Killen has plans to upgrade the Pearland location of Killen’s Steakhouse. He recently purchased a wood-burning Josper grill and oven as well as a large dry-aging cabinet. Expect a major announcement when they’re in place and the menu is updated. Similar improvements will come to The Woodlands location that opened in 2019.

Is STQ gone for good? “I’m always open to business opportunities,” Killen replies.

For now, the restaurant’s fans have a couple of more weeks to make their last visit. Considering Killen will also celebrate his birthday on September 30, the day will be bittersweet.

a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

openings news-you-can-eat the rice box