Make Midtown Great Again

New streetwear-inspired coffee shop and lounge sneaks into Midtown

Eddie Massa, Pouya Alavi, and Ash Tadghighi have a simple goal in mind for Sneaks, their new sneaker-themed coffee shop and “sneakeasy” cocktail lounge.

“We’re trying to make Midtown great again,” Massa tells CultureMap.

He remembers when Midtown was Houston’s premier party spot. After working on the crew at Clé when it was Houston’s hottest nightlife destination, he played key roles in the openings of both Chapman & Kirby and MAD. Now, he’s teamed up with Native Coffee owner Alavi and local attorney Tadghighi for Sneaks, a new project that adds to the trio’s two existing Midtown properties — nightclub/lounge PDA and sports bar/pickleball court 40 All.

Last year, the group opened a country music bar called Bandits in the space at 3030 Travis St. It drew crowds during the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, but they’d thinned out by the summer. The owners decided to switch things up with a concept built around three things they know well: coffee, streetwear, and ‘90s hip hop and R&B. They’re hoping to draw a crowd of 30 and 40-something professionals who live in the nearby apartments and high-rises.

“We know coffee; we run two successful bars. Let’s combine the two together into one location: sneakerhead, ‘90s, hip hop, R&B — a lot of spots are opening with nostalgic music. Let’s make it a cool place for people to come hang out, have some coffee, get some light bites,” Alavi explains.

Part of the inspiration came from Tadghighi, a devoted sneakerhead whose collection of prime shoes runs into the hundreds of pairs.

“You have all these pieces of art that are sneaks. Let’s expose them in this place,” Massa recalls telling Tadghighi. “I got inspired when I went to his closet. ‘These deserve to be in a museum.’”

Instead of a museum, they’re on the walls of Sneaks. As seen in the picture above, one wall features a clock that uses Air Jordan generations one through twelve to mark the time. Similarly, patrons access the hidden cocktail lounge by pushing through a wall loaded with sneakers in display cases. To ensure that sneaky thieves don’t make off with any of the prized footwear, each case only has one shoe in it.

As for the coffee, it builds on the success of Native Coffee, the Montrose shop Alavi operates with his brother. Sneaks will use a Slayer espresso machine for its brews. They’ll be paired with some of Native’s most popular housemade syrups, along with a selection of bagel sandwiches named for different parts of Houston. CultureMap Tastemaker Award winner Underground Creamery will supply vanilla ice cream and a rotating monthly flavor for Sneaks to use in affogatos.

Ultimately, the trio want to create an entertainment district where people could spend an entire day or night. Start with a coffee at Sneaks followed by some pickleball at 40 All, for example, or watch a game at 40 All then go to PDA for drinks and the DJ. The offerings will get another boost with the opening of Rendezvous, a rooftop concept that will operate above PDA.

Sneaks began its soft opening last weekend. The lounge will celebrate its arrival with a New Year’s Eve party that will feature local DJs spinning ‘90s R&B. Wearing sneakers is, of course, highly encouraged.

Courtesy of Sneaks

A clock uses 12 generations of Jordans to display the time.

sneaks coffee nightlife openings news-you-can-eat cocktails

Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”