A globally-inspired Houston steakhouse will soon have a new name. Beginning March 3, The Warwick will be known as Winsome Prime.
Photo by Karim Saleh
Along with a new name, Winsome Prime will soon add sushi to its menu.
The restaurant’s owners, veteran restaurateurs Rob Wright, Mazen Baltagi, Steve Rogers, and Kurt-Ogechi Agomuo, created the new name to pave the way for expansion. They’re already planning a location in Dallas with more to come.
“When we first opened Warwick, we were thinking local. With the success we’ve had, we’ve had people calling who are interested in franchising,” Wright tells CultureMap. “We decided to do a complete rebrand for national expansion. We’re ready to take our show on the road.”
As they began to brainstorm new ideas, they settled on the name Winsome, which means “generally pleasing or engaging.”
“What does winsome represent? Something attractive in appearance and character,” Wright explains. “We feel our brand, our culinary experience, the look and feel of our venues falls right into the definition of what ‘winsome’ is.”
Open since 2022, The Warwick/Winsome Prime adds both Southern and global flavors to the classic American steakhouse. In addition to staples such as Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, and garlic mashed potatoes, the restaurant also offers crab beignets, truffle-lemon pepper wings, and blackened snapper over collard green risotto. Diners will find traditional steaks served a la carte as well as a Hawaiian ribeye that pays homage to the location’s history as an outpost of the popular Houston’s restaurant chain.
“We like that our menu isn’t just steaks,” Wright says. “We have traditional steak options, but we have other fare that pays tributes to other cultural influences.”
Chef Jabril Riddick serves as the restaurant’s culinary director. Wright notes that Riddick is a “team player” who works with the restaurant’s owners to develop new dishes and keep things fresh. As seen in the picture above, that will soon include sushi rolls.
Another part of the restaurant’s appeal is that its owned by men of color who have achieved success in the restaurant industry through concepts such as Prospect Park (Wright), Bar 5015 (Rogers), Slowpokes (Baltagi), and more.
“We all travel a lot. When we go to other markets, to be perfectly honest, we see voids in the market in minority-owned restaurants that are ran properly from A-to-Z,” Wright says. “We get calls from people who are impressed by how we run our operation. We realize if we come to a market, we could be one-of-one in some of these cities.”
