Getting wild in Montrose

Budding Houston CBD bar and restaurant gets wild in Montrose with cool cocktails and global eats

A popular Heights coffee shop, cafe, and bar has arrived in Montrose. Wild is now open in the former UB Preserv space at 1609 Westheimer Rd.

In addition to coffee, cocktail, and CBD offerings that are similar to the original location that opened in the spring, the new restaurant features an all new food program from chef German Mosquera, the veteran Houston chef who has worked at restaurants such as La Colombe d'Or and Verdine. Mosquera's new menu utilizes a range of local ingredients to create globally-inspired dishes for both daily brunch and dinner.

At brunch, look for dishes such as migas con chorizo; chamoy salad with pepitas, satsuma, and pickled dragon fruit; and a breakfast sandwich with crispy pork belly, eggs, and Cheddar. Enhance them with sides such avocado salad, plantain chips, and grilled ginger-sesame chicken.

Dinner begins with shareable plates that include tuna tiradito, agua chile with snapper and king crab, stuffed chicken wings, and seared salt water prawns with chimichuri. Shareable entrees include Thai-style whole fried snapper, ribeye with broccolini and fennel salad, and Japanese-inspired octopus with fried rice.

All of Wild's dishes can be infused with CBD or hemp-derived THC in the former of add-ons such as butter, avocado oil, chili crisp, or honey.

Beverage options start with a full range of coffees and teas, including seasonal coffees like a pumpkin spice latte. Other coffee drinks are infused with a customer's choice of CBD or THC. Cocktail options include coffee-based drinks such as an espresso martini and riffs on classic cocktails such as the margarita and Old Fashioned.

1Those practicing a "California sober" lifestyle will find a selection of non-alcoholic drinks designed to be infused with CBD or THC. Beer and wine are also available.

Wild stocks a range of hemp-derived products, including its own branded gummies, flowers, and pre-rolls, along with a large selection of Texas-based brands such as Texarkana, Hometown Hero, Bayou City Hemp Co., and others.

Owners and cousins Adyson and Andrew Alvis have given the space a makeover to match the tropical-inspired look of the original. The restaurant is open daily from 8 am to midnight.

“We want this concept to be a one-of-a-kind immersive experience that will take our customers on a culinary roller coaster,” Andrew Alvis added in a statement.

Photo by Steven Cromer

The mango rye tai at Wild.

Pivot to catering

Houston barbecue joint will soon shutter due to $72,000 of unpaid rent

Fainmous BBQ/Facebook

Fainmous BBQ is asking for help.

Unpaid rent is forcing a Houston barbecue joint to shutter its brick-and-mortar location, but the restaurant’s popular catering business will live on. In an emotional social media post, Jamie and Karen Fain shared that Fainmous BBQ, their restaurant in Sawyer Yards, will soon close due to unpaid rent of $72,000.

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A post shared by Fainmous BBQ (@fainmousbbq)

Widely considered the only East Tennessee-inspired barbecue restaurant in Houston, Fainmous moved from its original location in Westbury to Sawyer Yards in 2019. In a 2025 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Fains explain the location didn’t pan out the way they thought it would, prompting them to focus on catering. When the restaurant reopened for dine-in, it offered barbecue sandwiches for as little as $8, but it hasn’t been sufficient to pay back the rent they owe.

The social media post also discusses their challenges with other tenants at the property. With the unpaid rent due by Sunday, February 15, the restaurant's time at the development appears to be coming to an end.

Lovett Commercial, which owns the property, provided CultureMap with a statement about the situation:

We’re aware of the recent fundraising effort and the public conversation surrounding it. Like many businesses, we experienced significant impacts during COVID, particularly related to development timelines and operations. With that context in mind, ownership has worked extensively and in good faith with Fainmous BBQ over a prolonged period, providing meaningful flexibility on rent, including a structured payment plan that ultimately was not fulfilled.

The accumulation of several years of incomplete payments has contributed to the current outstanding balance and situation. Our priority remains finding a responsible and equitable resolution for all involved, and we remain hopeful that a constructive path forward can be achieved.

For the Fains, the path forward is to leave. Towards that end, the couple have started a GoFundMe to facilitate their exit from Sawyer Yards and a move to a new catering kitchen. So far, it has raised approximately $2,000 out of $3,500 requested.

closings news-you-can-eat barbecue

Getting wild in Montrose

Budding Houston CBD bar and restaurant gets wild in Montrose with cool cocktails and global eats

Pivot to catering

Houston barbecue joint will soon shutter due to $72,000 of unpaid rent

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