Shelby About Town

More juice on Armando Palacios' and Neal Hamil's new nightspot

Neal Hamil is a partner in the new nightspot, Lake.
Dessert Gallery gives way to hip club for grown-ups, expected to open in lateJuly.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
The Bank of America Center Houston lobby was setting for a keen FotoFest eventfeaturing photographer Laurie Lambrecht.
Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein and Martin Fein led the array of pretty people attendingthe Houston Symphony ball underwriter dinner.
Photo by Kim Coffman

We have some juicy tidbits to add to Thursday's CultureMap scoop that Armando Palacios, Cinda Ward and Neal Hamil are planning a nightspot for the social cognescenti.

When their new venture, Lake, opens in late July in the old Dessert Gallery location between Kirby and Lake streets, don't expect to breeze through the door without the proper social trappings or without a certain amount of discretionary income.

Hamil, with two decades in Manhattan under his tastemaker belt, said there will be two phone numbers for reservations for the club. The unpublished number will be for insiders "one that the club kids will have, this one for our little gaggle of geese," Hamil said. And there will be another number for the general public.

He describes it as a "tight door" policy. In fact, there won't even be a sign that designates where the club is. If you know, you know. If you don't, c'est la vie. Shades of the beyond-hip disco Boccacio's, the popular watering hole for the chic set during the go-go '80s.

The thinking, Hamil explained, is that with a limited number of seats (no more than 100) in the 3,600 square-foot space, the owners, investors and their friends will want to have first dibs on primo seating. "It will be very intimate with couple appeal," he added.

Target customers would span the generations from Alex and Brady Knight to John and Becca Cason Thrash to Patsy and Greg Fourticq.

"It will not be the cheapest place in Houston to have a drink by any means," Hamil added. "In fact, it will be a little on the expensive side . . . You have to do that to keep it exclusive."

Picture perfect

FotoFest has gotten off to a grand start this first week of the six-week citywide photography event. On Monday night, for example, more than 100 photography fans turned out at the Bank of America Center Houston for an exhibition celebrating the photography of Laurie Lambrecht, a protégé in the early '90s of artist Roy Lichtenstein.

Lambrecht , based in New York, addressed the gathering on her Inside Roy Lichtenstein's Studio exhibition that was organized by Kinzelman Art Consulting in conjunction with FotoFest. The evening was hosted by M-M Properties and General Electric Asset Management, owners of the bank center.

Admiring the photographs that captured Lichtenstein's surroundings were FotoFest founder Fred Baldwin, Clint Willour, Kim Davenport, Frank Herzog, Gerry Ordway, Sonja Roesch, Nancy Kate Prescott, Alexis Harrigan, Liz Anders and Bill McFarland.

Making music

The pretty people turned out in force at Grille 5115 at Saks Fifth Avenue recently when the Houston Symphony celebrated underwriters of the upcoming symphony ball, "Music Matters! What a Wonderful World." Leading the pack were ball chairs Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein and Martin Fein, honorary chair Margaret Williams and underwriting chairs Tara and David Wuthrich.

As part of the salute, Kelli Fein presented the honorees — Aileen Gordon, Cora Sue Mach and Fidelity Investments (represented by Jeanie Reckart) — with engraved Christofle trays in sterling silver.

The swell crowd included Frann Lichtenstein, Jill and Brad Deutser, Harry Mach, Steve Mach, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, symphony music director Hans Graf and wife Rita, Nancy and Bob Peiser, Saks GM Terry Zmyslo and Saks' special events guru Sylvia Forsythe.

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$420,000 raised

Health Museum gala honors Houston hero Dr. Peter Hotez

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Dr. Peter Hotez.

What a charming theme for the Health Museum’s annual fundraising bash. “Mysterious Worlds: Unveiling the Wonders of Healthy Living” at the Hotel Zaza on November 2 where the black-tie set and those with a penchant for science mingled. At the helm of this Museum District evening were gala chair Erica Littlejohn Burnette and her daughter Sophia Burnette, who helped craft a dinner party that honored health heroes and supported the museum’s mission to inspire future scientists.

The highlight was a heartfelt tribute to Dr. Peter Hotez, whose vaccine research and public health advocacy have made a global impact. During the pandemic, the co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development and Dean of National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine became against misinformation, sharing his expertise with national and international media outlets and offering clarity in a chaotic time. His ability to translate complex scientific research into simple guidance helped people navigate the tumultuous period and elevated him to the status of Houston’s leading man of science—a trusted figure during an era of uncertainty.

The evening began with an intimate reception where cocktails flowed, and renowned Houston artist Taft McWhorter live-painted his iconic Texas Flag. Guests also clamored a mountain of mystery boxes, which created a whirlwind of excitement as attendees compared their newly-found treasures and encouraged others to join the fun. The hidden prizes, valued at up to $850, ranged from spa getaways to Houston Rockets swag bags. And they sold out in a matter of minutes.

Inside the ballroom, KUHF host Ernie Manouse and Health Museum president and CEO John Arcidiacono welcomed gala goers. Student ambassadors Sophia Burnette and Duro Dina, participants in the museum’s Global Teen Medical Summit, introduced Dr. Hotez, sharing how the program shaped their career aspirations.

Auction co-chairs Dr. James Flowers and Robin French energized the crowd with a live auction offering one-of-a-kind prizes, including Dr. Hotez’s signed lab coat and signature bow ties, a private overnight adventure at the museum, and experiences at the Houstonian Hotel and Spa. The intergalactic afterparty, complete with a surprise dance floor, a DJ booth, and a stilt-walking, illuminated robot, kept guests moving late into the night.

By the end of the night, more than 300 attendees helped raise $420,000. Among the guests were Susan and Ward Pennebaker, Susan Bickley and Robert Scott, Connie Kwan-Wong, Merele Yarborough, Bill Littlejohn, Martha Walton, Carolyn Benton Aiman, Lynn Jones and Ed Jones, Nikhil Nayak, Dr. Kenneth Mattox, and Dr. Margaret Mary Wilson.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Dr. Peter Hotez.

fundraisers health museum museums gala