What: Grand opening party
Where: Hotel Saint Augustine
The scoop: An invite-only crowd of more than 400 local celebrities, media, and VIPs tiptoed through the raindrops to welcome the first Houston outpost from Austin’s acclaimed Bunkhouse Hotels. Passing through the hotel gates, attendees stopped by the Augustine Lounge and Listening Room, where midcentury modern furniture provides plentiful room to enjoy both tunes from both a reel-to-reel tape deck and a turntable. After snacking on an extensive spread of charcuterie, the crowd bellied up to the hotel’s well-stocked bar for libations and conversation.
Upon exiting the bar, they walked through the hotel’s carefully landscaped grounds for a sneak peek at Perseid, the latest venture from chef Aaron Bludorn, his wife Victoria Pappas Bludorn, and director of operations Cherif Mbodji. Named for the annual meteor shower, the all-day restaurant puts a Gulf Coast twist on French bistro fare. While attendees admired the restaurant’s interior, they also enjoyed passed apps — including jambalaya arancini, smoked salmon dip, and crawfish sausage — sipped glasses from a champagne tower, and enjoyed the tuneful piano playing of local crooner Thomas Cokinos.
Upstairs in the Montrose ballroom, Houston artist Floyd Mendoza created an acrylic painting titled Spirit of Montrose. The ballroom also hosted a luxe caviar and vodka setup. After a five-hour fete, it was time to pile into ride shares and call it a night. Let’s do it again when Bunkhouse’s Hotel Daphne opens in the Heights later this year.
Who: Bun B and wife Queenie, Miya Shay, Kam Franklin, Hines’ George Lancaster, Julie Soefer, Sarah and Saba Jawda, Pierce Bush, Washington Ho, Campbell and Annie Eiffler, Trey and Amelia Tomjanovich, Richard and Marie Earthman, Paul and Janet Hobby, Jay and Allie Fields, Greggory Burk, Lindsey Brown and Chris Shepherd, Karen Hernandez, Emily Cotton, chef Nick Wong and business partner Lisa Lee, and Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl.
