Openings and Closings: Mi Luna is Coming, Benny Chow’s Has Closed

Mi Luna Tapas Restaurant & Bar, 888 Westheimer, opens October 7 at the Montrose Collective. It’s sort of a comeback for the Spanish dining concept which operated in Rice Village from 1998 to 2018. It was on the forefront of tapas-style dining in Houston when it first opened, introducing locals to the small plates of traditional Spanish bar food while also offering larger entrees as well. Under the ownership of  restaurateur Youssef Nafaa and his Bella Restaurants Group, the new location will immerse guests in the Spanish dining experience offering live entertainment as well as an extensive menu. While the menu has been expanded upon, there will still be some of the restaurant’s original dishes as well.

Nafaa says, “I want to keep the new Mi Luna as close to the old Mi Luna as possible. The idea is to experience different dishes that create great conversations, that create a social atmosphere that people are losing these days…Eating out needs to be an experience-meeting people and trying things you cannot make at home.”

That social atmosphere is set in a 3,805 square-foot space that accommodates 110 guests along with an outdoor patio with seating for 75 to 80 more. The decor is modern and traditional at the same time, blending Spanish style with contemporary furniture. The raised platform stage will allow for weekend entertainment including flamenco dancing. The first performance will be October 11 by Solero Flamenco, a locally-based national touring company.

The menu itself is heavily Spanish with some Moorish influences as well. Nafaa was born in Morocco and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago before arriving in Houston in 1998. Just 31 when he opened the original Mi Luna, he has added to the Bella portfolio with restaurants such as Mia Bella Trattoria, CoCo Crepes and Coffee and ZOA Moroccan Kitchen.

While some favorites return such as Paella Valenciana, Gamabas al Ajillo and Patatas Bravas, the menu also offers new creations like Branzino Asado and Rabo de Toro a la Sevillana, a dish of braised oxtail with chickpeas. There’s a hearty Jarret de Credo Estodao which is braised pork shank served with white beans and chorizo ragu.

To pair with the cuisine, guests can choose from a list of more than 100 Spanish wines. There will also be house-made sangria, and signature cocktails like the Meet Me at Mi Luna which blends gin, Campari, egg white, lemon juice and agave.

Agricole Hospitality announced via social media that it would close its three East Downtown concepts, HiWay Cantina, Vinny’s and Lightnin’s Good Times, September 28. The decision was made by its partners, Ryan Pera, Morgan Weber and Vincent Huynh due to the I-45 expansion, the multi-billion dollar North Houston Highway Improvement Project.

The three concepts were all located in the 1201 St. Emanuel block. Originally, Agricole Hospitality opened Vinny’s, a pizzeria, in late October 2018 followed closely by Miss Carousel and Indianola’s. Miss Carousel closed to be transformed into Lightnin’s Good Times which opened in October 2023. Then, in December 2023, the Indianola’s space reopened as HiWay Cantina.

It’s a tough business decision to make for a hospitality group made up of three talented industry veterans. The trio still have a strong portfolio with Coltivare, EZ’s Liquor Lounge and two locations of Eight Row Flint. We reached out to Agricole for additional details but were told to refer to the social media announcement.

Benny Chow’s, 1818 Washington, closed September 30. Originally opened in June 2023, the Cantonese concept from Berg Hospitality was inspired by the New York Chinese restaurants for which BH owner, and native New Yorker, Benjamin Berg had fond memories. The interior was lavish with red and gold hand-painted wallpaper while the outdoor patio called to mind NYC’s Chinatown with Chinese lanterns and recreated Chinese storefront signs.

Berg chose Chef Shirong Mei to open the restaurant and the duo claimed to have the best Peking Duck in Houston.  A year later, Berg brought in Junnajet Hurapan to take over the role of executive chef. In the beginning there was controversy surrounding the name itself and the fact that Berg was a white chef/restaurateur, which didn’t sit well with some in Houston’s Asian community.

We reached out to Berg Hospitality for some more information regarding the closure and were given the exact same press statement  as other publications, revealing little about the shuttering itself. However, the statement did say, “As we move forward, we are excited to reimagine the Washington Avenue space and explore new creative possibilities.”

With Benjamin Berg, the new concept could be anything.

Seareinas Houston, 1910 Bagby, opened October 2 in Midtown. Originally slated to be an expansion of Gabriela’s Group’s taqueria concept, the decision was made to open a sister location of its Austin Seareinas instead. This is the second Houston concept for Gabriela’s Group which opened its first, Mala Vida nightclub, in 2023. Gabriela’s Group was founded in 2018 by siblings Gabriela and Arturo Bucio. The brother and sister are natives of Michoacan, Mexico.

Besides the two Houston concepts, the longtime Austin duo have a number of hospitality projects across Texas including Seareinas ,Taquero Mucho, Revival Coffee and Rosa Mami.

The Houston location of Seareinas is a 10,000 square-foot restaurant which will serve Sinaloa-inspired cuisine. Known as the ‘bread basket of Mexico” for its agricultural bounty, Sinaloa also boasts one of the largest fishing fleets in Mexico. Seareinas will showcase seafood staples such as ceviche and sushi plus offer Tex-Mex favorites like enchiladas, choriqueso, fajitas and birria tacos.

There is a full bar at Seareinas plus a dining room with plenty of booth seating for getting comfortable. Neon signs line the walls, adding to the vibe and an outdoor patio offers al fresco dining. Some of the same design elements of its Austin location appear here like the large statues of Jesus Malverde, a Robin Hood-like folk hero and spiritual icon whose origin story began in Sinaloa.

 There are more than two dozen big-screen televisions spread out the restaurant adding a little sports bar atmosphere to the mix and the owners plan to feature local Latin DJs plus its own banda of local Latin musicians who will serenade guests tableside.

Bashi, 800 Capitol, celebrated its grand opening at Understory Food Hall September 12. Owners Cydny Olteanu and Milo Lu are the couple behind the concept who began their culinary journey by cooking at home. Chef Lu is originally from Chengdu in Sichuan China. Co-owner and wife Cydny began sharing his dishes on social media during the COVID epidemic. Friends encouraged the pair to start selling their food and they ended up doing just that at Urban Harvest Farmers Market in 2021. They also added Rice Village Farmers Market to their venture. When the couple found a spot at Understory Food Hall, Chef Lu quit his oil and gas career to pursue the dream of opening a restaurant.

The duo also believe in supporting local and small farmers when possible. The menu offers Sichuan favorites and everything is made from scratch including the sauces and stocks. The honey is from local purveyor bee2bee and the micro greens come from Verdegreen Farms. The menu also features wagyu beef from Wagyuru.

Cydny Olteanu said in an email to the Houston Press, “We want to break the stigma that Chinese food is cheap quality or unhealthy. We were part of Chef to Farmers Food and Wine festival this past weekend and we were voted Best Bite.”

We at the Press attended Chefs for Farmers last Saturday and tasted the chili oil wontons that Bashi was serving. We agree that it was one of the best bites of the day.

Olteanu describes her chef-husband as very creative and customers can expect weekly specials that draw on his culinary skills. Her personal favorite is the Chicken and Taro Stew Rice Bowl because, “it’s literally the utmost comfort food.”

Juicy Joint, 5550 Val Verde, will have a grand opening celebration from October 18 through October 20. Not only will the food truck be giving away a limited number of complimentary food items for the first three hours and a chance to win Juicy Joint food for a year but there will also be a special appearance by Texas rap artist Paul Wall. 

The food truck will offer a menu of halal wagyu beef burgers and gourmet hot dogs. Juicy Joint comes from Ahmad Kilani and is a sister concept  to his Clutch City Cluckers brand which serves halal Nashville hot chicken sandwiches.

The new menu offers burgers like the Walkin’ on Sunshine with wagyu beef, crispy beef bacon, Swiss cheese, truffle mayo, sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions on a soft potato bun. If that’s not over the top enough, there’s the Jalapeno Groove Sizzler which has two wagyu smash patties, American cheese, Juicy Joint’s signature sauce, crisp jalapenos and shredded lettuce.

The gourmet 100 percent wagyu beef hot dogs include the Eastside Sachi Dog topped with fried onions, gochujang sauce, chives, beef bacon and sesame. For those who still have room, there are two choices of milkshake: Buttery Caramel Bliss and Cookies n Cream Heaven.

The grand opening begins October 18 at 5 p.m. with Wall doing a meet and greet  from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with local radio host Kiotti Brown.

Eggs Up Grill, 2816 Interstate 45, is coming to Conroe this November. It’s the first Greater Houston area location for the chain and it’s being brought to Conroe by real estate broker and entrepreneur Chris White and son Kyle White, who, with his wife Megan Mejias, is an attorney and partner at White & Mejias in The Woodlands. The father-son duo have been searching for franchises and chose Eggs Up Grill because of its family-oriented ethos. The Conroe location is the first of five that the Whites are planning to open.

The chain opened its first location in Pawleys Island, South Carolina in 1997. Founder Chris Skodras began the franchise expansion 11 years later. The brand was acquired by WJ Partners, a family-owned investment firm, in 2018. The first Texas store opened in Dallas in November 2023.

The new I-45 location will be 4,000 square feet with both indoor and outdoor seating. There will also be a 16-seat private dining room called “The Coop”. The breakfast and lunch restaurant will be open daily and serve its full menu from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Some of its brunch menu items include Coastal Crab Cake Benedict, Steak and Eggs and Shrimp and Grits. There are breakfast plates, an array of omelets, Bananas Foster French Toast, waffles and pancakes. For lunch, guests can order sandwiches such as the Cheesesteak Melt, Triple Stack Burger or BBQ Chicken Melt or entree salads like the Praline Pecan Chicken or Cobb Salad.

Beverage options include cold brew coffee, Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade, French Vanilla Cappuccino and mimosas.

Treebeards has announced a director of culinary operations for the first time in its 46 years in Houston. Chef Matt Marcus brings with him a lengthy resume that includes stints with James Coney Island, Bagel Shop Bakery, Perry’s Steakhouse, New York Deli Eatsie Boys and more.

His initial relationship with the company began four years ago when he helped owners Jolie and Charles Stinneford open their fourth location at Bunker Hill as a consultant. Marcus says of that experience, “I really jived with their staff and Jolie and Charles, of course. They were impressed by my food and they ended up using a lot of my recipes that are still on the menu today such as the mac & cheese, deviled eggs and the roasted salmon.”

While Marcus will be adding to the Southern fare for which Treebeards is known, the core items will remain, according to owner Charles Stinneford. He added, “We do, however, want to keep the menu new and seasonal and keep people interested.” Marcus says that some of the seasonal specials he is looking forward to introducing include oyster roasts and crawfish boils.

Currently, Treebeards has three downtown locations and the larger Bunker Hill restaurant. With the hiring of Chef Marcus, the Stinnefords plan to expand its legacy with additional locations.

Piper’s Cantina, 1815 Mangum, opens October 3, according to CultureMap Houston. It comes from Piper’s Hospitality, the group behind Preslee’s, Woodland Social and the now-closed Piper’s Burger, though Google describes the burger concept as temporarily closed. However, an Instagram post from Piper’s Burger over a year ago said it was moving to 1815 Mangum. Apparently, the cantina idea was chosen instead. We have reached out for more information.

Guests will find casual Mexican fare such as tacos and quesadillas plus tortas, breakfast tacos and quesabirria. It will be open for breakfast from 6:30 a. m. to 10:30 a.m. and will also serve lunch and dinner.

There are frozen drinks like Pina Colada and Mangonada plus frozen margaritas.

Restaurants Reported Open September 2024:

The Burger Joint, 4455 University Drive, opened early September
Buttermilk Baby, 600 N. Shepherd, opened September 4
ChopnBlock Montrose, 507 Westheimer, opened October 1
Dandelion Cafe, 611 W. 22nd, opened September 17
Drip Dessert Lounge, 18321 W. Airport Boulevard, opened September 27
Fish Company Taco, 1914 23rd, opened early September
The Fox Trap, 11470 Westheimer, opened early August
Flying Biscuit Cafe, 2404 Navigation Boulevard, opened September 9
Gold Tooth Tony’s Detroit Pizza, 5225 Bellaire Boulevard, opened August 30
Good Vibes Coastal Cantina, 3500 W. Main, opened September 16
Gyro Republic, 20340 Fort Bend Parkway, softly opened August 20
Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar, 5333 Kirby, opened September 28
Milton’s 5117 Kelvin, opened September 27
Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse, 4331 Kingwood, opened September 16
Talyard Brewing Co., 1033 Imperial Boulevard, opened early September
The Taco Stand, 4455 University Drive, opened early September
Yogurtland, 13590 University Boulevard, opened September 14

Restaurants Reported Closed September 2024:

Killen’s STQ, 2231 S. Voss, closed September 30
Wild Oats, 1222 Witte, closed September 7