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Dave would like to tell you a few things he thinks are important.
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Archived
Article #5
June 5
Hell's
Corners
When
the Gumbo Shop opened on hell's corner, at Richmond and
Greenbriar, I thought this quite a risky concept. No, I
never tried it, and I guess neither did many others. Then
came Just Fajitas. Maybe it's the seemingly limited
concept, or maybe nobody cared. I drive by this area several
times a week during the lunch hours, and have yet to see many
cars in the lot. Now there's a second Pot Pie Pizza
location - the first one on Westheimer near Mandell - and still
few cars. I guess Mickey K should be happy that his
Khyber restaurant is successful and should stop trying
to expand his empire.
George
Fu learned that expanding his Fu's Garden empire by
opening Blue Water Grill, where the Bayou City Oyster
Company sat, was a waste of time and money. I know this
as I worked there for 14 months from the opening. I feel
sorry for him, since he's a really great guy.
Let's
examine the four corners of that intersection. First it
seems most everything located there closes. From Double
Dave's Pizza to the Blue Water Grill, Pig
Live and the Q Cafe. The area used to be swamped with
people back in the early '90's, when 8.0 was booming.
Once 8.0 closed, it seemed to have a domino effect on the
whole area.
Cabo
has managed to stay open, as well as a few others. To
say the area is jinxed is difficult, but may be true. Parking
is a crisis for so many restaurants and it seems their isn't enough
of it to support the area. There is a roof top parking area,
but when I worked at Blue Water Grill, cars were being
broken into and most people stopped parking up there. Look
at how many places the old Bayou City Oyster Co. has been
- vacant for years, then Blue Water, etc. It doesn't
seem to matter what goes in there, they've all gone belly up.
What
will it take to be successful in that area? I couldn't tell
you. However there should be a time when someone says, "Enough
is enough!" I can't imagine how much money has been
lost in the last 10 years, but I wouldn't suggest any more people
try opening food establishments there. Several locations
inside the loop just don't seem to make it. Maybe
that's why many diners seem reluctant to try the new incarnations
and stick with the places that are familiar.
Chef
Dave
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