Houston Area Restaurant Tris Shutters After Chef Resigns

Owners say they can’t operate The Woodlands restaurant without Austin Simmons, the chef who helped Tris earn its acclaim

One of The Woodlands’s most beloved restaurants, Tris, has permanently closed after its lead chef has resigned.

The restaurant announced “with a heavy heart” its closure in a statement posted to its website on Thursday, January 2, 2025.

“After more than a decade of delivering exceptional dining experiences and forging deep connections with the community, TRIS will close its doors effective immediately,” owners wrote in a statement.

“TRIS’s closure is also a moment to honor the dedicated staff, local partners, and loyal patrons who have been instrumental in the restaurant’s success. The TRIS team extends its heartfelt gratitude for the community’s unwavering support and patronage.”

Culturemap Houston reported that Haydar Kustu, the director of business development and marketing for Tris’s management company, Black Forest Ventures, said the owners were surprised to receive Chef Simmons’s resignation on December 31. Simmons did not immediately respond to Eater’s request for comment, and an employee of Black Forest Ventures says Kustu could not be reached.

“He said he wants to spend more time with his family and his fiancee. He didn’t give any indication of what he wants to do next,” Kustu told Culturemap. Owners ultimately decided that Tris, named after Simmons’s daughter, could not operate without him. Together, they settled on closing it, but they encouraged diners to patronize its sister restaurants, including the Kitchen in The Woodlands and its location in the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and six Houston area locations of the Black Walnut Cafe. Staff who previously worked at Tris are being offered positions at the other restaurants, and the restaurant is now offering refunds for diners who have unused gift cards on the Tris website.

Tris, which opened in 2018, received rave reviews from many Houston diners and tourists, including podcaster Joe Rogan and Donald Trump Jr. The restaurant quickly became known for Simmons’s unique fusion of dishes, including Korean butter poached crab, and his use of unique cuts of Gyulais wagyu sourced from Texas rancher Larry Ludeke.

Culturemap reports that Black Forest Ventures has no plans to replace Tris with another restaurant. They are, however, looking for someone to operate a new restaurant that’s similarly located in The Woodlands Waterway area.