The Saddest Houston Restaurant Closings to Know This March
A steakhouse speakeasy, a beloved queer bar, a Heights hangout, an all-day breakfast spot, and a Dallas Tex-Mex restaurant have all called it quits
Houston is well into the spring season, and while there are many anticipated and new restaurants, there are just as many closing. Owners continue to cite a challenging economy as the reason behind their closures, while others are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Beryl and last year’s other weather disasters. Here are some of the most noteworthy and heartbreaking closings this month.
The list is by no means comprehensive. Have information on another closing? Send all tips to houston@eater.com
Star Sailor
Houston’s beloved queer bar and restaurant is closing this month, but there’s still a little time to party. The Lazybrooke/Timbergrove watering hole, known for its smash burgers, will host celebrations leading up to its official closure on Sunday, March 30, followed by a garage sale on Monday, March 31, where diners can secure Star Sailor memorabilia and beer. Owner Marin Slanina says Star Sailor struggled after facing several challenges over the last year, including the derecho that hit Houston in May and Hurricane Beryl in July, plus floods, thefts, and power outages. “There were things that got in our way of being able to be fully successful in the last year, and time pretty much ran out,” she says. Slanina first opened the Star Sailor in 2020, aiming to offer an inclusive space to all Houston diners with diverse drink options and comforting burgers. “It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what you do. It doesn’t matter who or how you love. Everybody deserves to have … a safe space to enjoy and just be at peace,” she says.
Auden
This Autry Park restaurant, which billed itself as “vegetable-forward,” will close its doors on Sunday, April 6, according to an Instagram announcement. Owners and married couple Kripa and Kirthan Shenoy opened the restaurant in October 2023, touting a menu that would give as much care to the vegetables as the protein. Noteworthy dishes included the scallion hot cakes and the lamb kebab plate, which earned a shoutout in Texas Monthly’s best restaurant list for 2025. Kripa Shenoy, the pastry chef behind EaDough Pastries and Provisions, also concocted a stellar deconstructed tres leches cake with milk poured tableside. The couple recently told the Houston Chronicle that it was negatively affected by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Last year, it saw its revenue decrease by 20 percent during the Rodeo, and this year, revenue decreased by 30 to 40 percent on weekends in February and March, when diners were drawn into the Rodeo’s concerts and festivities. Other chefs, including Ryan Lachaine of Riel, say their restaurants have also taken a hit during Rodeo season.
Auden
Mi Cocina
This Dallas-founded Tex-Mex restaurant’s River Oaks outpost closed after roughly two years in business. The Mi Cocina team posted the announcement of the closure on its website, stating that it wrapped up operations in Houston on Thursday, March 20. The website directed diners to its 23 other locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Tulsa, Oklahoma. “We want to express our sincere appreciation to everyone who dined with us and to our incredible team who brought the Mi Cocina experience to life,” they wrote. Mi Cocina opened in Houston in November 2023, touting its frozen Mambo Taxi margaritas, Pinot Noir sangria-swirled margaritas that are loaded with Sausa Silver tequila, lime juice, and brandy. It’s possible that with the ample number of top-notch Tex-Mex restaurants in Houston, this Dallas import didn’t stand a chance.
1891 American Eatery & Bar
In a statement, a representative for 1891 American Eatery & Bar announced its abrupt closure on Monday, March 3, after a year and a half in business in the Heights. 1891, named after the year the Heights neighborhood was established, opened in November 2023, offering a casual and welcoming hangout for classics like burgers and sandwiches. The restaurant faced “sales and traffic trends that ultimately made it difficult to sustain operations,” according to the release. “While it was an extremely difficult decision to close, we are incredibly proud of what we created — a space where great food, handcrafted drinks, and warm hospitality came together to bring people joy,” the 1891 team wrote in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the Houston community, whose support made this experience so special.”
Bearded Fox Brewing
After some back and forth, this Tomball brewery officially closed after 10 years in business. Bearded Fox’s owner Joshua R. Govea announced on Instagram in December 2024 that the brewery would close and host a grand reopening in March or early April. But in mid-March, he announced that the brewery would not reopen anytime soon. “On behalf of myself and the entire Bearded Fox family, we’d like to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support throughout these past 10 years,” Govea wrote. He added that all brewery equipment is for sale. The brewery, which initially started as a home brew project, has faced some instability since its inception. Chron.com reported that Govea opened the brick-and-mortar on 11729 Spring Cypress Road in February 2017, but had difficulty keeping up with running the brewery. At the brink of closing, five years into the business, investor Arif Manji purchased the brewery and saved it. But in June 2024, the brewery closed for maintenance, and it never seemed to recover.
Savoir and Patton’s
Speakeasy steakhouse Patton’s and its accompanying restaurant Savoir both closed in early March following the owner Mauro Cisneros’s decision to move out of Houston, according to a social media post. The restaurant underwent an evolution of sorts during its time in the Heights. The restaurant first opened as Savoir in 2019, before closing due to storm damage and later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Chron.com. But the restaurant eventually reopened with a wine bar and, in 2022, added the 38-seat speakeasy steakhouse, Patton’s, which diners could access through its wine cellar.
Barrett Doke
Captain Bbang
Houston’s first shop to sell the Korean street food hotteok closed on Friday, February 28, almost exactly a year after opening, Chron.com reports. Captain Bbang, which was located in the Bellaire Food Street strip in Asiatown, was known for its cinnamon- and brown sugar-filled hotteok and penny-shaped waffles called penny bbang. Owner Steve Hong, who also owns the nearby Korean tteokbokki hot spot Dookki, told the Chron that the space that formerly housed Captain Bbang will welcome a new concept, Le Kream, which will serve Korean-style cream-filled pastries.
Lola
This neighborhood diner and popular all-day breakfast spot in the Heights closed in late February after 18 years in business. The restaurant announced its closure on social media, calling it a “difficult decision” but noting that the team looks forward to “serving the Houston community again soon in a new location.” Ken Bridge, the founder of Pink’s Pizza, opened Lola’s in 2011, inspired by some of the diners his family owned in Indianapolis, according to the restaurant’s website. He named it after an affectionate Filipino nickname for grandmother.
Izakaya Ten
This Sugar Land Japanese restaurant announced its closure on social media in late February after nearly two years in business. Known for its various sushi offerings and hot dishes, like ramen and grilled skewers, Izakaya was sibling to Houston restaurants KA Sushi in the Heights and Fat Bao, a steamed bun shop in the Upper Kirby area.
Quiote
The Toasted Coconut’s speakeasy officially called it quits on Sunday, February 2. Martin and Sarah Strayer, the married couple and owners who are also behind Nobie’s and Nonno’s, quietly opened the invitation-only hidden bar in the Montrose tiki bar in 2020. They closed the bar and kept it secret for two years before opening it again in 2022, this time, offering space on a first-come, first-served basis with Mexican-inspired cocktails, seafood, and light bites. They later closed for renovations and reopened in March 2024, before throwing in the towel for good earlier this year. “Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of creating an intimate space that introduced the adventurous to try new things, whether they were our special spirit selections or the food we had a lot of fun creating,” a post reads on Quiote’s Instagram page. “We’re super proud we did some really cool things in this uniquely small space.” The post also encouraged diners to “stay tuned, because you know we always have something else up our sleeves!”
View more of last month’s restaurant closings here.
