Two weeks after closing Genesis Steakhouse and Wine Bar, owner Jason Goldstein said he has evolved the former kosher restaurant into Exodus Bar and Grill, which opened on May 15.

The specifics

Exodus, which will be housed in the same building that Genesis was in, is branding itself as a non-kosher restaurant. Goldstein said this is a new era for his restaurant, and will provide his chefs and customers with a wider range of menu items without being held back by kosher restrictions.

"I announced Exodus on the eve of Passover, when the Jews were having their exodus from Egypt," Goldstein said. "It's our exodus from the community, from kosher—we're leaving that world and entering a new great world. And that is the larger, greater community of the Westbury, Meyerland, Bellaire, West U and Braeburn Valley community."

Goldstein highlighted menu items such as the 32-ounce Tomahawk ribeye, the Mediterranean Spanish Bronzino and the Legacy Burger that comes with a fried egg, beef bacon and crispy onion rings. He also highlighted the variety of sushi the restaurant offers, as well as Bolognese pasta and what he calls a crowd favorite, the charred cauliflower appetizer.
The Ziggy, a corn beef reuben with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on grilled rye. (Kevin Vu/Community Impact)
"We can now expand our menu, we can now use meat and dairy at the same time, we can now use shellfish," Goldstein said. "We can now really unleash the chef—he's incredible."


The restaurant will still offer kosher dishes, but for an additional fee, according to the restaurant's website.

How it happened

According to Orthodox Union Kosher, a New York-based kosher certification agency, kosher food means it's fit or proper to the Jewish dietary law. For example, meat and poultry must be slaughtered in a way that causes instantaneous death with no pain to the animal, a practice known as shechita.
Wings with Thai chili butter. (Kevin Vu/Community Impact)
Wings with Thai chili butter. (Kevin Vu/Community Impact)
However, the restaurant’s kosher certification was revoked by the Houston Kashruth Association, a nonprofit organization that offers kosher supervision and certification, in January after Rabbi Nosson Dubin asked the restaurant for an invoice of a tilapia found in the freezer, Goldstein said. Although the restaurant had a chef and kosher specialist to maintain these invoices, the restaurant was unable to provide it, causing the organization to revoke the restaurant’s certification the very next day.

Goldstein was forced to close Genesis as he saw less and less Orthodox Jews coming to his restaurant.


"Unfortunately, the damage was so great that the local community was so scared to come in," Goldstein said. "I lost my contracts with Rice University, which is huge. My family has served Rice University for over 30 years."