After only being open for a few weeks, Ethel Mae Bourbon and Bacon has closed its doors indefinitely on Barker Cypress Road in Cypress.

Owner Joe Duong said he had to close the eatery, which specialized in southern comfort food, due to its proximity to a Kids R Kids Learning Academy. Since the site's location falls within the City of Houston's limited purpose city limits, the sale of alcohol is prohibited within 300 feet of a child care facility or private school. Duong said revenue from alcohol sales is needed to keep the restaurant afloat, so operating without the bar is not an option.

Duong said he is considering reopening Ethel Mae at a different location, but the details of if and when that could happen hinge on an ideal location opening up. He said he is working with the landlord at the current location on an agreement for the lease moving forward.

Meanwhile, renovations that have been underway at the original Shack location on Cypress Rosehill Road since December could be finished within the next couple weeks, at which point the restaurant will reopen, Duong said. He said he plans to add a few new menu items once it reopens, including crawfish and several items that could be transferred over from Ethel Mae's menu.

"Every year these last few years we've talked about closing the restaurant down for the winter to do some renovating, and this year we're finally taking that on," he said. "We've been going strong for eight years on Cypress Rosehill, so there's some stuff that needs to be done."

The renovations include adding more outdoor lighting and adding a new concrete floor for the outdoor patio. The kitchen is also being renovated to make operations more efficient for the chefs, and the entire restaurant is undergoing a thorough cleaning, Duong said. Some aspects of construction are likely to still be underway when the restaurant first reopens, he said.

The outdoor tent area is also being converted into a dance floor, which will be used to host honky tonk dance events in the future, Duong said. He said he is looking into turning a school bus normally parked in the restaurant's back yard into a unique feature for the dance floor—the top half of the bus would be cut off, and the new "convertible bus" would be set up as a DJ station for DJs to play music during future dance events.

Duong said he is also considering bringing some of the southern comfort menu items from Ethel Mae over to The Shack after it reopens. The Shack menu currently centers around burgers, but some items like chicken fried steak could be added moving forward.

"I might even get a liquor license there so I can start serving some of those drinks as well," he said.

Correction: The original story incorrectly stated that Texas law prohibits the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of a private school. The story has been updated to clarify that those regulations are adopted and enforced by the City of Houston.