The fall is shaping up to be a busy season for new business openings in the Heights and Montrose areas. Among the recently opened or recently announced endeavors are Southern Yankee Beer Company's newest crafthouse in Montrose and two Japanese restaurants slated to debut this fall at the former location of Golden Bagels & Coffee on White Oak Drive.
1. Chef Billy Kin—whose previous work includes the popular Heights-area Japanese gastropub Blackbird Izakaya, which closed in July 2020—confirmed plans for two new Japanese restaurants, both of which will open at 3119 White Oak Drive, Houston, in the former location of Golden Bagels & Coffee. The chef said he is excited to be coming back to the Heights.
The first of the two restaurants, called Kinokawa, is slated to open in November and will serve sushi omakase on a reservations-only basis. Omakase is a Japanese tradition where diners allow the chef more creative liberty in determining what to serve.
Kin said he is targeting early 2022 for the opening of the second restaurant, Tesseract, which will bring back the izakaya style, including several dishes that were popular at Blackbird. It will also offer Japanese whiskeys and craft cocktails.
2. Southern Yankee Crafthouse opened in September at 1312 W. Alabama St., Houston, across the street from the Menil Collection in Montrose. The menu features beers from Southern Yankee Beer Company, located on FM 1960 in Houston. The food menu centers on wood-fired dishes, including pizzas and a wood-fired beer can chicken, which is made with the venue's Fuzzy Bastard Cream Ale. A selection of cocktails and wines are also available. A grand opening event is being planned, and a date has yet to be announced. www.southernyankeebeer.com
3. The newest concept to join the Railway Heights food hall on Washington Avenue, BOH Slice, is now open as of Oct. 6. The fast-casual Roman-style pizza shop is run by chefs Ben McPherson and Chris Zettlemoyer, who also collaborated on BOH Pasta & Pizza at Bravery Chef Hall. The eatery serves pizza by the slice, typically made in a rectangular shape with thick crust that remains light and airy. Dough is left to rest for 12 hours as part of the fermentation process, according to a Sept. 30 press release. Other menu items include baked goat cheese, Italian hummus, baked bread sticks and salads. Railway Heights is located at 8200 Washington Ave., Houston. www.bohpasta.com
4. Treadwell, a high-end grooming and wellness space for men, will open later in October in the MKT Heights development at 600 N. Shepherd Drive, Houston. Services will include haircuts, shaves, hand and foot care, infrared sauna, IV drip therapy, cryotherapy and lipotropic injections. The Heights location will be run by owners Jason Starr and Ken Murphy. Another location can be found in the Southside Commons development on Bellaire Boulevard. www.treadwell.com
5. Houston residents Ben and Cynthia Orser opened The Now Massage on Oct. 5 at 373 W. 19th St., Houston. The luxury neighborhood spa specializes in therapeutic massages in spaces separated by canvas draping. Services include Swedish-style massages, stress-reducing massages, sports recovery massages and The Now, a signature relaxation massage. Custom enhancements include heat therapy, deep-tissue, and gua sha—a traditional Chinese medicine technique that uses smooth rose quartz tools to target specific areas of the body. All massage bookings through Oct. 11 will receive a complimentary enhancement. Guests who join as a member in the first month of operation will also receive a complimentary 25-minute massage, according to a Sept. 27 press release. 713-955-5926. www.thenowmassage.com
6. Two locations of the boutique fitness company Solidcore are coming to the area this fall, including one in the Heights at 600 N. Shepherd Drive, Ste. 490, Houston, and one in Montrose at 812 Westheimer Road, Houston. The company offers what officials call “pilates redefined” through a 50-minute full-body workout that makes use of a patented machine created specifically for the studio. Workouts are conducted in a low-lit room with blue lights and energizing music, with classes that target clients' slow twitch muscle fibers. www.solidcore.co
