In the coming weeks, expect for Heights pizza spot Pi Pizza to undergo a major revamp.
A representative tells Eater that new owner Michael Sambrooks is planning to revamp the restaurant at 181 Heights Boulevard with a brand new name: DoBro’s Pizza and Sandwich, which reflects its new focus on “massive” deep-dish pies, Italian beef sandwiches, and more Chicago-style dishes. “We are going to have a Chicago style pizza place vibe on the menu,” Sambrooks’s description of the restaurant reads. “We want the vibe to be hip, modern and cool but approachable to everyone.”
As Houstonians likely remember, Pi Pizza is one of three restaurants — Pi Pizza, Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts, and Star Fish — that Sambrooks purchased from now-defunct restaurant group Cherry Pie Hospitality back in August. It’s the only one of those restaurants that has not undergone a revamp of some sort yet — just last week, Star Fish closed its doors for a remodel, and is set to reopen as 1751 Sea & Bar in the coming weeks. Before that, Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts was renamed Sam’s Fried Chicken and Donuts and given an extended menu with more sides, more sandwich options, and chicken dinners to go.
It’s been a rough year or so for Pi Pizza, which lost its founding chef in May 2018 and was forced to close briefly after a dispute between its landlord and its former ownership, Cherry Pie Hospitality. As Eater has reported previously, Cherry Pie Hospitality is currently facing at least three different lawsuits from former landlords and investors, all alleging that the now-defunct company owes them money. In one suit, a landlord claims that Cherry Pie Hospitality engaged in a “scheme” alongside former Cherry Pie partner Lee Ellis’s company 4 Boys and a Girl to hide money and assets from creditors.
At present, Sambrooks and his team are working on re-opening Star Fish, and the Pi Pizza project is expected to follow after that, maybe in the next six weeks or so. Stay tuned for an official update on its revamp.
- Pi Pizza and Star Fish Slated to Reopen Tomorrow After Today’s “Banking Snafu” [EHOU]
- Lawsuits Allege Cherry Pie Hospitality Stiffed Investors Before Selling Off Its Restaurants [EHOU]
- Cherry Pie Hospitality Finds New Owner for Heights Restaurants [EHOU]
- Shuttered Heights Seafood Restaurant Star Fish Will Undergo a Major Revamp [EHOU]