/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68043142/good_vibes.0.jpeg)
A longtime Pearland German restaurant has closed after nearly 10 years to make way for a new venture focusing on coastal comfort food.
King’s Biergarten, which opened at 1329 E. Broadway Street in 2011 and served up Austrian and German beer and food, closed on November 29. Taking its space will be Good Vibes, a new coastal burger joint helmed by Eric Nelson, who was previously the executive chef at Number 13 Prime Steakhouse and Seafood in Galveston. Good Vibes Burgers and Brews is expected to open sometime in the next few months.
King’s owner, Hans Sitter, first met Nelson years ago while dining at Number 13. When he decided to find someone to take over the restaurant, he immediately thought of the chef, according to a statement.
“I knew I had to hand over our biergarten to someone who shared the same values and beliefs as a business owner,” Sitter said. “The Pearland community is something truly special, so we wanted to hand-select the perfect concept that will be welcomed with open arms.”
Good Vibes will bring a beachy, laidback vibe to Pearland, focusing on dishes like a yellowfin poke bowl, pan-seared crab cakes with lemon aioli, Cajun-spiced fried chicken thighs, and the Good Vibes signature burger, with smoked gouda on a cheesy garlic bun. The restaurant, which was just renovated by Sitter in July, will also include a raw oyster bar and kid-friendly spaces.
“We love the community element that King’s has built,” Nelson said in a press release. “With our tiki-forward burger concept and being so close to the water, we wanted to create that same element of escape that the biergarten is known for.”
In the meantime, Sitter’s other restaurants, King’s Bierhaus and Egg Haus Gourmet in the Heights and Kings Bierhaus in League City, will remain open. Sitter also told the Houston Chronicle he has plans for a new location in the works.