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Space Cowboy, the first project from newly-formed hospitality group Night Moves, is set to open this Friday, April 23, at the recently-renovated Heights House Hotel at 100 West Cavalcade Street.
The bar will offer a tropical vibe with a flexible indoor/outdoor space next to the hotel’s pool. The opening menu includes fruity rum-soaked drinks and bites inspired by chef Lyle Bento’s Hawaiian upbringing.
Night Moves Hospitality is a recently-formed group comprised of Bento, formerly of Southern Goods and Underbelly Hospitality, and Greg Perez, who helped co-found popular Northside bar Monkey’s Tail. The duo have teamed up with former Monkey’s Tail bartenders Samantha Ruiz and Karen Cervantes to create a staycation-worthy menu of tiki-inspired drinks and bites, including a cocktail called the Banana Hammock, made with Tempus Fugit Creme De Banane, and the El Pajaro, a take on the classic jungle bird cocktail made with Campari, white rum, mezcal, and pineapple juice.
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Food-wise, expect dishes like huli huli chicken, coconut shrimp bao with daikon slaw, tako sunomono, grilled octopus with cucumber and sesame ginger vinaigrette, and a dish called Army Rice, inspired by budae-jjigae, made with Spam, kimchi, miso corn, American cheese and egg.
Space Cowboy’s debut will coincide with the grand opening of Heights House Hotel, which underwent a major facelift from roadside motel to hip boutique lodging. (Longtime Houstonians will recognize the address as the former Astros Inn, even if the building itself is no longer recognizable.) The tropical bar is also the first of several concepts planned by Night Moves hospitality. A second bar, called Trash Panda, is expected to open soon at 4203 Edison Street, in the space formerly occupied by restaurant Edison & Patton.
Space Cowboy will be open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
