As Houston restaurants are in the groove of the new year, sadly, not all are keeping their doors open. The city has been hit with a wave of closures — from a neighborhood wine bar transitioning to something new to a well-received Japanese restaurant counting down the days to its last supper. Here are the Houston restaurant closures you need to know about right now.

Know of a permanent Houston restaurant closure that’s not on this list? Drop us a line at houston@eater.com.

Lagniappe Kitchen & Bar

The Heights restaurant that took inspiration from owner Layne Cruz’s New Orleans roots has officially closed after nearly a year in business. The restaurant’s Instagram publicly announced the closure on Thursday, June 6. “Thank you to everyone that has stopped in to spend time with family, network with their community, come to classes, or just stop by for a cup of coffee-we appreciate the opportunity to host you,” the post stated. The restaurant opened in August 2022, replacing Revival Market after its closing in July, and offered Louisiana-styled cuisine, including po’ boys, crab and pimento-cheese loaded hush puppies, red beans and rice, and a New Orleans iced mocha, an ode to one of Cruz’s most nostalgic drinks — a combination of iced coffee, milk, chocolate, and a dash of chicory. Eater Houston has reached out for comment.

Shun Japanese Kitchen

Diners can eat at Shun through the weekend for one last time. Chef and founder Naoki Yoshida announced in a release on June 6 that he will close Shun Japanese Kitchen on Shepherd Drive on June 10 after five years in business. In its time, the restaurant developed more than 200 recipes that introduced new flavors, hosted rice competitions, and curated events, including Tokyo Night Festival.

Shun Japanese Kitchen

Yoshida plans to open Houston’s first Japanese-owned omakase restaurant this fall, one which will combine modern and traditional flavors and techniques, according to a release. Until then, Yoshida will focus on his Tokyo Night Festival and his newest endeavor — Tokyo X, a two-day Japanese expo and cultural showcase slated for NRG Park on June 17 and 18. With more than 200 vendors, the event is scheduled to offer a wide range of entertainment, including 30 dining options, more than 85 car displays, a prize-winning cosplay contest, an arcade tournament, martial arts and sumo demonstrations, music performances, exhibits, and a Pokémon trading card tournament.

Fat Cat Creamery - The Heights

The beloved ice cream shop, known for its scoops of rich Mexican Vanilla and Amaya Coffee & Cream, closed its Heights location on May 29 after 10 years. Fat Cat opened its Garden Oaks location in November 2020 and has plans to open its location in Hobby Airport this summer amid the transportation hub’s renovations.

Present Company

Known for its quirky drinks and eclectic ambiance and decor, the Montrose bar as Houstonians knew it is now temporarily closed. A representative for Shawn Bermudez — the owner of the Burger Joint and the recently-opened bar, Roswell’s Saloon — said he sold the bar to Gatsby’s Hospitality Group in November 2022. The Gatsby’s restaurant group also owns Gatsby’s Prime Seafood, Gatsby’s steakhouse, and Gatsby’s Grill.

The bar’s change in ownership is already clear. Drive by and you’ll see construction on its site. Present Company’s Instagram page also notes that it’s “loading” and “coming soon,” but a source says that a new company is revamping the bar entirely. Eater Houston has reached out for comment.

Blake’s BBQ & Burgers

After 42 years in business, one of the oldest Black-owned barbecue restaurants in the Houston area closed its doors on May 20. The restaurant announced on its Instagram. Houston Chronicle reported that the owner, Don Blake, who was known for crafting juicy burgers, was retiring with the intent to do other things.

May

The Swinging Door

This Richmond barbecue joint, known for its pecan-smoked ribs and brisket, will serve its last barbecue plate on Mother’s Day — Sunday, May 14. The restaurant owner, Steve Onstad, announced via Facebook on April 29 that he’s decided to “move on to another chapter in life” and shut the Swinging Door down (The announcement follows another post on April 15 that says the restaurant was hiring). “It has been a honor to be a part of the last 50 years of memories. We have been blessed to have been of service to this area,” Onstad wrote. The beloved Fort Bend County restaurant was known among Houstonians of all walks of life, including Houston Oilers NFL players like Dan Pastorini and Giff Nielsen, who became friends of Onstad over the years, according to the Swinging Door website. “I would close off the back of the restaurant so they could sit back there and drink beer,” he said (Pastorini even once brought in the late actress Farrah Faucet as his date).

The restaurant’s final day and Mother’s Day celebration will offer a barbecue buffet complete with tea, soda, and dessert for $26 per plate for adults, with optional beer and wine for purchase, and $13 for children 12 and under. The Swinging Door will follow up its final days with an auction on June 17 and 18.

New York Eatery

Bellaire’s New York Eatery will also close on Mother’s Day — Sunday, May 14 — after nearly two years in business, according to a release. The restaurant’s owners Micahel Saghia and Riana Sherman, who also own New York Deli & Coffee, announced the news in a release on Monday, May 8, stating that they are planning to shift their focus to their more profitable businesses, which include Bagel Shop Bakery and Houston Catering Concepts. The Eatery space will remain open for private events — including bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, and wedding receptions — for now, and some of its menu items will live on next door at its sister shop, the Bagel Shop Bakery. Owners also say they have offered positions at its other establishments to Eatery employees.

Izakaya

Midtown sushi restaurant Izakaya has temporarily closed down after eight years, as its owners Yun Cheng and Sammy Saket seek to relocate to somewhere inside Houston’s Inner Loop, according to a release. In the meantime, the space will be transformed to make way for a new restaurant, Josephine’s, which will serve up Southern cuisine and Gulf Coast favorites, like hushpuppies and country ham and okra, while also hosting an oyster bar and crawfish boils, plus boiled seafood sold by the pound.

Ouzo Bay

Ouzo Bay, the River Oaks District Mediterranean restaurant headed by Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group, closed on April 30, but its owners are already plotting on a new establishment in its place. Ouzo’s local sister restaurants, Loch Bar and Marmo, however, are still open. The Atlas group’s founder and president said in a statement that Ouzo “had a great run,” but the group is seeking to bring something fresh to the River Oaks area this winter. More details regarding the new business to come this summer, he says.

Concura Italia

This Westheimer Oaks restaurant Concura closed in May after serving up coastal Italian cuisine for nearly two years. Culturemap reported that the owners, married couple Jessica Biondi and Alessio Ricci, said in a now-deleted social media post that they have decided to return home to Italy. The restaurant’s closing has similarly made room for a new establishment. Houston restauranteur and Heights & Co. owner Brian Doke will open Dante’s River Oaks on May 16. The Italian restaurant is set to serve up Italian cuisine, including a classic spread of antipasti, pasta dishes like pappardelle bolognese and rigatoni cacio e pepe, and hearty entrees, like duck breast and tender rib-eyes.

April

Kraftsmen Baking & Cafe

After 13 years of operating on West 22nd St. in the Heights, Kraftsmen Baking & Cafe ceased its full-service menu in March and will close its doors at the end of May when its lease expires. The popular breakfast and lunch destination was a comforting go-to in the neighborhood, known for its artisan bread, popular breakfast and brunch dishes, pastries, and coffee program. At the moment, the cafe has updated its hours, operating from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a limited menu, and will continue to cater to wholesale clients, including several Houston restaurants. Fans of the concept need not fret — the restaurant is planning to reemerge in East Downtown in the near future.

How to Survive on Land & Sea

The eclectic East End wine bar and shop announced via its Instagram page, it has rebranded to Land & Sea, a cocktail bar with a menu of snacks with South and Southeast Asian flair that officially made its debut in the same space on Friday, April 7. According to the post, interesting wines will still be on offer, but it appears that the focus has shifted to interesting libations with boozy offerings like the banana daiquiri and the Tide Pod, drinks spotlighted in subsequent posts.

Louie’s

After rebranding from Cafe Louie, an all-day cafe known for its impressive pastries, to the Italian-focused restaurant, Louie’s, in December, this East End spot operated by sibling chef team Angelo and Lucianna Emiliani is undergoing its third transformation in under a year. The duo ceased operations at Louie’s on Monday, April 10 to transform the restaurant, yet again, into a pizzeria called Angie’s Pizza. With Angelo being a veteran of the famed Pizzeria Bianco in Los Angeles, the transition seems like a natural one. Angie’s Pizza will open after the current space gets a makeover.

Louie’s

Shun

After nearly five years in business, Shun announced via a post on Instagram that it will serve its final meal on Saturday, June 10. The Japanese restaurant made a splash when it opened in 2018, with chef Naoki Yoshida at its helm. The second-generation Japanese-American chef honed his chops in restaurants around the globe and at his family’s long-standing Montrose sushi restaurant, Nippon, before embarking on his own venture. Since its inception, the restaurant was praised for its inventive dishes, like dumplings stuffed with carnitas, a DIY sushi platter that allowed guests to customize their hand rolls, and Japanese shaved ice topped with sake syrup. With its official closing date two months away, Houstonians still have time to venture in and bid Shun a proper farewell.

March

Chivos

This once lively Heights hot spot quietly shuttered after the new year, discreetly wiping all Instagram posts, and replacing its page bio with a simple message: RIP. Since opening in 2021, replacing the pre-existing Calle Onze, the restaurant was among the city’s most exciting newcomers — even being named one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country, according to Thrillist. Founder of Belly of the Beast, chef Thomas Bille was at the helm until he parted ways with the restaurant last fall, and it appears its fate was sealed soon after. What is planned for the prime real estate that neighbors Eight Row Flint at the corner of Yale and E. 11th St. in the Heights, remains to be seen.

1751 Sea & Bar

This week, Sambrooks Management announced it would not renew its lease for 1751 Sea & Bar, the popular Heights seafood restaurant, which opened in 2019. The growing hospitality group is choosing to focus instead on its two upcoming concepts: the launch of Andiron, a wood-burning steakhouse, coming this spring; and a new Memorial outpost of the Pit Room coming this summer. Houstonians have until Friday, March 4 to pay 1751 for one final visit.

Hubcap Grill Heights

The beloved Houston burger chain has closed its Heights location. While Hubcap Grill boasts multiple other locations, including in Pearland, Galveston, and an outpost inside Terminal A at IAH, this is the second hit for Hubcap in the last few years, after closing its downtown kiosk in 2019.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

Not technically a closure, news of Hattie B’s Hot Chicken canceling plans for its first Houston location is equally disappointing. The famed Nashville-based restaurant was slated to open an outpost in the Heights but has pulled out for the foreseeable future. Until further notice, Houstonians will have to resort to driving to Dallas or wait for an outpost to open in Austin later this year, for a taste of the iconic hot chicken.

Griff’s Irish Pub

After suffering a devastating fire last month, Griff’s remains closed indefinitely. The fire, which occurred in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, January 13, was put out by firefighters, but sadly the bar was severely damaged in the process. According to a Facebook post made the same day, the bar announced “it would be closed until further notice” to rebuild, and a Go Fund Me was set up to assist Griff’s employees. In the month that followed, bars like West Alabama Ice House, have been hosting trivia nights to raise money for the Employee Relief Fund. Follow Griff’s Facebook page to learn how to donate and for updates on the bar’s return.

January

Casa Nomad

A little over a year after its debut in the buzzy M-K-T Heights development, the Tulum-inspired patio restaurant announced on its social media pages that it was “closing for the winter season,” but has plans to reopen in the spring as a “new and improved concept.” Whether this implies a different iteration of Casa Nomad will return, or something new entirely, the future of the once-lively restaurant remains to be seen. Stay tuned for updates.

Cherry Block Smokehouse

The highly anticipated restaurant helmed by Felix Flores shuttered less than four months after opening in the new Stomping Yards mixed-used complex in Garden Oaks. Despite an active social media presence and announcements of a new menu and updated holiday hours, Cherry Block served its last meal on New Year’s Eve. A post made to the restaurant’s social media pages (now deleted) on December 31 revealed “an unfortunate accumulation of insurmountable losses and delays” led to the closure.

Click Virtual Food Hall

This Heights company, under the direction of chef Gabriel Medina, served as a ghost kitchen that offered free delivery of a variety of cuisines, including Japanese and Filipino eats, since 2019. It thrived in 2020 when delivery and takeout eats were in high demand, but as the restaurant’s lease ended at the end of 2022, Click announced it would officially close its doors.

Diced Poke

For nearly five years, Diced Poke served up loaded poke bowls, pokerritos, spam musubi, and more at its Midtown location, but eventually called it quits at the end of the year. The restaurant served its last bowl on December 30.

Maize

Led by Fabian Saldana, a chef who honed his chops at Hugo Ortega’s Xochi, Maize was introduced to Houstonians in October 2021 with lots of buzz surrounding its opening. As the name hinted, the menu put a spotlight on corn masa, which was ground in-house to be incorporated into the restaurant’s various Mexican dishes. In the first few days of the new year, the restaurant announced it ceased operations. Saldana offered the following statement: “I grew up watching my grandmother and mother cook in their kitchens in Mexico and that laid the foundation for where I am today,” he says. “Maize’s closure has been tough for me and my team, but we all see this as an opportunity to continue growing in our craft.” According to a press release, the chef does have plans for another venture.

Sticky’s Chicken

Sticky’s Chicken had a three-year run before announcing it would close its store at Sawyer Yards on December 21. The wildly popular concept from brother-sister team Benson and Patsy Vivares began as a food truck where guests could get their hands on — you guessed it — sticky chicken by way of rice and chicken combos, wings, and more. It opened a permanent location at the end of 2019 and reeled in celebrity guests like Bun B, DeAndre Hopkins, and PJ Tucker throughout its run.