Good economy or bad, people have to eat.
That seems to be the mantra of new restaurants choosing to brave uncertain times in the relatively more certain environs of Katy and Fort Bend County.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers opened a sixth Houston-area location in mid-December off the Grand Parkway. After 29 years on Interstate 10 near Voss, Las Alamedas has announced it will open this spring at the town center at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch.
And Sugar Land Town Square added a handful of new restaurants in recent months, including two by owners who already have eateries in the upscale venue.
High-traffic sites, along with menus aimed at value-minded guests, appear to be other common denominators in uncommon times.
“You see people being more discerning about where they go and where they spend their money,” said Louis Garvin, president of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce. “If you’re going to make it, you have to have good food and good service at a fair price. It applies to all the different levels.”
“Less people are going out to eat, and people that do are spending less money,” said Chris Reyes, who opened his Olive’s Martini Bar & Grille in Sugar Land Town Square in April 2008. “Heads are coming in, but now they are enjoying the ambiance and music without spending what they used to.”
Reyes said the decline in the lunch market has been “huge.”
The concept of his second Town Square restaurant — 1905 Pizza Bar, which debuted in late November — is a direct response to the economy. It features New York-style pizza in a contemporary sit-down atmosphere.
“Most families are on a budget. The under-$10 price point is what’s making money. What that tells me is people are out there, and they’ve got to eat something. I’m giving them a dining option where they don’t feel like they’re breaking the bank. I think it’s all about value right now.”
Locations become even more important in tough times, say developers. With its steady growth, despite the recession, the Katy and Fort Bend County areas are a solid choice, they say.
Red Robin, 23318 Mercantile Parkway in the Katy area, is a newcomer aimed at the budget-conscious. It’s sticking with its preference for high-traffic areas near shopping malls and movie theaters.
“We’re a stop-off location as opposed to a destination,” said general manager Terri Suhr, “one of those restaurants for families to stop off at on the way home.”
Red Robin owner Bobby Reynolds said he has been committed to Katy for some time.
Plans were slowed, however, when a shopping mall announced at the location didn’t develop as expected, and when the national recession made obtaining financing a “painful” process.
“If the mall was going to be there, it would have been a much better location, but it’s still a good location,” said Reynolds, a principal in Cowboy Red, L.C., which owns eight Red Robins in Texas. “The demographics fit our typical guests. We like moms and kids, and Katy is certainly a growing area.
“We have reduced our estimates of initial sales based on the overall economy finally hitting Texas, but we just go into these kind of deals knowing that long term it’s a good piece of real estate and Texas will recover before other states will recover. My underlying theory is that if you’ve got good real estate and you’re conservative and patient, you’ll do OK.”
Location, and a busier lunch crowd, is the reason Post Oak Grill recently moved to Lake Pointe Village in Sugar Land from its previous location at Texas 6 and Austin Parkway, said Garvin.
“They’ve been doing great when the sun goes down, but during lunch they want to be where the doctors and lawyers and businessmen go to lunch,” Garvin said.
Other new restaurants in Lake Pointe Village — like Mission Burrito and Five Guys Burgers and Fries — are among those catering to a more budget-minded lunch crowd, Garvin said.
When Las Alamedas lost its lease on I-10 and closed last January after 29 years at the same location, it chose LaCenterra in Cinco Ranch over what it considered a saturated restaurant scene in places like The Woodlands.
Co-owner Jorge Sneider said he comes to LaCenterra with sophisticated recipes from the Mexican interior, and an established reputation for quality that will weather the economic downturn.
He likes the walk-around ambiance and ample parking at LaCenterra, and is encouraged by the success of other, more high-end restaurants there. He also cites the per-capita income and growth in the Katy/Cinco Ranch area, as well as the relative shortage of restaurants.
“The area is excellent for what we’re planning to do,” said Sneider. “It looks like all the successful businesses in Houston are moving to this area — hotels and hospitals and car dealers and you name it. I think they are very much in need of good restaurants.”
Ann Hodge, Katy Area Chamber of Commerce president, said new and prospective restaurants need to do their homework and target their market. In Katy, for example, family-friendly meal specials and multicultural menus do well.
Outdoor dining options and live music are other ways restaurants provide added value, she said.
Garvin has another idea why restaurants continue to open in Katy and Fort Bend: A desire on the part of restaurant-goers to stick closer to home, rather than drive downtown for a special meal.
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Comments
US 90A corridor through Sugar Land needs more retail/restaurants
With Hwy 90 widened through Sugar Land, there is a large amount of traffic now. But considering the large number of homes, traffic, and disposable income, there is very little retail or restaurants along 90 from the New Territory area east to around Dairy Ashford. Many residents are sitting and waiting... and waiting... for something to happen on the north section of Telfair that is just fields right now but zoned for retail/commercial. Also with the Imperial Sugar site. Everyone is getting worn on having to drive into First Colony for everything (or north to the Waterside area).
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the urbanization that
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the urbanization that is going on in this community and our bond dollars and taxes subsidizing it. How many repeat hotels, nail salons and layered repeat commercial developments do we need. Keep them along hwy59 and give hwy90 a break from the same 7-8 Houston development company corporate welfare (tax subsidized) recreators of Houston. We don't need it and most of us didn't move out here to live in Houston again. We have plenty, perhaps too much. All you have to do is drive Texas Pkwy, Cartwright, parts of Hwy 90 to see what is going on. Older areas are becoming vacant strip centers as the new development drives up rents. It's a mess!
transparencyingovt
More of the same?
I agree with anonymous. Sugar Land can stop over-developing itself.
Besides, how many Habachi or NY Pizza places do we need on the same block. I noticed Town Square is opening a 3rd Hibachi now, and we already have pizza coming out our behinds. How about some quality restaurants?
Honest politicians anyone?
Just look at the key development companies and which politicians they are in bed with to get the big picture. You will see it at the council, board and commissioner level. Hell, some of these larger Houston ones are connected in both major parties all the way to D.C. I wonder when the mob took over our government (what year). I think the last really public fight between the mafia and the justice dept was in the 1960s. Maybe it's time to clean up all levels. I like that guy campaigning to "fire congress". We need more average Americans with that spirit today. It's what built the country in the first place. Locally I could count possibly 4 or 5 honest politicians in total.
transparencyingovt
Oh, I forgot to add that most of the larger FBC cities use their
Oh, I forgot to add that most of the larger FBC cities use their health dept. to rate the restaurants and to my surprise we found some of those same competing cafes offering city council members "freebees". I only know this because I was told so and later witnessed a long-term council member from MC doing it after a council session. It really is way to obvious around here. Why don't they just hand them the cash right in front of the public during the city council sessions. Why pretend.
transparencyingovt
US 90A corridor through Sugar Land ...
anonymous said "How many repeat ... commercial developments do we need. Keep them along hwy59 and give hwy90 a break..." Problem with this is there is very little land left on Hwy 59 aside from the Telfair and UH development. Limiting to Hwy 59, retail will have to go way out to Rosenberg (as it already has, as we've seen with Brazos "Town Center" if you can really call it a town center, creating major urban sprawl. Instead, Sugar Land needs to keep its development in a more concentrated, circular pattern. The tax revenue from commercial/retail helps the city and puts less burden on residents. Draw a 4-5 mile radius around Sugar Land's current city center at City Hall, and where is the last remaining area that is located well, has a vibrant and high-earning demographic, yet is lacking in retail and commercial (but is zoned for it on currently vacant land)? That would be two places: the Imperial Sugar site area, and the northern side of Telfair. Both along the US 90A corridor and both in Sugar Land city limits.
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anonymous said "give ... a break from the ... recreators of Houston. We don't need it and most of us didn't move out here to live in Houston again."
I agree with you. Which is why the county needs to do something about this problem we have with apartment developers. This isn't a problem within Sugar Land city limits with its zoning, but as soon as you are outside of city limits or city ETJ, the developers are trying (and have already been successful) to build these massive apartment complexes that are not good for ANYONE except the developers themselves. They're a burden on the schools, on the homeowners (shifts the property tax burden to homeowners) and are not necessary in a low-density county with no public transit such as Fort Bend. When homeowners see the tax burden shifting to them, the schools becoming overcrowded and school rankings falling because of the rapidly changing demographics, the area will no longer be desirable to middle and upper-class homebuyers and families. The county needs to do something now before it gets worse.
I read somewhere the commissioners were supposed to be working
I read somewhere the commissioners were supposed to be working on this, but with so many Houston development companies and road contractors contributing to these court members, I wouldn't hold my breath.
transparencyingovt
"The tax revenue from commercial/retail helps the city and puts
"The tax revenue from commercial/retail helps the city and puts less burden on residents."--This is the edc fools dream. They are told to use this as the excuse for over-development that is unsustainable. Why do you think we have so many half empty strip centers now. All they want is our yes votes on the long-term bonds to pay for their commercial projects. As they over-develop these areas and the neighborhoods age you will see crime increase, schools fail and all us happy campers moving to the next latest and greatest exurbia. It's a fools game and we are the fools.
transparencyingovt
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