Houston is once again dealing with the effects of a powerful tropical storm. Hurricane Beryl swept through the area, leaving over 2 million people without power and causing significant flooding and debris in several neighborhoods. Despite the challenges, many Houston restaurants are determined to keep serving their communities.
Restaurants like Gold Tooth Tony’s and Empire Cafe have opened their doors on Monday afternoon to provide food for diners who are without electricity and air conditioning as temperatures rise. In contrast, others like Shanghai Restaurant in Asiatown have announced closures due to power outages.
Local officials had urged residents to stay home early Monday afternoon as Beryl brought tumultuous conditions to the city. Despite this, some establishments, such as the Houston cocktail lounge Poison Girl, remained optimistic. “As soon as it is dry enough outside we’ll start pouring inside,” the lounge’s owners shared on Instagram.
By 11 a.m. Monday, meteorologists reported improving conditions and noted that Beryl had downgraded to a tropical storm, with expectations that it would move out of the city by the afternoon. Still, Houston Mayor John Whitmire stressed the importance of staying indoors and off the roads to ensure the safety of first responders. The city recorded over 30 rescues and more than 400 911 calls within an hour. Whitmire emphasized the need to protect lives and pointed out that many traffic lights were malfunctioning. Officials cautioned that Houston could remain in recovery mode for several hours or days after Beryl passed.
Warnings about Hurricane Beryl began Sunday night, leading many restaurants to prepare early. Establishments like Daily Gather and Dish Society closed by 7:30 p.m. Sunday and planned to reassess reopening on Monday.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast as a category 1 hurricane at 4 a.m. Monday, with peak winds at 90 mph. PowerOutage.us reported more than 2 million homes and businesses lost power, and there was widespread flash flooding. At least two fatalities were reported due to fallen trees.
This storm follows the severe thunderstorms that hit southeastern Texas and Louisiana in May, causing extensive damage and power outages. Beryl has already claimed at least 11 lives on its path from the Caribbean to Texas.
As Houston begins to recover, Eater Houston will track restaurant closures and openings and assess storm damage to food establishments. Updates on food service and donation efforts for those affected will also be provided.
Here’s a list of restaurants open on Monday:
Gold Tooth Tony’s (Montrose/Heights)
Empire Cafe (Montrose)
Angelo’s Pizza and Pasta (Webster)
Annabelle Brasserie (Autry Park)
Axelrad (1517 Alabama Street, Midtown)
B&B Butchers & Restaurant (1814 Washington Avenue)
The Burger Joint (Montrose/Heights)
The Taco Stand (Heights and Webster)
Burger Vibe (Washington Avenue)
Cafe Layal (Midtown)
Campesino Coffee House (Montrose)
Crust Pizza (Kingwood/Heights)
Goode Co. BBQ (Kirby Drive)
El Patio (Uptown)
EZ’s Liquor Lounge (Heights)
Fifth Vessel Coffee Co. (First Ward)
Henderson & Kane General Store (Washington Avenue)
Holler Brewing (Washington Avenue)
Hughie’s (Timbergrove)
La Vita Coffee (Washington Avenue)
Los Tios (Buffalo Speedway)
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (Upper Kirby)
Miller’s Cafe (Garden Oaks)
Moon Rabbit (Heights) – open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with happy hour from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Nikos Nikos (Montrose)
Oh My Gogi BBQ (Galleria Area/Fountain View)
Paulie’s (Montrose)
Phanh Ky (Tomball Parkway)
Pho Dien (Bellaire Boulevard)
Pho Sapa (Bellaire Boulevard)
Patis & Toyo (Katy)
Poison Girl (Montrose)
Porch Swing Pub (Washington Avenue)
R Bar Houston (near Downtown)
Rudyard’s (Montrose)
Sala Thai Eatery (Montrose)
Sushi by the Heights (Heights)
Tacos Doña Lena (Timbergrove)
Top Sushi (Rosenberg)
Trash Panda Drinking Club’s food truck
The Teahouse (Heights)
The following restaurants have announced closures due to the storm and power outages:
The Blind Goat
Brasserie 19
Caracol
Daily Gather and all Dish Society locations (waiting to see if reopening by 1 p.m. Monday)
Duck N Bao
El Big Bad
Eugene’s Gulf Coast (Montrose)
Good Dog Houston
Guard and Grace
Hongdae 33
All Hungry’s locations
Jun
Kin Dee
Kolache Shoppe (waiting to see if reopening Monday)
La Lucha
Loro
Lyric Market
Makiin
All locations of Molina’s Cantina
Phat Eatery’s Katy and The Woodlands locations
Roma
All Roostar Vietnamese Grill locations
Shandy’s (Heights)
Shanghai Restaurant (Asiatown)
Street to Kitchen
Thai Tail
Theodore Rex
Uchi, Uchiko, and Oheya
Vuji Cafe (Heights)
Xochi