State Fare Kitchen & Bar has closed its flagship restaurant after a 10-year run in Memorial City. The news marks the second State Fare closure this year, bringing the brand down to a single concept in The Woodlands. But State Fare ownership group Culinary Khancepts has already revealed plans for a revival.
Culinary Khancepts announced the closure of the longtime State Fare location at 947 Gessner Rd. on Monday, June 1. The restaurant had apparently closed the day earlier.
“State Fare wasn’t just a restaurant—it was an experience,” owner Omar Khan said in a statement. “We set out to continue the legacy of something fun, energetic, and different, and the response from the Houston community exceeded anything we could have imagined. We’re incredibly proud of the memories made there and the role this location played in shaping the future of Culinary Khancepts.”
State Fare is a brunch destination, especially as a Sunday Funday spot. Its menu features a selection of Texas Gulf Coast specialties and regional American cooking. One of the highlights is the restaurant’s enormous cathead biscuits.
Cherry Pie Hospitality, led by late Houston restaurateur Lee Ellis, opened State Fare at the Gateway Memorial City retail center in September 2015. At the time, Ellis and Cherry Pie had plans to turn State Fare into a national restaurant chain, including opening a location in California.
Three years later, Culinary Khancepts took ownership of State Fare. The group kept the menu the same and expanded the concept to The Woodlands and Sugar Land. In February, Culinary Khancepts announced it would be closing the Sugar Land location.
(Coincidentally, Cherry Pie was in a bit of turmoil. Ellis left the company and ditched Houston for Round Top, Texas; he died in 2023. Cherry Pie CEO Chris Vestal also left the company in 2018. Two of its concepts, Star Fish and Pi Pizza, were locked out of their properties.)
As for the future of State Fare, Culinary Khancepts is teasing an evolution of the concept to come sometime in the future.
“Plans are underway for a bold new evolution of the State Fare concept featuring a refreshed, more relevant menu, an interactive atmosphere centered around games and social experiences, and an expansive 15,000-square-foot footprint designed to create a next-generation social dining destination,” Culinary Khancept’s statement read.