The restaurant at 1931 Fairview St. will be called House of Louie, and once open this summer it’ll resurrect a Los Angeles-area eatery close to Yu’s heart. See, there used to be a House of Louie in Southern California. It opened in 1981 and was founded by Yu’s aunts, Betty Louie and Josephine Yeung.
His aunts’ restaurant is where Yu first worked. Since, Yu has become a James Beard award winner, and his Theodore Rex is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant.
“House of Louie was how I fell in love with restaurants. There was a magic there,” Yu said in a release. “It was always a happy place for me, and for all its guests who came from all around the Los Angeles area to go to it.”
The Houston House of Louie (the L.A. one is now closed) will go for “French-Italian soul, flanked by the smirk of Modern American cooking, with a curated wine list and cocktails from the team that’s produced several of Houston’s most celebrated bars.” Possible menu items include fried lasagna with ragu bianco and fondue, roast duck with green chartreuse, and heritage chicken with house-made giardiniera. Kirk Thompson of Leo’s in River Oaks and Underbelly Hospitality, will lead the kitchen as executive chef.
The beverage program will be run by general manager Tyler Jay Wang—previously of the exceptionally cool hideout bar Drink in Boston—and will include plenty of martinis and about 60 wine bottles with a variety of classic, modern and natural styles.
As the former Vibrant was a pretty space to begin with, the team behind House of Louie gave it a “simple remake,” using Garnish Design, ObjektFab and Ford Design Finishes to add some newness.
Yu and Heugel, through their hospitality company Thorough Fare Co., have gone in on several well-regarded Houston restaurants and bars, including Better Luck Tomorrow, Squable and Catbirds.