shooting in April left two people critically injured inside the establishment.<\/a><\/p>\n‘It was unforeseen, beyond our control’<\/p>\n
Lewis said the shooting left him \u201cshocked\u201d and was something beyond the restaurant\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never had a situation happen like that before,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt was unforeseen, beyond our control. The only thing that I thought about was making sure my employees were safe and making sure customers were safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The altercation happened when a group attacked a man and tried to take his chains before he pulled out a pistol and started shooting, Houston Police Lt. R. Willkens said in an interview with OnScene TV, according to previous reporting.<\/p>\n
Lewis said his next step after the incident was to develop a recovery plan and communicate to the community what Confessions stands for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since then, the Confessions owner said he has hired two full-time off-duty sheriff\u2019s deputies, a doorman, and enforced a dress code limiting athletic wear, flip-flops and plain white T-shirts to help customers feel comfortable returning. Lewis added that the dress code is relatively light and not meant to discourage everyday customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support has been amazing,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten even busier. We definitely went into a plan of attack, and I wanted to make sure everyone was safe so this could not happen ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Viral restaurant appeal<\/p>\n
This summer, Confessions has become a dining destination as it continues to trend on social media, where it has nearly 65,000 Instagram followers.<\/p>\n
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The Upper Kirby restaurant has become known for its happy hour, unique dishes and celebrity visitors, including Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Summer Walker and Gunna. The restaurant offers a variety of\u00a0dishes, cocktails and upscale seating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to open a restaurant where we solely focus on hospitality first and also create top-level culinary dishes that speak to you through the plate,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
Secret confession in the kitchen<\/p>\n
As customers post Instagram-worthy photos of their dishes, Confessions executive chef Randi Easily continues to stand out for her creative menu items. Lewis said customers have referred to her as the queen of brunch.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOne thing I love about our menu is how diverse it is,\u201d Easily said. \u201cThere really is something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The menu features dishes such as lobster bites with French toast, strawberry wings, crab fried rice and lamb chop Rockefeller.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooking has always been part of who I am,\u201d Easily said in an email. \u201cI learned firsthand from my mother, who worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, and she introduced me to the discipline and creativity of professional kitchens at a young age. My grandmother, the matriarch of our family, inspired all of us to cook and showed me how food brings people together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strawberry wings are not the only standout item on the menu. Weekly specials have become a major draw from Monday through Thursday. Monday\u2019s specials include $1 oysters; on Tuesdays, women eat free with the purchase of two drinks; Wednesdays feature all-you-can-eat steak night; and Thursdays offer $1 lychee martinis and $8 lamb tacos.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSocial media has definitely influenced the way people discover food, and I enjoy keeping up with what\u2019s trending while putting my own creative spin on it,\u201d Easily said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to stay current and continue evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Easily added that Lewis has done an exceptional job creating a space for an elevated dining experience while understanding that people want more than just great food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Months after a shooting left two people critically injured, Houston restaurant Confessions says enhanced security and a surge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-363340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}