At 1603 North Durham Drive, the steel canopy is up, the sign is blank and the courtyard is still fenced off. That is Sandoitchi's own account of its Houston site. The company has been posting construction photos on its website: terrazzo counters set and marked "keep off," a birch plywood wall one panel short of done, and a kitchen line "waiting on equipment." A couple of blocks north, at 1815 North Durham, chef Graham Laborde is building Little Bird on a former gas station lot. The plans include two courtyards, a 60-foot pergola and an antique cast-iron fountain.
Most of the Heights' summer openings moved into existing buildings on West 19th Street and the streets just south of it. The next two are on the west edge of the neighborhood, on North Durham, and both are designed around outdoor space. As of early October, neither has announced an opening date.
What West 19th Street took in this summer
The busiest stretch this summer was two bars on one street, both of which open in the evening.
Atlas Cocktail Bar opened Thursday, July 16, at 729 W. 19th St. It is the third Atlas and the largest so far, with two stories and a hidden speakeasy. Founder Dan Bui grew up in Sugar Land and has lived in Dallas for 14 years. He opened the original Atlas in Bishop Arts in 2021 and added Fort Worth in 2024, and the Houston location had been in the works since fall 2024. General manager Antonio Vargas described the Heights to DiningOut as a historic corridor for food and nightlife. He also said that Houston's lack of zoning gives each neighborhood its own personality, which he sees as a fit for Atlas's global theme.
Four blocks of address numbers west, Beez Kneez had its grand opening on July 20 at 1015 W. 19th St. It is an Austin bar with a vintage grandmother's-house theme. Its Instagram calls it "Grandma's House in the heart of the Heights," and the menu covers cocktails, treats and bar food. Doors open at 8 p.m., according to the business's posted information.
The other summer openings were in the same grid or on its edges:
- Angie's Pizza, 1002 W. 11th St., from chef-owner Angelo Emiliani, was reported open by the Houston Chronicle on July 28.
- Terry Black's Barbecue, 1329 N. Shepherd Drive, opened Tuesday, August 18. It is the family-owned barbecue business's first Houston location. Published hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Flor y Miel, 4705 Inker St., on the edge of the Heights, is run by chef Florangel "Chef Flo" Polanco and her mother. It soft-opened July 24 and 25 and held its grand opening July 29.
All of these took over buildings that already existed, in a part of the Heights that already had foot traffic. The summer filled in the neighborhood's existing dining streets.
Two addresses on North Durham
The Durham projects are different because the outdoor space is central to the plans.
Little Bird's site has changed hands several times. The Chronicle reports it started as a gas station, then housed Flying Fish, then The Kid, a restaurant and bar. Laborde's plans call for 149 seats, a dining room, a full-service bar, several private dining spaces, a patio and the two courtyards. Inside, there will be a hand-carved wooden oyster bar and a commissioned mural by Houston artists Whitney Garrett-Yarbrough and Dayle Booth. Laborde has released few menu details beyond a heavy focus on seafood. Julia Doran of Tiny Champions is the pastry consultant, and the drinks program is led by Justin Ware, operations director for Johnny's Gold Brick, Winnie's and Starduster Lounge.
Laborde grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and worked at Commander's Palace, Stella! and Boucherie in New Orleans. In Houston, he opened Bernadine's, which closed in 2017, and then opened Winnie's with Benjy Mason. In his announcement, he described the new restaurant this way:
"I've been describing Little Bird to my friends as Winnie's older sister. She's grown up, she's professional, she has a 'real job,' but she hasn't forgotten how to have fun. She still knows how to party."
Sandoitchi is a smaller project with the same focus on outdoor space. It will serve katsu sandos, egg salad, strawberry cream sandos and matcha. The company's renderings show an oval canopy over a common area, a garden wall, and a kitchen with a pickup window. The company says the design is meant to feel "somewhere between a temple and a courtyard." It also says the plans changed during the process and "through what the city allowed," but the goal stayed the same: "a space you can enjoy and chill in as long as you'd like." The page describes the neighborhood as "bungalows, bike trails, and old oaks over the sidewalks."
The two projects plan to serve different meals. Little Bird is a full-service seafood restaurant with private rooms. Sandoitchi is a counter-service sandwich shop. Together they would make this short stretch of Durham a place to go for a meal at most times of day, which is new for the street.
Why "this fall" is a loose date
Both Durham projects give a season, not a date. The Heights' recent openings suggest how far a season can slip.
Terry Black's is the clearest example. A July 2025 Chronicle report gave a completion target of June 2026. The restaurant opened on August 18, 2026, about two months after that target.
Love Croissants slipped further. In February 2025, the Chronicle reported that its Heights café would open that fall. It opened Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 801 W. 16th St., about a year later than first announced.
Sandoitchi has already moved its date once. In January 2026, the Chronicle projected a 1603 Durham debut "around summertime." The company's page now says "Opening Fall 2026" and that hours will be "announced with the opening date." Little Bird was still described as coming "this fall" in Houston Press's opening and closing roundup on September 11, and no specific date had been reported as of early October.
None of this means the Durham projects are behind schedule. Restaurant construction in this part of Houston has often run a season or more past the first estimate. Sandoitchi's photos show counters and lighting in place, with the kitchen line still waiting on equipment.
Dates for October and beyond
Love Croissants opened this week, and a few other changes in the area already have dates. In order:
- Thursday, October 1. Love Croissants opened its first standalone café, a 1,500-square-foot space run by chef Omar Pereney's Culinary Matters group. The new menu adds croissant sandwiches, including a breakfast version with scrambled eggs and onion jam and a turkey-avocado club made with smoked turkey from Bar-A-BBQ. The café has a large outdoor patio and a drive-thru that stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Saturday, October 10. Love Croissants holds a community grand opening with samples, entertainment and giveaways.
- Saturday, October 24. Hiatus Day Spa is scheduled to open its second Houston location at 629 W. 22nd St., Suite 1. Kate Sazer is the CEO.
- Late 2026 through about spring 2027. Brooks Running is building out an existing space at the MKT, 600 N. Shepherd Drive. Community Impact reported the plans on October 2 without an opening date.
One business left this summer. The Heights branch of Al Quick Shop closed August 24 after owner Mohammad Elsaadi decided not to renew the lease, according to the Chronicle's August closings roundup.
Both Durham projects have said they will post updates as they get closer to opening. Sandoitchi's page says it will keep posting construction photos "until the door opens," and its sign-up list is the most direct way to hear when hours are set. Little Bird's 149 seats, private dining rooms and courtyards make it one of the largest dining rooms planned for the Heights this year.
New restaurants, shops and spas on a street tend to shape how a block feels long before they show up in property records. At Ferguson Real Estate Consulting, we follow streets like North Durham Drive address by address. If you own in the Heights and want to understand how changes on a nearby block bear on your property, we would be glad to talk it through. Get in Touch.
