Houston's Restaurant
| Wholly owned subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Casual Fine Dining |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | George Biel |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
Area served | United States |
| Products | American cuisine |
| Parent | Hillstone Restaurant Group |
| Website | Hillstone.com |
Houston's Restaurant is an upscale American casual dining restaurant chain, owned by Hillstone Restaurant Group, whose main corporate headquarters is based in Beverly Hills, California. There are 19 Houston's locations in 10 states.[1]
Company profile
The first Houston's restaurant was launched by current owner and CEO George Biel, Joe Ledbetter and Vic Branstetter in 1977 in Nashville, TN.[2][3] Bransetter sold his shares in 2006, and Ledbetter in 2011, leaving George Biel sole owner of the company. The corporate company, Hillstone Restaurant Group was founded in 1976 and owns the following restaurants: Gulfstream, Bandera, Rutherford Grill, Palm Beach Grill, Cherry Cheek Grill, Los Altos Grill, Woodmont Grill, R+D, Hillstone, South Beverly Grill, East Hampton Grill, White House Tavern, and Houston’s.[4] As of 2015, the group owns and operates 50 restaurants under 13 different brands in the United States.
Reviews
Zagat gave the restaurant high marks and remarked on its '"vibrant”, “modern” setting matched with a “lively bar scene”; “seamless”, “tag-team” service".'[5]
Name change of certain locations
Since 2009, several Houston's locations around the US have changed their names to Hillstone. There is speculation that the change was made to avoid federal menu-labeling requirements on menus for restaurants with 20 locations or more as a part of the Affordable Care Act. The renaming of locations in New York City may suggest wishing to avoid that city's requirement that chains publish calorie counts on menus. The company maintains the changes are in keeping with a long-term strategy of disassociating from the chain image to remain a niche player in the industry. The practice of changing restaurant names is not a new strategy for the company, which has similarly converted several Banderas to locally named Grills, all predating state and federal regulations. The company argues that the name change was based on rebranding with a focus on more regional and less standardized fare.[6][7]
References
- ↑ http://www.hillstone.com/#/houstons/
- ↑ Jack Hayes (1992-07-12). "Houston's breaks found in the 'burbs". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
- ↑ http://www.hoovers.com/company/Hillstone_Restaurant_Group_Inc/rfkjyki-1-1njht4-1njfaq.html/
- ↑ http://www.hillstone.com/#/restaurants/
- ↑ "Houston's | Los Angeles | Information, Menus and Reviews from". Zagat. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
- ↑ "Hillstone Restaurant Group rebranding Houston's units | Nation's Restaurant News". Nrn.com. 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ↑ "Houston's restaurant outsmarts calorie cops | Crain's New York Business". Crainsnewyork.com. 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2013-10-09.