We’ll miss the fried chicken.
Summer has been challenging for Houston’s dining and nightlife scene. In about three weeks, the city has lost two bars integral to the Black nightlife scene and a Michelin-recommended restaurant that reimagined Afro-Mexican cuisine at the Ion. The closures aren’t over yet. Here’s what shuttered, and what might come next.
Kamp
It’s the end of an era for one of Houston’s most notable nightlife spots. ALife Hospitality abruptly closed Kamp on August 9 after six years of business. The owners announced the closure in a social media post, explaining that they couldn’t agree on a lease extension with landlords. Noise complaints from neighboring residents and parking challenges also contributed to the closure.
Like many other restaurants, owners noted that this “isn’t the end” for Kamp, and told fans to “stay tuned” for the next concept.
The indoor-outdoor bar, which hosted day parties and transformed into a late-night club with DJs and cocktails after 8pm was a hotspot for celebrities and hip-hop stars, including Slim Thug, Rick Ross, Kodak Black, and French Montana. Drake, who now notably resides in Texas, was one of its more frequent famous visitors.
The Address
Many patrons and bargoers hit social media with their best and bittersweet memories of this Southside bar and Sunday Funday hotspot following the announcement of its closure in early August. Jeremy Gore, who helped run the bar, said in an Instagram post that they closed the bar due to inability to reach a lease agreement.
The Ion restaurant Late August is now closed.
Late August
This Midtown restaurant, which showcased Afro-Mexican foodways and clinched a Texas Michelin Guide recommendation in 2024, closed on August 10. A representative says Late August is now transitioning into an event-focused dining operation in the Ion District, and its operator, Lucille’s Hospitality, will continue to provide event services and private catering.
Chef Chris Williams, who owns Lucille’s Hospitality, seems to be making some shifts. Two years after opening Rado Market below the historic Eldorado Ballroom in Third Ward, Lucille’s Hospitality sold the coffee shop and restaurant to comedian Ali Siddiq and his daughter, chef Jaden Gaines.
Earlier this summer, the restaurant group also opened the Branch—a wellness-focused restaurant with a raw bar, daily crudo, oysters, cavia, and charcuterie—in the Forme, a local luxury apartment buillding. It continues to operate Lucille’s, an ode to chef Chris Williams’s great-great-grandmother in Houston’s Museum District, and Emile’s Black Point Bistro, a coastal restaurant in Nova Scotia, Canada.
CLOSING SOON
Pok Pok Po and Bol
Kahani Social, the restaurant group behind Amrina in The Woodlands and Kitchen Rumors, is closing two of its Midtown restaurants on Saturday, August 29, according to a realse. Pok Pok Po opened first in December 2024, offering Indian-style halal fried chicken that was also gluten-free. Bol opened next door in January 2025, offering customizable bowls and wraps with Indian flavors in a fast-casual format.
Kahani co-founder Supreet Singh said in a statement that it’s not the final goodbye to either Pok Pok Po or Bol. Select items from Pok Pok Po’s menu will still be available through delivery in The Woodlands, and the restaurant group is actively looking for “the right opportunities to bring them back in ways that make them even more convenient and accessible,” he says.
This article will be updated.
