Lin’s Grand Buffet, 5402 Highway 6, will open January 9 in the nearly 9,000 square-foot space that previously housed Julia’s Mexican Restaurant. And the new concept will need that expansive space since it is one of the largest Asian buffets in the country. Founded in South Texas in 2002, the brand has expanded across the state, and into Arizona as well, over the past two decades. It debuted its first Houston spot in 2023. 

If you pile your plate high, make sure not to waste. Credit: Lin’s Grand Buffet

Guests can help themselves to a wide variety of hot and cold foods from kung pao chicken and bourbon chicken to crab legs and salt & pepper shrimp. There are several cooking stations, including a Mongolian grill, sushi bar and steak station. The adult buffet is $15 for lunch and $18 for dinner. There are special prices for children, plus a take away menu. Drinks are not included. 

Erica Chen, local partner of Lin’s Grand Buffet, says “Houston is a dynamic city that truly embraces culinary variety, making it the ideal setting for a new location.”

The ribbon cutting will begin at 10:55 a.m., January 9, followed by the restaurant’s 11 a.m. opening. The restaurant will host a lion dance in the evening at 7.p.m.

The Big Vibe Group (Joseph Prats, Jacy Cooper and Grant Cooper) have decided to close Graffiti Raw. Credit: Kirsten Gilliam

Graffiti Raw, 1001 California, closed its doors December 31, 2025, after debuting at the trendy Montrose Collective in 2023. Part of The Big Vibe Group, which operates popular restaurants like Coppa Osteria and Flora Mexican Kitchen, it was inspired by the laid-back vibes of coastal California with influences of Mexico, Big Sur and the Mediterranean on the menu.

Brick House Tavern + Tap, 19740 Southwest Freeway, is still in operation but that may change in the future. Landry’s Inc., acquired Brick House, along with Joe’s Crab Shack, in bankruptcy court from The Ignite group in 2017. Owned by billionaire Tilman Fertitta, Landry’s Inc. owns and operates a number of restaurants, hotels and casinos across the nation, including Houston, where it is based. 

The company has filed a renovation project with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, according to Houston Business Journal, in which construction is expected begin in February 2025 and be completed by May of the same year. 

We reached out for more information and were told “No decision has been made,” according to a company spokesperson. 

Tilman Fertitta’s Landry’s empire is making a lot of strategic changes. Credit: Jeff Balke

In other Landry’s restaurant news,  Landry’s Oceanaire Seafood Room, 5061 Westheimer, closed December 27, 2025. It was another bankrupt concept that was acquired by Landry’s Inc. However, the closure may be temporary, as reported by Chron.com.

We reached out for more information and received a press statement from COO Shah Ghani who said “The Oceanaire Seafood Room left The Galleria at the end of its lease on December 27, 2025.  Until we complete our relocation plans, we encourage guests to visit us at Willie G’s Seafood at The Post Oak Hotel for remarkable seafood. ” He added, “We sincerely thank all of our loyal patrons for their support throughout the years. In the interim, our team members will be placed at other company-owned restaurants until a new easier and more accessible location is finalized.”

Landry’s Restaurant Group operates more than 500 eateries and like many corporate entities, it has done some major reshuffling of acquired concepts, including shuttering most locations of Joe’s Crab Shack and multiple McCormick & Schmick’s steakhouses. Houston still has three locations of the seafood and steak restaurant in operation.

Hashtag India, 7626 Fry, opened mid-December in Cypress. The counter-service concept has a number of locations across Texas, including a Houston restaurant on Westheimer. Its extensive menu features a number of Indian dishes across various regions including Hyderabadi mutton curry and Vijayawada chicken biryani. There is a wide selection of appetizers including samosas, jalapeno paneer and gobi Manchurian. The list of biryani and curries cover all the bases with vegetarian, meat and seafood options.

The menu also includes traditional desserts like gulab jamun and jalebi, plus a variety of faloodas, a milkshake-like dessert drink.

Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen, 2903 Woodridge, reopened at Gulfgate Mall December 8. Closed since late February 2025, the Cajun seafood restaurant is now under new ownership and has added a few items to the regular menu like Bayou Sizzling Fajitas and Shrimp Diablo Pasta.

Sprinkles Cupcakes, 2563 Amherst, closed December 31 as a part of a complete closure of the cupcake concept’s 20 locations across six states, including four in Texas. There are also 25 Cupcake ATM-like vending machines, but there is no report on whether those will disappear as well. The company’s website is still up, but it reads “Page Not Found”.

The news broke in an Instagram post by founder Candace Nelson on New Year’s Eve but there has been no press statement as of yet. Nelson, who began the cupcake empire in 2005, sold the brand to a private equity firm in 2012. In her post she stated that she no longer has any ownership or operational involvement in the company. She added, “Still, it’s surreal to see this chapter come to a close-and it’s not how I imagined the story would unfold.”

And it’s not how most of the employees at the shops expected it to unfold as well. According to online comments by (now) former staff, the news was announced to many of them the day before, leaving them to begin the new year without a job, and for some, no health insurance.

Restaurants Reported Open December 2025:

Candente, 5101 Bellaire Boulevard, opened December 22

Casa Kenji, 3201 Allen Parkway, opened December 9

Dozier’s BBQ at The Finn, 712 Main, opened December 1

Honest Mary’s, 2047-A W. Gray, opened December 9

Hot Peckers at The Finn, 712 Main, opened December 1

Hypsi at The Hotel Daphne, 347 W. 20th, opened December 3

Jonathan’s the Rub, 20215 Bridgeland Creek Parkway, opened December 10

Meat Moot, 2540 Eldridge, grand opening December 21

OMG Burgers, 5333 Westheimer, grand opening December 13

Oru, 746 W. 24th, opened December 17

Ramen Tatsu-Ya, 600 W. Sam Houston Parkway, opened December 9

Taste Kitchen + Bar, 1550 Lake Point Parkway, opened December 10

Trader Joe’s, 9715 Towne Lake Parkway, opened December 19

Trill Burgers, 20220 Fort Bend Parkway, opened December 10

Restaurants Reported Closed December 2025:

Brett’s BBQ Shop, 25250 Kingsland Boulevard, closed December 28

Grand Lux Cafe, 5000 Westheimer, will close January 24, 2026

This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.

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