{"id":11149,"date":"2025-06-24T16:17:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11149\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:17:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:17:20","slug":"endless-bummer-a-speakeasy-style-tiki-bar-opens-in-houston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11149\/","title":{"rendered":"Endless Bummer, a speakeasy-style tiki bar, opens in Houston"},"content":{"rendered":"

Add another Houston chef to the city\u2019s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille<\/strong>, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast<\/strong><\/a> in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation\u2019s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.<\/p>\n

Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Pur\u00e9pecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston\u2019s other finalists \u2014 Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program \u2014 earned awards in their categories. <\/p>\n

A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife\u2019s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration<\/a> of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos<\/a>, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights. <\/p>\n

In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille\u2019s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors \u2014 lamb shank rendang, anyone? \u2014 that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide<\/a> and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a depth of gratitude,\u201d Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. \u201cKnowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.\u201d <\/p>\n

In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,\u201d he said. \u201cI said, \u2018We\u2019re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.\u2019 The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I\u2019m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023<\/a>. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd<\/a> (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo\u2019s) all won awards. <\/p>\n

The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie’s in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.<\/p>\n

In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program<\/a> for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night\u2019s awards. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners \u2014 distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,\u201d said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. \u201cThese outstanding professionals are the epitome of \u2018Good Food for Good,\u2019 elevating our industry\u2019s standards and redefining what\u2019s possible in American cuisine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add another Houston chef to the city\u2019s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[12080,12078,4345,12079,10084,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-11149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-cocktails","9":"tag-endless-bummer-tiki-bar","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-nightlife","12":"tag-openings","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114739245570106659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}