An announcement made today by Bludorn Hospitality Group that it will be expanding its footprint to the Woodlands has further solidified the picturesque suburb as a foodie destination to keep an eye on in the coming year. Chef Aaron Bludorn and his team will debut a second outpost of their Memorial-area neighborhood haunt, Bar Bludorn, at 25 Waterway Avenue next summer, in a partnership with Howard Hughes.
This marks the group’s first restaurant outside of Houston city limits and the first duplicate of one of the concepts within their portfolio, which includes Bludorn, Navy Blue, and Perseid. Of the choices, the decision to build upon Bar Bludorn was clear.
“We thought it was the perfect match for a Woodlands neighborhood restaurant,” says Aaron Bludorn. “It felt like the right fit—just casual enough, with elements of relaxed luxury.”
Moving into the space that previously housed Baker Street Pub, the new Bar Bludorn will be situated one block from the Waterway, amid the many shops and restaurants that line the district. It will bear a similar look to its Memorial counterpart, but Bludorn teases that the Woodlands locale will have a bigger bar and a private dining room, which the original restaurant lacks.
With the expansion into the suburbs, Bludorn is giving into countless requests he has heard over the years from Houston diners in his restaurants. “If I listed them in order, people always asked us to open in Memorial, which we ended up doing, the Woodlands, and Sugar Land.”
Bludorn admits there is no news to share about the team that will be in place in the Woodlands, with the opening still several months away, but he can give eager diners a hint of what to expect on the menu. “Things like the fried chicken, beignets, and the short rib reuben will probably stay on the menu,” he explains. “Things that have become staples we will keep; other things will change seasonally.”
Like it has swiftly become in Memorial, Bludorn hopes that the Woodlands restaurant will grow into a meeting place of sorts among locals. “One of the reasons why I love this space so much is that people can check us out before a concert, and then just walk over to Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.”
As the countdown to the opening begins, Bludorn says demolition is slated to begin next month with all else left “up to the gods of construction”, and further updates to come.
The news of Bar Bludorn’s expansion coincides with an announcement shared by Howard Hughes that Austin Simmons, the former chef of now shuttered Tris, will also open a restaurant in 2026 giving Houstonians yet another reason to venture over. Simmons will debut Charolais, a restaurant that spotlights his dedication to high-quality beef, in Hughes Landing early next year.
