Backstreet Cafe Closed for Repairs Until February 2022

Update: Backstreet Cafe has since reopened.

If you’re thinking of heading to Backstreet Cafe for lunch, brunch or dinner, think again โ€” until February, anyway. The restaurant, located in a venerable two-story home built in the 1920s at 1103 South Shepherd, is closed for the month while some much-needed repairs are performed.

The restaurant temporarily closed on January 3, 2022 and, while it’s hard to pinpoint a date when it comes to construction projects, H Town Restaurant Group owners Tracy Vaught and James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega hope to reopen the first week of February. There are two main issues: the kitchen floor needs replacing and the foundation needs leveling.

Backstreet Cafe brunch
Backstreet Cafe is a popular stop for Houstonians seeking brunch. Photo by Paula Murphy.

โ€œThis project means we will be temporarily closed for about one month to get this big job done,โ€ said Vaught via press release. โ€œItโ€™s not how we wanted to start the new year and our 39th year of business, but it is important and we decided, letโ€™s start the year off right!โ€

Vaught opened Backstreet Cafe 39 years ago, and it was her first restaurant. Ortega started his career there as a dishwasher, but it wasn’t long until he moved up the ranks. Over the years, he and Vaught fell in love, got married, had a family and opened more restaurants. The good news is that all of those other establishments are open as usual, so diners can still visit Hugoโ€™s, Caracol, Xochi or URBE, (which we recently named a Best New Restaurant of 2021).

Diners appreciate Backstreet Cafe’s homey setting, extensive back patio with a fountain (with frequent bird visitors) and varied menu, which is not only vegetarian- and vegan-friendly, but also has plenty of options for those who enjoy meat.

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