Lila’s, a new all-day restaurant and cocktail destination, is set to ignite Downtown Houston’s GreenStreet. According to a press release from Rebees, the Houston-based hospitality management company behind GreenStreet, the new concept is set to open on the ground floor of 1201 Fannin St.
“We’ve been operating GreenStreet for several years and came to see what it, and downtown Houston by extension, was missing,” Rebees Founder Tristan Simon said in an interview with What Now Houston.
“At some point it became clear to us that the thing GreenStreet needed most, we happened to know how to build ourselves. So we did.”
Led by executive chef Garee Battad and acclaimed mixologist Zach Smigiel, Lila’s will pair an all-day New American menu influenced by Houston’s diverse culinary traditions and an ingredient-driven cocktail program in a setting inspired by the warmth and service of a boutique hotel.
The press release further details that the Lili’s concept is a return to the deep hospitality roots of the Rebees leadership team. Simon, who also founded, led, and sold Dallas-based Consilient Hospitality, is joined by former Consilient Hospitality executive Matt Ragan in this new endeavor.
“We’ve spent years thinking about how hospitality can fundamentally change the experience of a place,” Ragan, who now serves as Rebees’ Chief Hospitality Officer, said in the press release.
“With Lila’s, we’re taking the level of service, attention to detail, and sense of welcome you expect from a great boutique hotel and applying it to an everyday restaurant. We want someone grabbing coffee before work, meeting a client for lunch, or settling in for dinner and drinks to feel equally at home.”
It’s an all-hands-on-deck operation, with Billy Can Can executive chef and partner Matt Ford also contributing to the development of Lila’s menu alongside Battad.
The menu is said to showcase seasonal ingredients from local farmers and purveyors, catering to customers looking for a quick lunch, a nice breakfast, or even a late-night dinner.
“Some of the most memorable restaurants where I’ve worked have been gathering places inside great hotels, and that’s the spirit and sense of place we’re bringing to Lila’s,” Chef Battad said in the press release.
“We want every dish to feel familiar yet unexpected.”
Lila’s is in a prime location, with GreenStreet serving as a gathering space in downtown’s Theater District.
“Rebees operates GreenStreet, so we know these three blocks of downtown better than anyone. Downtown Houston has a huge daytime population and a clear appetite for places worth staying for, or venturing out to, after five. Lila’s sits at the center of all that,” Simon said to What Now.
“It’s a chef-driven, all-day-and-night restaurant disguised as your favorite hotel lobby. Great breakfast and coffee in the morning, a proper business lunch, cocktails and dinner that can hold their own with anything in Houston — and a room designed so you can plug in a laptop at 10:00 a.m. or close down the bar at 10 p.m. and feel equally in the right place.”
Simon shared that the goal is to open for breakfast and lunch in mid-October and for dinner in mid-November. But there won’t be a ribbon cutting or grand opening, not in the traditional sense.
“We like to open in stages — a series of smaller gatherings for different corners of the city before we throw the doors open,” Simon said.
Check out Lila’s for yourself when the new Rebees eatery opens in Downtown Houston within GreenStreet at 1201 Fannin Street this fall.
“Lila’s is named after my French Bulldog, who has exacting standards that we intend to meet. Come check us out — we’ll make it worth your while,” Simon said.
