Relish Restaurant & Bar plans to serve at 2810 Westheimer through the end of 2026. It will then move to The RO, the Transwestern development rising at Buffalo Speedway and West Alabama. According to the Houston Chronicle's project tracker, The RO's retail is expected to open in late 2027 or early 2028. Relish hasn't announced an opening date for the new space.
Put those dates side by side and River Oaks' best-known neighborhood restaurant is the first restaurant confirmed for a place that doesn't exist yet. Its old space on Westheimer gets a new restaurant in the meantime. For most of next year, the closest Relish will be the one in Memorial.
Four Dates, Two Addresses
Three businesses are running on separate schedules, and they meet at one storefront. The table lays out each schedule as it has been published.
| What | Where | Published timing | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relish's last stretch on Westheimer | 2810 Westheimer | "Through the end of the year" | Aug. 18, 2026 |
| Island Grill American Mediterranean opens | 2810 Westheimer, 4,225 sq ft | Spring 2027 | July 25, 2026 |
| The RO's retail village opens | 3120 Buffalo Speedway | Late 2027 or early 2028 | Updated June 8, 2026 |
| Relish reopens at The RO | 3120 Buffalo Speedway | Not announced | July 22, 2026 |
On these dates, a new restaurant will likely be up and running in Relish's old room before Relish has a new room to move into. CultureMap Houston said it plainly when the move was announced: with The RO not expected until late 2027, fans of the River Oaks location "will need to make the drive to Town & Country to satisfy their lobster rolls cravings for most of next year."
What Relish Has Said So Far
Relish has said very little in public. According to CultureMap Houston, the announcement came as a short statement:
Relish's River Oaks location will remain open through the end of the year and looks forward to continuing to serve its customers during this time. Relish will open a new location at The Ro, Transwestern's forthcoming mixed-use development in River Oaks. Additional details, including timing and opening plans, will be shared at a later date.
What Now Houston reported in August that no date had been set for the new location, and it noted The RO is still under construction. The restaurant hasn't announced a final service date on Westheimer or any interim plan.
The business has a long history behind it. Co-founders Dustin Teague and Addie D'Agostino started in 2011 with Relish Fine Foods, a small neighborhood market and pantry. In 2016 they turned it into a full-service restaurant and bar in the former Bird & the Bear space on Westheimer, and in 2024 they added a second location at Town & Country Village. CultureMap describes the menu as wide-ranging American fare, with the fried chicken, deviled eggs and lobster roll as standouts.
What The RO Is Building
The timing makes more sense once you look at what Relish is waiting for. The RO covers 17 acres on the site of a former Exxon research facility, between River Oaks and Upper Kirby. Transwestern bought the property in 2017.
The plan calls for about 80,000 square feet of retail spread across several buildings, roughly half of it restaurants. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture designed the retail village with cobblestone walkways, brick buildings and patios shaded by oak trees. Parking goes underground, which lets the whole development be pedestrian-only. Two residential towers anchor the project:
- The Clayton: a 28-story apartment tower with 317 units, designed by Pickard Chilton
- The Birdsall, Auberge Collection: a 34-story hotel and condominium tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, Houston's first Auberge-branded project
Transwestern told the Chronicle that most of the retail space is "spoken for" or in advanced negotiations, but it declined to name prospects. So far, Relish is the only restaurant confirmed publicly.
Westheimer Is Refilling Around It
Relish's old block won't sit empty. Island Grill American Mediterranean announced a sixth Greater Houston location in the River Oaks Village shopping center at 2810 Westheimer, taking the 4,225-square-foot space after Relish leaves. Co-owner Faysal Haddad confirmed the plan to What Now Houston and described it as following customers who already make the trip:
"We've had customers from River Oaks driving to our other locations for years, some of them for decades. Bringing Island Grill to their neighborhood feels like the right next step for our family."
Island Grill's target is spring 2027, and no later report has changed that date.
The rest of this stretch of Westheimer has kept changing since the July announcement. On Sept. 10, H&H Bagels opened its first Texas shop at 2850 Westheimer, close to Relish's current address. It's open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and franchisee Noman Khan, a native New Yorker who has lived in Houston for more than a decade, runs it. The Houston Chronicle noted that it arrived three months after PopUp Bagels, another national bagel brand, opened its first Houston shop.
Farther west, near Weslayan, the Cyclone Anaya's Tex-Mex Kitchen at 3736 Westheimer closed for good in early September. KHOU reported paper signs in the windows thanking customers and pointing them to the company's other locations. The restaurant had opened on Feb. 6, 2024, so it ran for about two and a half years. No new tenant for the space has been reported.
Since July, this one corridor has seen a restaurant swap announced, a breakfast arrival and a closure. Westheimer's storefronts turn over on lease cycles, and a new tenant is already lined up for Relish's room before Relish has left. The RO is going up on construction time, and its schedule runs in years.
Where to Find Relish in 2027
Relish's website still lists both the River Oaks and Memorial locations. Once the Westheimer room closes, the Town & Country Village location becomes the only Relish until The RO opens. From Afton Oaks or River Oaks, that means heading out to the Memorial City side of town for the menu you could once walk or make a short drive to.
The other option is to wait. If The RO holds to the Chronicle's estimate, the new Relish will open in a pedestrian-only village with underground parking just a few blocks off Westheimer. If the schedule slips toward early 2028, Relish's return could slip with it, since Relish hasn't said it will open ahead of the rest of the village.
The Last Weeks on This Stretch
The weeks between this post and Relish's year-end exit happen to fall during the busiest stretch of the holiday calendar in the area:
- Thursday, Nov. 12: River Oaks Shopping Center hosts its first Sip, Shop & Savor. VIP early access runs 5 to 6 p.m. for residents of The Driscoll and the first 50 guests who RSVP. The public event runs 6 to 8 p.m., and event wristbands unlock dining offers at participating restaurants in the center from 4 p.m. through close.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: River Oaks District holds its annual Tree Lighting Celebration from 4 to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Le Colonial at River Oaks District opens on Thanksgiving for the first time, serving a three-course prix fixe from noon to 8 p.m. for $105 per person plus tax and gratuity. It's also available to go.
- December: Relish has said it will stay open on Westheimer through the end of the year. It hasn't posted a specific final date.
Until Relish names its last night on Westheimer and an opening date on Buffalo Speedway, the restaurant's own statement is the latest word: details on timing "will be shared at a later date."
Closures and moves like Relish's change what a block is worth to the people who live near it, and we track those changes street by street across River Oaks and Afton Oaks. If you're planning a sale or a pre-list remodel around how this part of Westheimer and Buffalo Speedway will look in 2027, Jaime Fallon can walk you through it. Request a complimentary consultation & home valuation.
