Chef-Activist Chris Williams Launches Hospitality Venture

Jenn Duncan
Chef-Activist Chris Williams Launches Hospitality Venture

Dawn Burrell and Chris Williams

NEARLY 10 YEARS ago, chef Chris Williams opened his Lucille's restaurant in the Museum District with his brother Ben, dishing out refined Southern cuisine and homaging their great-grandmother and her culinary legacy.


And now, Williams is parlaying the success of Lucille's — and that of his nonprofit, Lucille's 1913, which has distributed meals to frontline workers and those in need throughout the pandemic — into a full-blown hospitality venture. Lucille's Hospitality Group and its four new restaurant and lifestyle concepts, all launching by 2022, will focus on cultural storytelling, as announced in a release with the tagline: "Feeding the future while serving the past."

He's partnered with James Beard semifinalist Dawn Burrell, with whom he's worked on projects such as the Food Apartheid Dinner Series, in his pursuit of the new concepts.

Among these will be Emile's Black Point Bistro, Williams' first concept in Canada; the Nova Scotia restaurant will honor the region's history and vendors and should open this spring.

Back in H-Town, Rado Café will open in a historic Third Ward house next year, serving coffee, cocktails and cuisine to the community. A sister concept called Hogan Brown Gallery will highlight African American art and artists. Both should open in Spring 2022.

And Burrell herself will helm the forthcoming Late August, which will explore the soul of Afro-Asian flavors by the end of this year.

Williams intends on growing Lucille's 1913 over the next year as well. Satellite kitchens and community gardens are in the works in Southwest Houston, Fifth Ward and Richmond, and the group recently acquired 10 acres of farm land in Kendleton, southwest of Sugar Land. Through the redevelopment of this property, Williams will employ 30 residents to farm food for the underserved community, which is a food desert.

Food
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How did you get where you are today? “Life is what happens while you’re making plans.” After graduating with a BBA from the University of Texas, I married, and was a stay-at-home mom. Divorcing when my children were just four and six, I became their sole supporter, and I chose real estate for the time flexibility and income potential. After four years working for another Broker, I founded my own company with one sales associate and 375 square feet. Little did I imagine this journey. Houston offers amazing opportunities for those who are willing to work hard and persevere! I have watched the city mature with the addition of all the wonderful, talented people from around the country and around the world who have made Houston their home. It was once said that Houston had a “can do, cowboy capitalism attitude.”
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What is your mission? Launched in 2006, Kids’ Meals’ mission is to end childhood hunger in Houston by delivering free, healthy meals year-round to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration, provide their families with resources to end the cycle of poverty.

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What year was your organization launched? 1986 by a small group of committee community members that believed special needs children were not receiving basic life services.

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