After sitting idle for several years, one of Houston’s historically favorite restaurants is about to reopen.
The Lazy L Cafe (on U.S. 63 at the Lazy L Motel) will once again serve customers beginning Monday, July 2. Owner Mike Brannan said people can expect something different than is found at all other restaurants in the area.
“The best way to describe is it will kind of like a cross between a Chipotle and Panera Bread,” he said. “We’re going to do a small menu at first, because I want to do it with excellence. It will grow as we get into the groove.”
Food offered at lunch will include Panini sandwiches, soups and salads, and even things like a proprietary chicken burrito, Wisconsin-style macaroni and cheese and a special Polynesian dish.
Breakfast will feature hot skillet dishes and other more standard fare.
“About 95-percent of what we have will be made from scratch,” Brannan said.
There will also be gourmet coffee available (including seven varieties at the outset) as well as freshly made baked goods, like homemade donuts and pastries.
“We’ll work into cakes and pies as we get rolling,” Brannan said.
A kids’ menu is in the works.
The interior has what Brannan calls a “comfortably rustic” look, with lots of woodwork on the walls and elsewhere. Tables are covered with copies of pages from old Houston Herald editions.
The cafe will feature numerous electrical outlets equipped with USB ports, and true high-speed wi-fi will be available.
“We’re offering something that’s not already here and people would have to go to Springfield or another big city to find,” Brannan said. “We’ll be kind of a gourmet place, but we don’t want people to feel underdressed if they come. It will be a comfortable place where people will feel welcome.”
Brannan took control of the Lazy L Motel and cafe last October. He’s made some cosmetic improvements to the 18-room, 23-bed motel, added a laundry facility and brought in new linens, but the biggest change under his watch will be the all-new cafe.
“Everything was gutted,” Brannan said. “We started from the bare walls and everything is completely new.”
The cafe will have seating for 48 people inside and 20 outside. Parking was always a concern at the establishment, and Brannan has addressed that by adding 15 new spaces (including several on the north side of the building).
“There’s more to come later, too,” he said.
Survey forms will be place at tables, so customers can provide input.
“We want feedback,” Brannan said. “I’m not trying to serve people what I want, I want to serve what they’re looking for.”
A Lazy L Cafe app will soon be available allowing people to order food to go.
The large room adjacent to the cafe will soon open as a banquet hall, and eventually transition into a restaurant with steak and seafood dinners. The hall will be available for rent, and feature long, conference-style tables, four 50-inch TVs, a projector, dance lights and a state-of-the-art premium sound system.
“It will be a great place for business meetings, wedding receptions and that kind of thing,” Brannan said. “If you want to bring your own DJ, they can just plug into the system and go.”
The Lazy L Cafe will soon have its own phone number. Hours will be from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“That will increase, but that’s where we’re starting,” Brannan said.