Between early August and early October, four familiar buildings near the Southwest Freeway in Upper Kirby got filed plans. A steakhouse that ran for 25 years on West Alabama is becoming a primary-care clinic. A Hooters that has been boarded up since 2024 is becoming an electric-vehicle hub. A Whataburger that served the freeway feeder for about three decades is becoming a Taco Palenque. A few doors down the feeder, an indoor golf simulator club has filed for a suite at 3800 Southwest Freeway.
Of the three old restaurant buildings, one will serve food again. Each of the new tenants is built around a short visit by car: an appointment, a charge, a tee time, a quick meal. These were the places on this stretch where people settled in for a long dinner or a late night out, and that is the change underway.
The steakhouse becomes a doctor's office
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar opened at 2405 West Alabama St. in 2001. It announced its closure in March after 25 years. A representative for parent company Bloomin' Brands told Chron the lease was expiring.
On Sept. 28, Memorial Hermann Medical Group filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to put a primary-care clinic in the building. The plan calls for an interior remodel of the 6,900-square-foot space at an estimated cost of about $750,000. Construction is scheduled to start Nov. 2 and finish in April 2027.
Chron's food editor called it "another beloved restaurant in one of Houston's busiest neighborhoods" giving way to a clinic. His earlier example sits nearby. Prince's Hamburgers at 3899 Southwest Freeway was known for old-school griddle burgers and shakes. It closed in 2015, and a Rios Healthcare Clinic took its place.
That makes two in about a decade, and both were restaurants where people stayed a while. Clinics want something different from a building. In a November 2025 interview published by the Houston commercial firm KeyCrew, a medical real estate specialist said clinics are moving into retail settings because patients want convenience and easy access, and because these sites offer visibility and foot traffic. The same specialist said medical tenants usually sign 10-year leases and then renew. A restaurant's lease runs out and the space goes back on the market. A clinic is more likely to stay put.
The Hooters becomes a place to charge
The Hooters at 2519 Southwest Freeway closed in July 2024 as part of a nationwide restructuring. It sat vacant for more than two years. In September, the Houston Historic Retail blog noticed state filings for a "Rivian Houston Hub" at the address. Chron then reported a roughly $2.3 million construction project, already underway and expected to wrap by Dec. 4.
The Dec. 4 date is for construction only. A Rivian representative told Chron the retail hub will open in 2027. The site will include Rivian Adventure Network fast charging, and Rivian said it adds to the company's existing retail spaces in Dallas and Austin. A separate state filing for the charger work lists a construction window of June 15, 2026, through June 15, 2027, at an estimated $330,000, as Community Impact reported.
Next door, the Shell station at 2525 Southwest Freeway has its own filing. That project is a $250,000 renovation adding two EV charging stations, a power cabinet and switchgear. If both filings hold, two neighboring lots on this stretch of feeder will have chargers by mid-2027. A visit to a charger takes about as long as a meal did, but it happens in the parking lot rather than at a table.
The Whataburger stays a restaurant, in a different form
Fuddruckers opened at 3929 Southwest Freeway, just past Weslayan, in 1996. It closed in the summer of 2023 and was left boarded up. Whataburger then built a new 3,305-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru on that lot. Community Impact reported the construction was finished in June 2025. The older Whataburger up the feeder at 3797 Southwest Freeway, near Edloe, closed around the time the new one was announced. Chron's food editor remembered it as a dependable stop late at night or early in the morning.
The empty building at 3797 now has a tenant. On Aug. 3, Laredo-based Taco Palenque filed for a renovation of about $1.2 million on the 2,975-square-foot building. Work was scheduled from Sept. 1 to Feb. 15, 2027. Mission-based CG5 Architects is designing it. As the Houston Business Journal report carried by KHOU points out, these state filings are preliminary and often change.
Juan Francisco "Pancho" Ochoa started Taco Palenque in 1987, after founding El Pollo Loco. The chain has about 50 locations in Texas and a few in Mexico, and this will be its fourth in the Houston area. The menu is tacos, burritos, fajita plates and rice-based "Palenque bowls." It will still be a quick meal near the freeway, served from the same building.
A golf simulator moves in a few doors away
Back Nine Golf, an indoor simulator club, registered a 2,953-square-foot buildout at 3800 Southwest Freeway, Suite 136, on Oct. 6. The state describes it as an athletic-training facility. The work is valued at $350,000, with construction scheduled from Nov. 6 to Jan. 1, 2027. Community Impact describes it as membership-based, with 250 virtual courses, TrackMan technology and a Tiger Woods Full Swing simulator. No opening date has been announced beyond the January 2027 construction target.
The filings don't say what was in Suite 136 before, so this isn't a confirmed restaurant conversion. It is the same type of tenant, though: you book a time, you drive in, you leave.
What opens when
Filed dates shift, and a finished construction project isn't an opening. With that caveat, this is the calendar as filed:
| Address | Was | Becoming | Filed schedule | Stated opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2405 W. Alabama St. | Fleming's, 2001 to 2026 | Memorial Hermann Medical Group primary care | Nov. 2, 2026 to April 2027 | Not announced |
| 2519 Southwest Fwy | Hooters, closed July 2024 | Rivian retail hub with fast charging | Building work ends Dec. 4, 2026 | 2027 |
| 2525 Southwest Fwy | Shell station | Same Shell, plus two EV chargers | $250,000 renovation | Not announced |
| 3797 Southwest Fwy | Whataburger, about 30 years | Taco Palenque | Sept. 1, 2026 to Feb. 15, 2027 | Not announced |
| 3800 Southwest Fwy, Ste. 136 | Prior tenant not reported | Back Nine Golf | Nov. 6, 2026 to Jan. 1, 2027 | Not announced |
| 3929 Southwest Fwy | Fuddruckers, 1996 to 2023 | Whataburger with drive-thru | Construction finished June 2025 | Not reported |
Over the next six months, the work moves from filings to visible construction. The Fleming's remodel and the Back Nine buildout both start within a week of each other in early November. Rivian's building work is set to finish just before the holidays. Taco Palenque's filed finish date is mid-February.
Where to sit down for dinner nearby
Sit-down dining in the area is growing away from the freeway feeder. The newest example is on Richmond. WhatNow reports that Bread Boat, a Georgian restaurant from Giorgi Sharabidze, Saba Shonia and chef Khatuna Kopaliani, is planning a soft opening this month at 3835 Richmond Ave. in Plaza at Greenway, with a menu centered on handmade khachapuri and Georgian wines. That fits a pattern we have covered before: proven operators choosing Upper Kirby for a new location, often in shopping centers rather than freestanding buildings on the feeder.
Some longtime spots are rebuilding where they are. Community Impact reported that Mia's Table at 3131 Argonne St. closed in mid-August after a kitchen fire. Johnny Carrabba's restaurant group was aiming for an early-October reopening. Check before you go, since that date was a target.
The easiest thing to put on the calendar is outdoors. Levy Park's 9th Annual Howl-o-ween Dog Parade and Costume Contest, presented by H-E-B, runs Oct. 25 from 2 to 6 p.m. The parade starts at 4 p.m., and dog-goods vendors are new this year.
Every building that changes hands along the feeder affects how Upper Kirby's commercial edge works for the homes behind it. That includes what is a quick walk or drive, what stays open late, and what a building might become later. If you own nearby and want to know how a new clinic, charging hub or busier drive-thru could affect your block and your home's value, Spagnola Realty Group follows each filing in the Greenway and Upper Kirby area and can go through it with you in a private consultation.
