Developers are seeking the Houston Planning Commission’s approval to build a four-story RH, a swanky furniture store with a rooftop deck and restaurant, in the Highland Village shopping center.
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The new building would be at 4085 Westheimer Road, across the street from the chain previously known as Restoration Hardware’s existing three-story RH Houston — The Gallery at Highland Village, according to planning commission meeting documents. The current RH has 25K SF of space and a rooftop terrace, but no restaurant.
Plans for the city's first Houston RH restaurant have been in the works for years. RH filed in 2021 to build a four-story building with a restaurant on the top floor at 3825 Allen Parkway in Autry Park in 2021, Eater Houston reported.
It’s unclear what happened to those plans, and RH did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s also unclear whether the existing RH Houston across Westheimer Road from the proposed four-story project would be replaced with the new building or this would be a second location.
RH has 24 restaurants internationally with menus that offer “timeless classics in immersive locations,” according to its website. RH opened a rooftop restaurant in Dallas in 2021 as part of a $40M revamp of its Dallas store. Its San Francisco outpost has been described as a store “where you can buy a $14,000 chandelier and eat a $110 steak.”
The 4085 Westheimer site includes a retail building that was the home of one of Houston’s first Starbucks, which abruptly closed in 2023. The plan would involve demolishing that building, according to documents filed with the city. While Starbucks and another retailer both shuttered, a children’s clothing store is still operating there.
The site plan for RH Houston indicates it would remove the head-in parking along Westheimer and street parking along Westheimer and Suffolk Drive, replacing it with new curbs, gutters, landscaping and sidewalks. It would also improve the surface parking lot behind the retail center.
The project needs the Houston Planning Commission’s approval for a reduced distance from the street for small portions of the building, according to the meeting documents. The reduced setback from Westheimer and Suffolk would be the only way to position the building on the less than 1-acre parcel while staying the minimum distance away from the railroad to the west, the submitted request indicates.
The Planning Commission deferred a public hearing for the variance request at its Thursday meeting while city staff seeks additional information about a nine-foot wall in the site plan. Staff requested a two-week deferral for the developers to provide revised information before the March 20 meeting.
A “future RH” is marked on Highland Village’s site plan with a predicted opening date of summer 2026.
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