Upscale Japanese cuisine set for Chris Shepherd’s old restaurant site

Gitano Capital, the hospitality group behind fast-casual River Oaks Mexican restaurant Ojo de Agua, announced Tuesday that it will open an upscale Japanese restaurant in 2025 in Montrose. And the restaurant’s location is sure to raise some eyebrows.

The new Japanese restaurant is slated to open at 1658 Westheimer Road, the former 1920s church property that more recently was home to One Fifth. 

Open from 2016 to ‘21, One Fifth was James Beard-award winning chef Chris Shepherd’s attempt to showcase five distinct styles of food through five distinct restaurants, over five years and in one space. One Fifth launched under Underbelly Hospitality with a year of One Fifth Steak, a celebrated idea that spun off into Georgia James, now located near Buffalo Bayou Park. Following that came One Fifth Romance Languages, One Fifth Mediterranean, One Fifth Gulf Coast and then the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once restaurants opened back up after the height of the pandemic, One Fifth went into turbo mode, embracing past styles and bringing in new ones, temporarily hosting Georgia James and highlighting red-sauce Italian food. That spun off into Pastore, which is located next to Georgia James.

Underbelly Hospitality’s lease on the old church building, which under previous lease agreements was home to Mark’s American Cuisine and rock lifestyle store Dream Merchant, ended in 2021. Gitano’s lease was signed recently; the hospitality group hopes to open its Japanese restaurant in less than two years.

“We could not be more honored to have the opportunity to build upon the storied legacy of the numerous quintessential Houston establishments to occupy 1658 Westheimer over the past several decades,” said Patricio Quiroz, co-founder of Gitano Capital in a press release. “The building itself is an innate part of the fabric of the broader Montrose neighborhood that surrounds it, and we feel that Montrose—one of the city’s most eclectic and vibrant nexuses—is the ideal setting for us to unveil an original culinary offering to the City of Houston.”

Gitano has yet to share details about the new restaurant, other than boasting through its press release “a world-class roster of chefs and mixologists.”