Family-run Pappas Restaurants has permanently closed five of its branches in Houston, or roughly 10% of the company's holdings within its hometown.
Included are two units of the company’s Pappas Seafood House chain and the lone Pappas Shrimp Shack, a concept the family operation launched last August. Also shuttered were a Yia Yia Mary’s Mediterranean Kitchen and a unit of the concern’s main brand, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen.
Employees of the five stores will be offered positions in other Pappas restaurants, according to a post on the company’s website.
The Pappas clan had run 49 restaurants in Houston. With the permanent shutdowns, the family’s nationwide fold has been cut to 85 outlets, according to Technomic research.
Headquarters did not respond to a request from Restaurant Business for more information. Local media reports indicated that the company had decided to close the restaurants because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on sales.
Members of the Pappas family also run Luby’s, the parent of a namesake cafeteria brand, plus the fast-casual burger chain Fuddrucker’s. Earlier this month, Luby’s management announced that it would seek to sell the company in whole or part.
Since brothers Chris and Harris Pappas followed their grandfather and father into the restaurant business in 1976, the Pappas name has been widely known in Texas among restaurateurs and consumers alike. The pair have developed an eclectic group of concepts, most sporting multiple outlets.
Chris Pappas is also the CEO of Luby's.
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