Little Bird Is Bringing a New Gulf Coast Restaurant to Houston

A new Gulf Coast restaurant is headed to Houston this fall, and the team behind it includes several names that local diners may recognize. Little Bird is planned for 1815 N. Durham with chef Graham Laborde leading the project.

Laborde is a co-partner at Winnie’s and previously cooked in New Orleans before becoming part of Houston’s restaurant scene. His Louisiana background will be central to Little Bird, which is being developed around seafood and the food traditions of the Gulf Coast.

A Houston team with deep restaurant experience

Laborde is not building the project alone. Justin Ware, whose local resume includes Winnie’s, Johnny’s Gold Brick and Starduster Lounge, is developing the beverage program. Tiny Champions chef Julian Doran is working on the pastry menu.

Those collaborators give Little Bird an interesting mix of influences before the doors even open: Gulf Coast cooking at the center, a serious cocktail program and a pastry component shaped by one of Houston’s best-known neighborhood restaurants.

Seafood will lead the menu

Full menu details have not been released, but the restaurant is expected to be seafood-forward and focused on ingredients and traditions associated with the Gulf Coast. Laborde grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and has cited the cooking of his mother and grandmother as important influences.

The physical restaurant is also being designed to reinforce that coastal identity. Plans include a hand-carved wooden oyster bar, courtyards, an antique cast-iron fountain and, in a detail Houston diners may especially appreciate, an air-conditioned patio.

One to watch this fall

Houston has no shortage of seafood restaurants, but Little Bird looks positioned to be more personal than a conventional Gulf Coast grill. Laborde’s Louisiana background, the oyster-bar focus and the group of experienced Houston collaborators give the project a clear point of view.

An exact opening date had not been announced when the project was revealed, so this is one we will be watching as fall gets closer and more menu and opening details become available.

Source: Project details were reported by Houston Press on September 11, 2026.

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