Saturday, January 7, 2017 • Page 1B
Heights Santa embroiled in dispute with local cleaner
Renaissance of North Main By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader Most of us have noticed the changes in the area, and complained about them. We remind you: many of the communities in the near north were in decline 25 years ago. Change can be good. Such is the case with the quiet Renaissance of North Main Street in the Heights. Low-profile strip centers house the majority of the businesses on this corridor. Locally owned stores and services have mingled with shuttered enterprises for years. But there are exciting signs of life on the north-south transit way. Morningstar, a one-of-a-kind breakfast/lunch spot opened eight months ago in the 4700 block of N. Main St., and it may be the best craft coffee shop in the city. Chef-driven recipes with an Asian flare have earned the little restaurant the title of “Houston’s next generation doughnut baker.” Fusion Tacos started as a locally owned food truck, then a brick-andmortar restaurant downtown. Now, a second Fusion will open in January in the 4700 block of Main St. Fusion2 will offer the same Mexican, Asian, Italian mash-up fare that has kept customers coming back since 2010. The Renaissance of North Main may have no better example than Ham Cycles 2 located in the 4200 Block. The store opened just over a month ago, and already has a strong following of friends and customers. Ham Cycles 2 hosts the full spectrum of bikes as well as service, accessories and cool biking apparel. For the “comfort rider” there are European style commuters and cruisers. For those who like gears, Ham has 3- to 10speeds. For those who enjoy hard riding, the performance track bike selection is a specialty, and the full-service shop garners excellent ratings for all. Shopping here has an edgy, playful, high-tech vibe. Imagine the art and humor of a craft brewery blended with the technology and science of an Apple store. Ramon Laval is the operator of Ham Cycles 2. Only 33 years old, the entrepreneur has earned many customers by generously sharing his knowledge, and offering quality repairs and fair pricing. Ham Cycles 2 is the second Ham Cycles in Houston. The first is in Montrose and the two work hand-in-glove to serve their customers. “Sometimes, we may not have something a custom-
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com Each year, Steve Sellers is known to hundreds of area residents as the Heights Santa, the jolly figure who makes many an appearance at local hot spots to spread Christmas cheer; however, he says he was robbed of the chance to spread Christmas cheer this year due to the negligence of a local dry cleaner. Following his purchase of the suit Nov. 7, Sellers proceeded to make his rounds in the famous Houston heat. After a few appearances, he took it to Wolfe’s Dry Cleaners on Studewood, where cleaning went off without a hitch. Following two additional more appearances, Sellers took it back to Wolfe’s for another cleaning; however, the outcome was vastly different the second time — and that has led to a heated dispute. “I was scheduled to pick up the suit Dec. 15. I waited a day and stopped by there Dec. 16. The suit wasn’t ready, I was told they were still working on it,” Sellers explained. Immediately, however, Sellers said he could sense something was amiss. “The employees would not look me in the eye. They all got a poor attitude with me. When it was brought out, the white fur was a dingy pink with pink streaks in it — the suit had bled into the white fur, which didn’t happen the time before,” he said. “I demanded to talk to a manager, the person I talked to got an attitude as if I was the problem. They all knew it was ruined and wouldn’t look me in the eye.” Marco Juarez, who helps run the shop with his mom and brother, said the story as told to him once he was back from vacation went somewhat differently. “Apparently he came in and cursed my entire staff out and called them every name in the book,” Juarez said. “He put everybody down, and said some idiot had gotten a hold of his suit.” Eventually, however, a manager still relented, and requested Sellers to give them another hour or so to give cleaning the suit another try. Upon his second arrival, however, Sellers said the fur was still stained a dirty pink/grey, and smelled like a chemical dump; and employees remained evasive on the matter. “It just had this horible dry cleaning chemical smell to it, so I took it and left. They even threatened to call the police on me,” he said of the confrontation. “My brother said ‘if you’re gonna do this, then we’re going to call the police,’ and that’s why he was run out,” Juarez responded. However, Juarez told his staff to take another look anyway. “The suit looks absolutely fine, but when customers get it in their head that something is ruined, it’s hard to get it out of their head,” he said. As for the different outcome of the suit, Juarez acknowledged such an occurrence can happen on occasion, and could result from many factors -- mostly with regards to a constant battle between manufacturers and dry cleaners. “Sometimes the fabric they use isn’t of the highest quality—we always say the brighter the harder,” he said. Even
Photo contributed Ham Cycles 2 operator Laval shows off bikes inside the store. The shop has been part of whole renaissance of North Main in the Heights.
er needs, but the Montrose store does, or visa versa. We work together a lot to fill customers’ needs,” Laval stated. Ham Cycles also has a MS150 team, a race team, and acts as the “go-to” hosts for other cycling events. Laval keeps locally sourced craft beer on hand for these events, and for those who simply want to stop in and talk all things “bike.” Go to the “Ham Cycles 2: Heights” Facebook page to stay posted
on happenings. Heights residents favor creative, one-of-kind, locally owned retail. Ham is a great example of exactly this. “We like to describe ourselves as a place you take an out-of-town guest to show them the flavor of Houston,” Laval stated. Besides, who can resist a shop that sells Pomade?
No easy solution to Coltivare parking issues
See Santa suit P. 3B
Your new team for 2017
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com Coltivare on White Oak Drive has become a popular neighborhood dining spot in its three years of existence; but the sheer volume has begun to cause massive headaches and obstacles for homeowners living in the restaurant’s vicinity. Neighbors several blocks north have proceeded to vent frustrations to restaurant owners due to the congestion, which has forced a number of vehicles to line Arlington, in some cases blocking sidewalks and driveways and causing vision issues for drivers. “Stones and cones have gone out and ‘No Parking’ signs have gone up in front of all these homes behind the restaurant,” said one resident who wished to remain anonymous. Upon buying the property from Mike’s Antique Shop, owners Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber proceeded to turn the existing parking lot into an outdoor patio. They had believed Coltivare would be a simple neighborhood spot as opposed to a hotspot dining destination—a development the pair admitted caught them
Laurie Lee Christensen
Photo from Facebook Riding bikes to Coltivare has been one of the suggestions by owners Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber to help mitigate effects of congestion caused by the limited parking.
by surprise. “We apologize if any residents in The Heights are frustrated with our parking scenario. We always planned for Coltivare to be a neighborhood restaurant, not a dining destination,” they said. “We are thrilled by the success, but the traffic surrounding the restaurant was not something we anticipated.” In light of the outcry, the pair proceeded to take additional efforts to mitigate the effects of congestion. “We actually have more parking spaces than the City of Houston requires us to
have in their parking ordinance,” they said. The city of Houston parking ordinance requires restaurants to have eight spaces per 1,000 square feet of Gross Floor Space. “We also lease these additional spaces from the printing shop next door,” they added. Despite such efforts, there still remains a lack of suitable parking spots to accommodate the restaurant’s increased popularity; thus cars have continued to line White Oak in front of the restaurant—a situation which has additionally led to many an accident See Parking P. 3B
Elizabeth Villarreal
You already know us as your neighbors, but you didn’t know we have joined forces to serve the community as your exclusive real estate experts. We are very excited to announce our brand new partnership together and with RE/MAX Exclusive. Our mission is to serve the community utilizing our combined experience from living, working and serving in your neighborhood. Call us for a free market analysis or with questions regarding buying, selling, investing or leasing, and allow us to serve you today.
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