Maria Christie has helped maintain the household enterprise alive.
The Classics is an occasional collection that spotlights and celebrates Houston’s oldest bars and eating places.
Houston’s rising meals scene is nice for attempting new issues, however nothing compares to the nostalgia that comes from visiting an institution with many years of historical past. And one restaurant within the Bayou Metropolis that’s a real testomony to that is Christie’s Seafood & Steaks, whose white-and-blue, nautical-themed exterior brightens an in any other case drab stretch of Westheimer Highway.
The old-school Gulf Coast seafood restaurant is a third-generation, family-owned enterprise with a historical past that dates again to 1917. In response to operator and normal supervisor Maria Christie, when Greek immigrant Theodore Christie first got here to America, his plan was to be a courtroom interpreter in Manhattan, however sooner or later he obtained concerned with lodge and restaurant administration, which led to him assembly his spouse, Eleftheria. After they obtained married, the 2 made the trek to Galveston, the place a lot of his spouse’s household lived.
On the time, Galveston was gaining traction as “the playground of the Southwest.” Theodore determined to open a stand the place he might promote fried fish sandwiches—something for a buck—however he did not discover Galveston to be the playground he anticipated. Round this time, he started to listen to a couple of neighboring metropolis that was being marketed as the following huge factor: our very personal Houston. Once more, he and his spouse adopted the gang, although Theodore wasn’t fairly prepared to surrender his fried fish sandwich enterprise, which had gained a great quantity of recognition.
In 1934, he discovered a property on South Primary Road throughout from what’s now St. Luke’s Medical Middle, and constructed a restaurant with three eating rooms. Due to the next he earned in Galveston, the property was packed from day one, which prompted him to open three extra areas on Bellaire Boulevard, South Publish Oak, and one other on Primary Road.
Christie’s Seafood & Steaks has been round for over 100 years.
Regardless of Maria’s final title, her household surprisingly isn’t associated to Theodore in any respect. Maria’s father, James Priovolos, was additionally from Greece, however didn’t come to America till 1955. He labored at a café, nevertheless it wasn’t working effectively for him, so the person who bought espresso there advised him to speak to “previous man Christie.” With a household to feed, he knew he had no selection however to take heed to this recommendation.
Not lengthy after, on a Sunday after church, Priovolos confirmed as much as Christie’s. The place was packed, and it was apparent they wanted assist, so he jumped proper in—church garments and all. He instantly started bussing tables and doing what he might to make the employees’s lives simpler. As soon as issues calmed down, Theodore got here out of the kitchen and employed him.
Maria says that since Theodore had no children, nobody might take over the enterprise as soon as he was gone. At some point in 1967, he expressed this sentiment to her dad. “My dad was sat down by Mr. Christie, and he stated ‘OK, I’m not going to be right here, however the eating places must stay on, do you need to purchase it?’” Maria says. “My dad stated in fact.”
There was one situation to this transaction: Priovolos needed to change his final title. He didn’t discover this to be a difficulty, particularly as a result of it was a typical assimilation pattern amongst immigrants in America. When Theodore handed away a 12 months later, Priovolos, now Jim Christie, formally started operating the 4 eating places. He acquired the placement that’s nonetheless standing right now on Westheimer in 1969; the others shut down, together with the unique outpost, which turned a part of the Texas Medical Middle’s growth.
And naturally, as soon as her father took over the enterprise, it turned a household affair. Maria says she has technically been working on the restaurant since she was somewhat lady—it’s fairly actually her life. “Anybody that has a household enterprise is aware of there’s no such factor as having day off,” Maria says. “Everybody works within the household enterprise.”
Now, she and her brothers, George and Terry, work collectively to take care of the enterprise—one brother runs the catering and the opposite serves because the kitchen supervisor. Her sister Roula, who you all might know as a radio host on 104.1, helps out each every so often, together with their different sibling Kathy. Their mom, Alexandra, is the proprietor, a place she took on when Maria’s dad died in 2013.
With this a lot historical past and so many many years in enterprise, how does an institution keep related and endure? Maria says the craziest factor to consider is the truth that the restaurant has now survived two pandemics: the Spanish Flu in 1918 and COVID-19 in 2020. The widespread denominator for the restaurant’s success all boils all the way down to its loyal following.
Through the years, Maria has spoken with prospects who inform her about all of the reminiscences they’ve from Christie’s, which has made her understand how ingrained the restaurant is inside Houston’s historical past. One diner advised her that the individuals concerned with constructing the Medical Middle would usually use Christie’s as their assembly spot.
“Folks inform me [that] the primary time they ever ate a fried shrimp was at Christie’s,” Maria says. “And each single anniversary, birthday, it was at all times Christie’s—this was their mum or dad’s favourite place, or their grandparent’s favourite place. And now I’m listening to [it was] their nice grandparent’s favourite, too. A number of generations grew up right here and proceed to rejoice and are available get pleasure from their favorites.”
The standard of the restaurant’s meals additionally performs a think about its success. Maria says that they solely purchase a restricted quantity of seafood, so when issues run out, that’s it. And though you may not discover a precise reproduction menu from many years in the past, some staples have remained since Theodore’s Galveston days, just like the well-known fish sandwich.
The fried shrimp is a fan favourite at Christie’s.
Of us additionally flock right here for the fried shrimp, the Greek village salad—which is served authentically, so no, there isn’t a lettuce—and the crispy crab balls. The restaurant serves day by day catch like Gulf snapper fillet, rainbow trout, a complete bronzini, a stuffed snapper fillet, and tilapia. The “& Steaks” a part of the title refers back to the menu’s rib eyes and strip sirloins.
Since Christie’s has such a longstanding historical past within the metropolis, Maria says she has completed all the things to verify the restaurant is maintaining with the instances, whether or not that’s updating the point-of-sale system or including new cocktails to the menu. Maria recommends the Mastiha Picante, which consists of Skinos Mastiha—a Greek liqueur—mint, lime, lemonade, soda, and a splash of Tabasco.
However it doesn’t matter what the long run brings, Maria says Christie’s aim is to maintain making individuals comfortable whereas making certain that the restaurant’s historical past stays alive.
“There’s no place like Christie’s,” Maria says.
