Inside Drake’s Hollywood Houston VIP Party — Beautiful People Flock to the New Montrose See and Be Seen Hotspot

The masterful touch of Hunter Pond and his Vandelay Hospitality Group was on display at the pre-opening bash for Drake’s Hollywood Houston when an uber glamorous clan of 300 celebrated on Saturday night in the posh surroundings that Drake’s is known for.

“Houston is full of beautiful people and that was on display last night for sure,” Pond told PaperCity in a cellphone call Sunday morning on his way back to home base in Dallas. “I think that Drake’s is really going to fill a void in the marketplace. It’s not just a great restaurant but as you saw last night, it’s such a fun environment.”

Indeed, playful murals depicting Hollywood stars from celluloid’s golden era line the walls setting the stage for Houston’s savvy bon vivants, glitterati and social swells. Leather banquettes and bar chairs, a circular bar and mood lighting lend a sophisticated clubby atmosphere. See and be seen, wine and dine could be the dual mantras.

The reincarnation of the space that used to house the Georgia James steakhouse at 1100 Westheimer in Montrose is the third Drake’s in the Vandelay portfolio. The first opened in Dallas’ chichi Highland Park in 2020, followed by Drake’s Hollywood in West Hollywood in 2023. Drake’s Hollywood is just one of a dozen businesses in the Vandelay stable of restaurants.

“It’s a party in there on a Monday night at our other locations and I feel it will be the same way in Houston,” Pond  says.

On this night, lucky attendees were invited to dress a la “old Hollywood glam” and many did with sequins and rhinestones, white dinner jackets, the shortest of skirts and the highest of heels. All displayed throughout the crush. And it was a crush. Adult libations flowed and samples of Drake’s menu items were served as waiters elbowed their way through the delicious bedlam. The private room, where caviar bumps and flutes of champagne were offered, presented a bit of a quieter option.

Kudos for Cathleen Holloway of Holloway Events for orchestrating the rocking shindig.

The Drake’s Back Story

“I go to Los Angeles and New York all the time, and I loved the energy of the West Hollywood nightlife and I loved the old school New York vibe in two of my favorite restaurants,” Pond tells PaperCity.

The Waverly Inn and the Monkey Bar were both owned at the time by Graydon Carter, who was then the famed editor in chief of Vanity Fair. “I loved the vibe so much,” Pond says.

At the time Pond felt that a place that could capture the old school New York vibe with the energy of a West Hollywood restaurant could be a sensation. He spent two years of conceptualizing and fine tuning, an effort that resulted in Drake’s Hollywood. Now Drake’s Houston is poised to join that successful run.

Pond adds that he was encouraged by friends from Houston and Dallas to repeat Drake’s in Houston and when this Montrose property, a perfect location, came up, Vandelay Hospitality jumped on it.

Drake’s Hollywood Houston, seating approximately 200, will officially open this Thursday, August 29.

This figures to be the second successful Houston restaurant for Vandelay. Hudson House on West Gray opened last year to great fanfare and continues to be a hotspot today.

“Hudson House is crushing it,” Pond notes. “It’s doing so well that we’re going to open a second one in Rice Village in 2025.”

PC Seen: Lauren Pond, Maggie and Rick Dunlap, Stephanie Simmons, Luba and Alan Bigman, Alex Blair and Mark Grace, Holly Alvis, Bethany and Ben Buchanan, Schuyler Evans, Kathryn Swain, Stephanie von Stein Schusterman and Dr.Mark Schusterman, Tarek El-Bjeirmi, Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, Whitney Kuhn Lawson, Gary Petersen, Stephanie Wilcox and Freddie Minihan, Debbie and Rudy Festari, Marcy de Luna, Johnny Rinando, Nikki Rosenberg, Beth Muecke, Megan Hotze, Semmes Burns, and Donae Chramosta.