Midtown Loses Chopped Champ's Fried Chicken and Bowl Spots This Month

Two of Midtown Houston's more distinctive fast-casual concepts are closing for good this month. Bōl, the build-your-own Indian bowl spot, and Pok Pok Pō, its halal fried chicken neighbor, will both shut down after service on Sunday, August 29, at their shared storefront at 3201 Louisiana St.

The closures were confirmed by Kahani Social Group, the hospitality company behind both concepts, according to CultureMap Houston. Bōl and Pok Pok Pō opened at the site in Midtown's “The Mix @ Midtown” development in 2024, taking over a space that French fine-dining restaurant Artisans had occupied for a decade before relocating to Westheimer Road near the Galleria in 2023, as detailed by Community Impact. More specifically, Pok Pok Pō opened in December 2024 and Bōl followed in January 2025, meaning both storefronts operated for under two years, per Houstonia Magazine.

What Made These Menus Different

Pok Pok Pō built its identity around Indian-influenced fried chicken made with halal-certified, hormone-free chicken cooked in dedicated fryers, using a fully gluten-free batter of corn and rice starch seasoned with Kashmiri chili powder, according to FOX 26 Houston. The dish traced back to a chicken-and-waffles item on the Sunday brunch menu at Amrina, the group's flagship restaurant. Bōl, meanwhile, ran as a Chipotle-style bowl concept, letting diners build wraps, salads, and rice bowls with halal proteins like chicken tikka, lamb keema, beef, and paneer, topped with house-made condiments including a Bōl masala yogurt, per the same account from DiningOut.

Both concepts were designed by Executive Chef Jassi Bindra, whose national profile has only grown since the restaurants opened. Bindra won Food Network's Chopped in August 2023, then went on to compete on Season 23 of Bravo's Top Chef in March 2026, becoming the first turban-wearing Sikh chef to appear on the show, according to PaperCity Magazine. Before relocating to Texas in 2022, Bindra served as head chef at Punjab Grill in Washington, D.C., earning a Michelin Plate recognition, and he began his culinary career at age 19 in India before running kitchens in San Francisco and D.C., the magazine's report notes.

A Repositioning, Not a Retreat

Kahani Social Group co-founder Surpreet Singh said the company is grateful to the guests who embraced both concepts, and indicated Pok Pok Pō and Bōl may return in more convenient and accessible forms, according to CultureMap Houston. The group is reportedly weighing a future Houston location with a drive-thru and easier parking, a detail that points toward the foot-traffic and parking limitations of the Midtown storefront as a likely factor behind the move. In the short term, Pok Pok Pō dishes will be available for delivery through third-party apps out of The Woodlands, per the same report.

Employees at both closing restaurants are being offered positions at Kahani Social Group's other properties, the company said. Those properties include Amrina, the upscale Indian restaurant in The Woodlands Waterway that the brothers Surpreet and Preet Paul Singh opened with Bindra in June 2022 and that won “Best Restaurant in The Woodlands” from the Houston Press in 2024. The group also runs Kitchen Rumors, a full-service “fine-casual” restaurant that opened in mid-2025 at 2310 Decatur St. in Houston's Sixth Ward/Arts District, in the former home of Vietnamese-American restaurant Xin Chào, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Business Beyond the Storefronts

Kahani Social Group's footprint extends past its sit-down and fast-casual locations. The company also operates Jashn Catering, a luxury catering arm spun out of Amrina that handles weddings, corporate galas, and private events across greater Houston, according to details published on Amrina's own site. That structure helps explain why the Midtown closures are being framed internally as a shift in format rather than a broader pullback from the market.

Kitchen Rumors remains active in the city's dining scene even as its sister concepts wind down. The Sixth Ward restaurant is currently participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks 2026, which runs through September 7 and benefits the Houston Food Bank. Hoodline first reported on Kahani Social Group's original plans for Bōl and Pok Pok Pō back in Bōl's 2024 Midtown debut, when the concepts were first announced for the former Artisans site.

For now, Midtown diners have until Sunday, August 29, to get a last taste of either concept before the storefront goes dark. Whether Bōl or Pok Pok Pō resurface elsewhere in Houston with the drive-thru format the company is eyeing remains to be seen.