An Australian-inspired all-day café that got its start in New York City is setting up shop in Houston. Little Ruby's has signed a lease for a 3,500-square-foot space at Central Park Post Oak, the sprawling retail and dining redevelopment taking shape in the city's Uptown District near the Galleria.
The lease was confirmed by Realty News Report, which reported the café signed on for 3,500 square feet at the development. According to DiningOut, Little Ruby's is part of Wish You Were Here Group and serves breakfast through dinner, with signature dishes including the Bronte burger, house-made pastas, ricotta hotcakes, coffee, and cocktails. No opening date has been announced, per the same report.
Little Ruby's was founded in 2002 in New York's SoHo neighborhood, Realty News Report notes, and has since grown into a small but devoted chain with outposts scattered across Manhattan and Brooklyn. The brand's own site, Wish You Were Here Group, lists locations in Soho, the East Village, Murray Hill, the West Village, Williamsburg, and now Dallas, with a menu built around fresh local product balanced against Australian culinary influences.
A Galleria-Area Redevelopment Takes Shape
Central Park Post Oak is a 17-acre mixed-use project in Houston's Uptown District, according to developer Midway, which is leading the redevelopment and describes it as aiming to create a premier mixed-use destination. The project is planned to include more than 150,000 square feet of new and enhanced retail and restaurant space once finished. Midway's site states that groundbreaking occurred in April 2025, with completion anticipated in fall 2026.
Little Ruby's will not be alone at the site. The café joins fellow Wish You Were Here concepts Élephante and Bar Bambino at the Galleria-area development, DiningOut reports, as the Los Angeles-based hospitality group expands its footprint across the campus. Realty News Report similarly notes that Little Ruby's marks the third brand from the group to join Central Park Post Oak.
Following Dallas Into Texas
Houston won't be Little Ruby's first stop in the Lone Star State. The brand opened its first location outside New York City in Uptown Dallas at 2305 Cedar Springs Rd. #150, according to CultureMap Dallas, which reported the café announced it would open its doors on Monday, February 2. That Dallas space includes a 1,790-square-foot dining room and a 950-square-foot patio, per CultureMap, while Nation's Restaurant News reported the location accommodates about 100 guests indoors.
Nation's Restaurant News, in its coverage of the Dallas debut, described Little Ruby's as an Australian-inspired all-day restaurant that brought some of Sydney's laid-back coastal culture to New York City. That outlet also noted that at the time of the Dallas opening, the group did not have additional locations planned, though it left the door open to future expansion — a door that now appears to lead straight to Houston.
What Comes Next
As WhatNow reported, Little Ruby's will debut in Houston at Central Park Post Oak later in 2026, following the Dallas location as the brand's second Texas eatery. Exactly when Houston diners will get their first bite of the Bronte burger remains unclear, since, as DiningOut reported, an opening date has not yet been announced. For now, Houston's Uptown crowd will have to watch Central Park Post Oak's construction progress and wait for Little Ruby's to set a firm move-in date.
