David Siegman, native Houstonian and long-time employee of the Vallone Restaurant Group, was named Managing Partner of Ciao Bello, the group's Tanglewood-area Italian trattoria.

Restaurant patrons know Siegman as the welcoming face of the restaurant, keeping tabs on the bustling dining room and working with his staff to insure that each guest's needs are met.

Siegman began working at VRG's flagship restaurant Tony's in 2009 after earning his bachelor's at UT Austin. He joined the Vallone team with four years restaurant experience.

"We always knew he'd be a great manager at Ciao Bello." says Tony Vallone, iconic Houston restaurateur and head of the Vallone Restaurant Group.

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Longtime Houston specialty food retailer Rice Epicurean Market today announced that they plan to close four of their five stores and lease spaces to The Fresh market, a specialty food retailer from North Carolina.

Press Release from Rice Epicurean

Press Release from The Fresh Market

The store on Fountain View at Inwood will remain open.

Our take:

We think it's unfortunate to see an iconic Houston gourmet grocer sell out to a national firm, but we can't say we're surprised that it happened.  Rice Epicurean has always been a pleasant, serene place to shop, but their prices often aren't competitive with other specialty grocers and their selection is lacking compared to other, bigger stores.

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