Sweet Mesquite

Sweet Mesquite was a self-termed South Texas Grill, founded in Missouri City in 1984. The restaurant was co-founded by John Neath and John Seyer. Two Houstonians who had previously worked had become acquainted years earlier, via the Steamboat Springs Nightclub on West Alabama. In this first project, Seath would oversee the nightclub’s operations, and Seyer was a major investor. The restaurant’s creation was tied to the development of The Township, an outdoor shopping center, with ambitious plans. Although the 70-acre plans never came to fruition, a strong lineup of restaurants was attracted to the shopping center, including the original Sweet Mesquite. The original location started with $7,500 in cash between the two partners, plus investments from friends and family and loans to cover the rest. In a partnership similar to theirs in Steamboat Springs, Neath would cover day-to-day operations, and Sayer would once again handle the financial side, keeping his day job as a stockbroker. The original idea for Sweet Mesquite was to create a restaurant popular with families visiting what was supposed to eventually become a massive outdoor shopping center. The plan was to use Mesquite-fired grills to attract hungry shoppers and entice families by offering kids’ meals and free frozen yogurt cones. The menu consisted of Mesquite grilled fajitas, burgers, and tacos, combining diner food with Tex-Mex favorites. The new restaurant deemed itself a South Texas Grill. The plan worked, and although commercial development did not materialize as originally planned, Sweet Mesquite quickly proved popular in Missouri City.

The original Sweet Mesquite had a combination of factors contributing to its success. They had relatively little competition in the area but many residential customers nearby. Word-of-mouth spread quickly in the new neighborhood, and the restaurant’s compact layout facilitated a low-cost lease. In 1986, the two Johns would try to strike oil again. The duo would open a second location in a new shopping center in Copperfield. Although a favorable lease was available, additional commercial development along Highway 6 in this area made the restaurant’s situation more challenging. According to an interview conducted years later, the partnership nearly closed the Copperfield location shortly after it opened due to poor sales. However, just as word of mouth spread about the original restaurant, the Copperfield location would also become popular with the locals. After righting the ship, the chain would resume growth in 1989 with a new location in Clear Lake. This growth spurt would set in motion a plan to open a store every year. These new locations were designed to attract both lunch traffic from business parks and a residential crowd for dinner. The next location would be the final tenant in the new Woodway Arch center in Memorial. The chain had broad appeal across Houston and was well known for its involvement in the communities it served. In 1991, a location would open in Lake Jackson. While buzz about Sweet Mesquite surged in the Houston area, the Lake Jackson location would ultimately last only a few years, failing to establish a strong customer base.

In 1992, Sweet Mesquite would sell its Clear Lake location to its longtime manager, Douglas Matheson. The ownership partnership of John Neath and John Seyer recognized the potential of franchising the restaurant, but they were unsure how to proceed. Instead, they sold the restaurant to Matheson and licensed the name, menu, branding, etc. For all practical purposes, the location would still be part of the chain, just with separate ownership. Also, that year, another new location would open in Champions Village. This sixth location was accompanied by plans to build a seventh location in downtown soon. The prospective site was the food court of the Allen Center. Although this location received a public mention, it would never be constructed. Instead, in 1993, the chain would open a location on Dairy Ashford near Briar Forest. Unlike more recent locations, which were located in busy areas, this new location was more subdued. The building was constructed in 1986 and remained vacant for six years. This enabled Sweet Mesquite to get a sweet lease. While on the surface this appeared to be a deal the chain couldn’t pass up, the reality was that business was slowing down slightly. The long-term plan for the owners seemed to be to eventually franchise out locations, but without a clear franchising program, they preferred licensees. While not impossible to find licensees, it was measurably more difficult to do so. With Clear Lake’s successful spin-off largely owing to the owner’s prior management of the restaurant, the Johns had to take action to once again right the ship at Sweet Mesquite. In 1994, the Lake Jackson location closed, and in 1995, Champions Village closed as well. While the restaurants had earned a fan base in their respective markets, excessive leases likely drove Sweet Mesquite out of these areas.

Over the next few years, Sweet Mesquite would further emphasize healthy and family-friendly dining. This, along with continued community involvement, helped bolster the remaining restaurants, and Sweet Mesquite would once again rebound. In 1999, the founding partners opened another restaurant together, this time in Sugar Land, thereby further establishing their reputation. The duo would also sell and license the Dairy Ashford location to Salim Abouassi, best known for operating Sam’s Burgers and Gyros, a mall-based chain with locations in Almeda and previously in San Jacinto Malls. In 2001, the duo would open their final location together. This one in Katy would only be open for about three years, but it seemed to be a make-or-break situation for the partnership. Around the same time, Sweet Mesquite Inc. was dissolved, and John Neath and John Seyer’s stores were sold to Joby D. Hardwick, except for the Katy location. John Neath would merge what remained of Sweet Mesquite into the bakery, which supplied the chain. Originally named Well-Bread, the bakery was founded by Houstonian Shelia Partin. Her bread was also sold in grocery stores such as Randalls, Rice, AppleTree, and Lewis & Coker, as well as in other restaurants, including Honey Baked Hams and Vargos. In 2003, the Katy Sweet Mesquite closed, rather unceremoniously. While the chain had considerable momentum at one point, it seems the Johns realized around then that it was the beginning of the end.

While the founders were absent, Sweet Mesquite was far from dead. In 2003, a new location would open in Southside Place. While the exact ownership remains unclear, some names associated with this location were Guy Lilly and Mike Zatopek, who may have had a relationship with the original Sweet Mesquite. The location would last just over a year before renaming itself Star Fire Grill. While the name had changed, the restaurant itself didn’t, and diners reported no change beyond the signage. It seems likely that the restaurant was not finding it effective to obtain licensing for the Sweet Mesquite name. While it may have been an attempt to reduce costs, the Star Fire Grill in Southside Place closed less than a year after changing its name. In 2006, the Clear Lake location also changed its name to Star Fire Grill. It seems likely that some common ownership may have existed between the two locations. However, it was likely not the original licensee, Douglas Matheson, as he died in early 2007. That same year, another new Sweet Mesquite opened, this one in Richmond, near Pecan Grove. Around the same time, Joby D Hardwick, who had purchased the Missouri City, Copperfield, and Woodway locations, would sell his interests to Juan Carlos Interests. While Missouri City and Woodway would survive the transfer, Copperfield did not, shutting down around 2008. Over the next few years, the remaining Sweet Mesquite locations would begin to close. Most closed in 2010 or 2011, with the Dairy Ashford location remaining open until 2015. While it’s not entirely clear what caused this mass shutdown, it appears to be connected: the Richmond location had recently renewed its lease, and even the technically unrelated Star Fire Grill in Clear Lake closed within this timeframe.

In 2015, the final Sweet Mesquite location closed. In its place, a similar concept, Mesquite Cottage, was opened. This was essentially Sweet Mesquite under another name, though over time, more and more Venezuelan dishes were added to the menu before it closed in 2019. In 2017, Sweet Mesquite made a brief return with a location in the downtown tunnels. While not the One Allen Center address they had hoped for, Sweet Mesquite survived downtown for at least a couple of years before adopting its current name, Cassidy’s Mesquite Kitchen. Sweet Mesquite co-founder John Neath sadly passed away in 2018. Cassidy’s Mesquite Kitchen is still open, still serving a menu similar to Sweet Mesquite’s. Competitors like Skeeter’s and Jax Mesquite Grills still have locations throughout Houston.

Location List