For the first time in years, diners at a longtime Houston “BYOB” restaurant will have to leave the bottle at home. Collina’s Italian Cafe has ended its “bring-your-own-bottle” policy at its Heights location at 502 W 19th St. after securing its own beer, wine and liquor license.
Since opening its flagship in 1993, all of the Collina’s locations have allowed customers to bring their own pours. But as of last weekend, that’s not the case for its Heights Marketplace restaurant.
“It’s kind of really been in the works for years and it’s just now that we’re starting to make the change just to see what it can do for our business and possibly help us be a little bit more profitable with the higher cost of food keep serving this community,” general manager Conrad Robertson told Chron.
Outside alcohol is only prohibited at the Heights location, so the Collina’s Memorial location at 8800 Katy Fwy #109 is still BYOB. So far, Robertson said the customer response has been pretty split, with some expressing disappointment and other longtime guests showing support. Before, he recalled some people walking out of the restaurant because alcohol was not served.
“We understand it can be a drastic change for some people, especially people who go out and buy their own bottle and they like what they want and they wanna drink what they want…We do understand that that’s upsetting, but in the end, really, it’s just trying for us to move forward,” Robertson said. “The reason for this change and to try new things to see what comes of it is if we can establish something that will help us stay here as long as we can.”
The Heights Collina’s hasn’t finalized a set drink menu yet, but Robertson said the team has already been getting requests for specific cocktails, like frozen margaritas and Prosecco Bellinis. Although it has secured the necessary licenses, the restaurant is still working through the logistics for its bar and drink program.
“If it’s just a huge backlash, we can always not renew our liquor license and go back to the way things were, essentially, or maybe just serve the beer and wine. But as of right now this is just the direction that we want to try to go towards,” Robertson said.
The original Collina’s Italian Cafe opened at 3835 Richmond Ave. in Greenway Plaza/Upper Kirby, and later expanded to multiple locations across the area. Its flagship location closed in 2025 and will soon be taken over by an Austin-based Georgian restaurant. The Collina’s family has locations in the Heights and Memorial areas.
Dining and Cooking