Houston-area restaurant with self-serve bar concept shuts down, files for bankruptcy

After an 11-month run, Shoot the Moon in Spring Branch is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The restaurant, which opened last July, allowed patrons to pour their own beer, wine, liquor, and cocktail straight from a tap wall.

SPRING BRANCH, Texas - Less than a year after its new, self-serve bar concept was launched, a Spring Branch restaurant is shutting its doors for good.

The closure is just one example of how small businesses are struggling in a tough economy.

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After an 11-month run, Shoot the Moon is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The restaurant, which opened last July, allowed patrons to pour their own beer, wine, liquor, and cocktail straight from a tap wall.

"Today's our last day of service. We will stay open normal hours until 10 p.m. and then we will officially file for bankruptcy," said Kevin Floyd, the owner.

Floyd has helped bring popular Houston staples like Anvil, Underbelly and Julep to fruition. His resume and experience were a recipe for success. But in 2022, those factors simply weren’t enough.

"The fundamental gross foot traffic that we needed to make the business cash flow positive just never materialized at this location," Floyd said.

"I have never seen such radical food cost increases across the board happen so quickly and sustain," Floyd said. "They're not coming down. I don't think we'll ever see cost of goods sold pricing from 2019 ever again."

While Floyd mostly attributes the business's shut down to its location, he acknowledges that supply chain issues and record-high inflation may have also contributed to its downfall post-pandemic.

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Last week, inflation clocked in at a 40-year high of 8.6%.

"If any of those factors have been slightly different then we would probably be in a different place, but all of them happened all at the same time and there's just not a way for us to be able to accommodate for all that," Floyd said.

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As for Floyd, his focus now shifts to picking up the pieces and interviewing for a new job.

"I will most likely end up in personal bankruptcy, overall. I'm the type of business owner that will leave nothing on the field, so I put everything I possibly could into this," Floyd said.