Joe’s Oyster Bar & Grill is shutting its doors in Rosenberg for good on Nov. 20, after the owners decided not to renew the lease on the restaurant that has served seafood, po’boy sandwiches and steaks at 535 Minonite Road for a decade. The closure ends the Houston-area chapter of a family business that traces back more than four decades to a small seafood market on the Texas coast.
The owners announced they will not renew the Rosenberg restaurant’s lease, according to Chron. The outlet reported that the owners said they made the difficult decision not to renew the lease, but Joe Castillo did not share why he decided against staying in Rosenberg. Joe Castillo Jr. is expected to take over the family business going forward.
For regulars who don’t want to say goodbye to Joe’s entirely, there’s still an option — just a long one. Rosenberg and Port Isabel are separated by about 330 miles, and customers told the outlet they’d make the five-hour road trip to the original location to keep the tradition alive.
A Family Business Built On The Coast
The Rosenberg restaurant wasn’t where it all started. Joe’s Oyster Bar traces back to Gulf Seafood Market, which Joe Castillo Sr. — a Port Isabel native — opened in Port Isabel, according to the restaurant’s own account on gulfseafoodmarket.com, which dates the market’s opening to 1982; a separate 2024 report from Port Isabel South Padre places the market’s founding a year earlier, in 1981. Joe’s Oyster Bar itself opened in 2001 as an extension of that market, per the restaurant website…