La Griglia, Houston: Motorized Screens on a Curve
La Griglia is a Landry’s Italian restaurant in Montrose with a patio built around a live oak that grows through the roof. The street side is a curved stucco wall under a green-and-white striped awning, and the owners wanted it closed without losing the curve or the awning. The answer was five narrow motorized screens set to the radius, so the wall reads as one band of glass, and the rest of the patio done in four phases as the restaurant lived with it.
What we built
- Customer: La Griglia, Houston, Texas, part of Landry’s.
- Phase 1, October 2023: 5 motorized screens with clear vinyl windows and black borders on the covered patio, 5 to 13 feet wide and 9 to 11 feet tall.
- Phase 2, November 2023: 5 motorized screens on the curved wall, each about 5 feet wide by 11 feet tall, hung from a new header that follows the radius under the awning.
- Phase 3, April 2024: 2 manual panels in black and clear, up to 200 inches wide, closing the bar side.
- Phase 4, October 2024: 4 manual panels at the foyer, with one existing curtain moved from the bar.
- Together: 16 panels and about 3,100 square feet, no doors.
Before and after
Before, the curve was open between the awning and the low wall, and the tables along it took the street and the weather. The screens drop from the header to the wall cap and the curve still reads from the street, with the dining room lit behind it.
Four phases, August 2023 to October 2024
- August 17, 2023: quote for the covered patio. Deposit September 7.
- September 22, 2023: design consultation. Installed October 20.
- October 20, 2023: the curve measured the day the first phase finished. Into manufacturing October 27, installed November 15.
- March to April 2024: the bar side, two manual panels, installed April 23.
- October 2024: the foyer, four manual panels, installed October 30.
What made this one different
The radius. A motorized screen wants a straight header, and this wall has none, so the curve was broken into five narrow bays with a header segment for each, set so the hoods line up under the awning. Each screen is only about five feet wide, which keeps the clear window flat and the gap between screens small enough that the wall reads continuous from the sidewalk.
The other thing is the pace. Landry’s bought the patio in four pieces over a year, each phase after seeing the last one work, which is how a restaurant that never closes should buy an enclosure.
Specs
| System | Motorized screens with clear windows, 10 units, plus 6 manual roll-up panels |
| Fabric | Clear vinyl with black borders, flame-rated to NFPA 701 |
| Largest unit | 13 feet wide by 11 feet tall |
| Wind rating | Motorized 65 mph deployed; manual 45 mph tied down |
| Warranty | 5 years on motors, 3 years on workmanship |
| Lead time | About 8 weeks from deposit per phase |
| Installation | Our own crew, four visits, with the restaurant open. Outlet locations only; we do not do the electrical. |
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