Pie may not be as traditional as chocolate when it comes to Valentine's Day sweets, but that seems to be the soonest that House of Pies will reopen after the lingering fallout from a fire that shuttered the 24-hour Houston institution last November. The fire damaged the roof, and firefighters had to tear apart the ceiling to put out the blaze.

At the time, manager Greg Smith told CultureMap that he thought the restaurant would reopen by Thanksgiving. Well, turkey day was two months ago, and the restaurant is still closed, which goes to show that even long-time restaurant mangers don't have the ability to estimate how long contractors take to complete their work.

Peeking through the windows revealed that all of the booths have been removed.

During a CultureMap visit to the site on Friday afternoon, an employee declined to comment on the specific reasons for the delay but estimated the work would take another three or four weeks.

The exterior work looks to be finished, but the interior is still a work in progress. The representative said there's still electrical work to be finished, and the new ceiling needs to be installed. He promised to let us know as soon as an opening date is set.

Peeking through the windows revealed that all of the booths have been removed. Perhaps the 40-year-old interior will be refreshed, too.

That would be nice, but the important thing is that Bayou Goo and cottage fries come back soon.