Spring Branch may be booming as a restaurant destination, but the area lost a reliable neighborhood option last weekend when Hollister Grill owner Chuck Pritchett made the decision to close.

When he first opened Hollister, Pritchett tells CultureMap he had so little experience with the restaurant business that he didn't even know how to open a bottle of wine. Fortunately, Hollister found success with classic American fare and good service. The restaurant even briefly spawned a second location on Washington Avenue under the direction of chef Jason Kerr.

"I think our food was good," Pritchett says. "Our reviews were good. Our quality of service was good."

Still, the combination of a dispute with his landlord over the condition of the 50-plus-year-old building that would have triggered a $15,000 upgrade to the air conditioning system and street construction on Long Point that diminished business served as a double whammy that Hollister just couldn't overcome.

While his time in the restaurant business has come to an end, Pritchett will continue to devote his attention to his popular menswear store Village Clothier.

"You can't consider it a failure after six years," Pritchett concludes. "I had a great run, how's that?"