UPDATE: Arthur Ave announced that all bottles of wine will be priced at half off through its closing on March 19.

When life hands you lemons, make avgolemono.

That's the optimistic sentiment behind the decision by the owners of Arthur Ave Italian American to shutter the Heights restaurant and rebrand it as a Greek taverna.

The Greek route makes sense to the team – after all Arthur Ave is owned by the same owner/operators of the successful Helen Greek Food and Wine in Rice Village. That team (sommelier Evan Turner, executive chef William Wright, chef de cuisine Mercedes Gomez and director of operations Tim Faiola) will simply shift gears at Arthur Ave, which will mark its last dinner service on March 19 and later reopen as Helen in the Heights.

It was a difficult decision, Turner said, to retire the Arthur Ave concept – a valentine to the classic "red sauce" Italian-American restaurants that flourished in the American Northeast – that opened in August 2016. Despite some positive reviews, the team recognized that under-performing sales suggested the brand wasn't right for the neighborhood.

"Our heart was in the right place when it came to Arthur Avenue," Turner said. "But at the end of the day we all sort of fell in love with the idea of being the people who bring wonderful Greek food to the city. We decide we should embrace what we are – in our hearts we're Greek. And that's why we made this decision. It felt like the right thing to do."

So after closing Arthur Ave on March 19 the team will quickly remake the space at 1111 Studewood as Helen in the Heights, which is being billed as a classic Greek taverna where dishes such as moussaka, souvlaki and pastitsio will be served. And there will be ouzo – the restaurant has a full liquor license – as well as Greek wine.

"To me, Helen in the Heights is going to be so iconic and so classic with Greek beverages inspired by beach life and summertime partying. There will be Greek music. We're going to let everyone do what is typical of Greek tavernas except break plates," Turner said. "We're going to really embrace all the dishes and all the styles of what a Greek taverna is all about. And warm, effusive, fun-loving service. It's going to be comforting food with nice portions and incredibly value. Simple, easy, robust and an amazing value."

A Greek taverna is not foreign to the Helen team. It was among the concepts considered when Turner was developing the ideas that led to the regional Greek restaurant brand that the principals opened in the summer of 2015 in Rice Village. Helen Greek Food and Wine, with its striking food and unparalleled-in-Houston all-Greek wine list, was an immediate hit. Last year the restaurant was among the semifinalists for Best New Restaurant from the James Beard Awards. Eater also included Helen in its survey of the 21 Best New Restaurants in America last year.