Camaraderie Brings a Quiet Retreat to a Bustling Houston

Photographery by Leonard Furmansky

A wood shop is a location where one might expect masterful works of art—but probably not on a dinner plate. But that's exactly what you'll find at Camaraderie, a new restaurant in Houston. Schaum Architects transformed a former residential garage and wood shop into a 75-seat elevated family-style restaurant.

Creating contemporary American dishes using French techniques and seasonal ingredients, Camaraderie Chef Shawn Gawle describes his cuisine as "fine casual." And that’s an apt description of the space's design as well. The designers retained as much of the existing building as possible and elevated it. For example, they wrapped bays of the high ceiling's manufactured-wood trusses in birch panels.

Carrying that element, the indoor dining room is wrapped in birch wall panels and built-in banquette seating—the effect is a space that feels like a reprieve from the city. "Chef Shawn wanted to create the sense of warmth and connection that you might feel in a mountain retreat, but in the middle of cosmopolitan Houston," Troy Schaum, principal of Schaum Architects, has said. "That tension between informality and refinement led us to look at refined Swiss chalets and Japanese ryokans. They are spaces designed to make guests feel invited and comfortable."

Troy says the restaurant's design was driven by an “urban cabin” logic. And like a cabin, the kitchen is integral to the design. Chef Shawn says he wanted to emphasize the communal aspect of the kitchen by inviting guests into the workspace's participatory culture. The kitchen is on full display in the interior dining room. The lack of barriers allows guests to become part of the action while the clean, modern design keeps the mood calm.

The restaurant's floor plan is divided into four sections: an open veranda, the bar, the indoor dining room, and the open kitchen. You'll see custom built-in millwork in the banquette seating, shelves, and credenzas, as well as a painted perforated-metal bar. Skylights in the gables bathe the entire space with light.

Talk about coming a long way from its wood shop roots! In fact, Schaum Architects received a 2025 AIA Houston Design Award for its work on Camaraderie.

While the history of the location served as a great starting place and Chef Shawn's request for a retreat created direction, the true design driver was always the food: "Shawn cooked for us before we started designing," Troy recalls. "It was clear from that moment on that he wanted to create a space to serve exquisitely conceived and executed dishes, but generously and in an environment that felt unpretentious."

—Dalene Rovenstine