Keith “Buttons” Hicks has officially left the building at his namesake restaurant.
The former executive chef at Buttons Restaurant has joined longtime friend Brent Johnson at The Rim in Burleson. The new gig is a reunion 20 years in the making — the duo first met at Ellington's Chop House, where Hicks worked his way up to chef de cuisine. The two friends have always left the door open to working together again; then, the right moment finally presented itself.
Johnson says, "When we first worked together, I told him, ‘I'll make you famous’ ... and just look what's happened. In fact, when I was about to open The Rim, Keith was the first one I talked to."
The Rim opened in May 2018.
"Our menu has slowly evolved to something very similar to what we began with at Ellington's," says Johnson, who also owns Rio Mambo.
Hicks says he is looking forward to "taking some old, cool flavors and putting his own spin on them ... as always, with a lot of soul."
Buttons, meanwhile, will continue to operate without Hicks.
