Openings & Closings: Sugarbaby's Shutters, but Porch Swing Desserts Swings Open

When one oven door closes, another opens (or something like that): Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique ceased operations this past Saturday, May 18. The bakery inside the bright pink-and-green building on Shepherd thanked its fans on Twitter for all their years of support: "Sold out for our last day. It was great to see so many friendly faces. Thanks so much for 6 yrs of awesomeness."

But while Sugarbaby's is no more, Porch Swing Desserts has finally opened its own brick-and-mortar location after years of selling its baked goods online and in its mobile food truck. The new downtown bakery at 801 Lousiana (at Rusk) opened yesterday, May 16, and is currently hiring another pastry chef to come on board.

Meanwhile up north, two openings to watch for: Crawdaddy's Cajun Cafe in Magnolia, which opened this week, and a new pizza place from the owner of popular Kingwood joint RC's Pizza. Reader Clay L. writes:

This past March, [owner R.C. Gallegos] traveled to Las Vegas for the International Pizza Challenge put on by Pizza Today magazine and came home with a 2nd place in Traditional Pizza category for the "Mid-America" Division. In 2009, he took 1st place in Traditional (South Central Division) with a cheese-only pizza.

The place is more than just pizza, which in my travels around Houston and a native Houstonian, for a traditional pie and buffalo wings, is the best in Houston, at a minimum, for sure, outside the loop. He is in the process of opening another location in Spring/Woodlands, same recipes/food/owner but new name, about 100 yards from Corkscrew BBQ in the old Steel City Pizza space, to be called NYC Pizza Co.

Clay recommends the garlic knots, the extra-wet hot wings, the Philly cheesesteak on Slow Dough bread and a SoHo spinach salad with the homemade balsamic vinaigrette, in case you're curious.

In other openings, the newest Little Woodrow's has made its debut. It replaces the old Block 7 Wine Co. on Shepherd. The weekly B4-U-Eat newsletter also reports that Floyd's on the Water is now open in Hitchcock for lunch and dinner, Thursday through Sunday only for now. "Located at Harborwalk, just west of Tiki Island on Galveston's West Bay," writes B4-U-Eat. "Beautiful sunsets."