Houston’s beloved Mexican panderia El Bolillo Bakery, which originally opened in the Heights, is opening its third location on 517 West Southmore in Pasadena within the next couple of weeks. El Bolillo Bakery is known for its variety of everyday pastries, tres leches cakes, and fresh bolillos — a popular Mexican bread similar to a baguette, but shorter in length. Locals are excited about this new addition to their neighborhood, according to Facebook food group chatter.
Pho Hoa Noodle Soup will be opening a location at 13280 Northwest Freeway, Suite A, by the end of July. Pho Hoa claims that it makes a healthier version of pho using high quality meats instead of customary bone broth, which is higher in calories and cholesterol.
ENDless Bakery, an allergy-friendly bakery specializing in pastries that are nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, plans to open at 8312 Louetta in Spring by the end of July. It will also have gluten and soy-free options available.
“Not your typical Asian restaurant” is how Fu Manchung is described on its website. Located at 3416 FM 2920 Suite 210 in Spring, Fu Manchung will officially open on August 1, with Vietnamese cuisine “and then some.” The restaurant plans to have several soft openings before then.
Katy has a new pizza spot. Big Paulie’s Pizzeria, located at 6420 FM 1463, Suite 100, opened on July 7. Longtime friends Chris Smith and Paul McCurdy wanted to create a family-oriented spot where folks could enjoy great food. Dine-in, take-out, and delivery are available.
Enjoy country-style organic and Chinese cuisine at a new location of Pepper Twins at 3915 Kirby. Pepper Twins opened July 7 and serves Angus certified beef, Berkshire pork, organic eggs and farm raised chicken and duck. Pepper Twins also has locations in River Oaks and Montrose.
Tipsters report that local favorite Kan’s Sushi and Steakhouse at 8021 Research Forest, Ste A, has closed its doors in The Woodlands and a quick search for the restaurant on Google confirmed that the restaurant is permanently closed.
Red Salsa Tacos and More opened last week at 1440 Sawdust in The Woodlands. From the looks of Yelp, the restaruant offers counter service, all day breakfast including tacos and chilaquiles, spicy salsas, taquitos (in this case, mini tacos), pinchos, and more. Open daily, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
McDonald’s fans can grab a free vanilla cone on Sunday, July 16, in celebration of National Ice Cream Day. Guests who receive a free cone between 2 and 5 p.m. will have a chance to win McDonald’s ice cream for life.
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille is introducing three new cocktails to the Bar79 menu starting July 12— the Southern Gin Gimlet, the Highland Highball, and the Spicy Mango Tango. These beverages and other unique cocktails are also available with special pricing during Social Hour every Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. and Sundays, 4 to 9 p.m.
A Sunday brunch menu called Scones Throw is now available at Stone’s Throw, 1417 Westheimer. Expect scones from bakery Common Bond and brunch-inspired cocktails including the Garden Party, Ernest Hemingway Goes to Camp, and Morning Wood— a cold brew coffee cocktail topped with house made maple-chicory foam.
Saturday and Sunday brunch is now offered at Alice Blue 250 W. 19th with a menu featuring items such as pecan cinnamon rolls, bacon and gruyere quiche, pozole and a double cheeseburger. Brunch hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A hardware store turned bar, East End Hardware, has just opened at 3005 Leeland. The Houston Press previously reported that this spot has boozy sno-balls and the potential to be one of the best neighborhood bars in all of the city.
MOD Pizza, Bay Colony at 2945 Gulf Freeway S, Suite F in League City, is having its grand opening on Friday, July 14. The first 52 customers will receive a free pizza or salad, and there will be MOD giveaways. All pizza sales will go to the Generosity::Feeds charity.
Pasadena is getting a Pappas BBQ this summer at 2336 Oleander, according to its official website. The will be the 17th area location of the barbecue restaurant, known for burgers, rib platter, baked potatoes, and that time VP Mike Pence tweeted about its ‘good BBQ’ while in town for the Super Bowl.
A new location of The Halal Guys is scheduled to grand open at 11700 Westheimer in Westchase on July 14, franchisee Masroor Fatany told the Press. This is the popular NYC-based halal street meat chain’s third Houston location, and the second for Fatany, who also operates the Farnham location. The new spot will also feature the chain’s signature gyro, chicken and falafel sandwiches or platters and awesome fries on the fly.
Second Ward tiki dive Voodoo Queen may be close to reopening after suffering a fire last September and undergoing a major renovation in the months since, Eater Houston reported.
The highly-anticipated “Starbucks of Taiwan,” 85C Bakery Café, officially opened Friday, July 7, at 9750 Bellaire. With 1,000 locations worldwide, this popular bakery was warmly welcomed to Houston during a soft opening, as the Press reported. Lines were seen zigzagging throughout the restaurant and out the door. Pastries including egg custard tarts and calamari sticks, brioche, and boba tea are just some of the offerings at this new affordable gourmet pastry and coffee shop.
Nao Ramen in Rice Village has closed. According to CultureMap, many locals welcomed this news, calling it the “ramen shop foodies loved to hate.” It’s not known what’s coming to that space next.
Bowl & Barrel is starting a new summer special. Kids under 12 can enjoy an hour of bowling, plus shoes, a hot dog and drink all for $10.
The original Beaver’s at 2310 Decatur is closing its doors for the rest of the summer. The owners have decided to give the location a rejuvenating summer vacation, according to the Chronicle. Beaver’s plans to reopen some time in September, but an exact date has not been set.
Katz Coffee owner Avi Katz and local attorney Gregg Goldstein are getting ready to open Golden Bagels & Coffee at 3119 White Oak. According to CultureMap, bagels, bagel sandwiches, pizza bagels, coffee and more will be served with lots of room for dine-in service. Expect a late summer or early fall opening.
Tomball is getting a brewery in the fall, a tipster reported. Fire Ant Brewery at 308 Market boasts handcrafted micro brews designed for taste, smoothness, and quality.
That’s it for this week’s restaurant openings and closings. Leave us a comment or send us an email to let us know if we missed something.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2017.
