JUN, 420 E. 20th, is launching its daytime cafe, Third Place, April 14. The ‘New American’ restaurant has earned owners and chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Liu plenty of critical acclaim including two James Beard Award semifinalist nods in 2024 and 2025. The duo draw on their different cultural heritages to create a menu that seamlessly blends Asian ingredients with Mexican and Salvadoran flavors for unique dishes that have propelled them to the top of the Houston restaurant scene. Now, they want to give a little of that love in return.
JUN itself is open for dinner service and weekend brunch but the new concept will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for patrons to enjoy an array of traditional and specialty espresso drinks, plus sweet and savory pastries, while taking advantage of the free WiFi for work or creative projects. It’s meant to be a welcoming space for the community as well as a launching pad for local chefs. With its new Chef Residency Program, there will be lunch pop-ups from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participating chefs have the option of doing a day or two or they can carry out the pop-up for several weeks.
Some of the chefs that will be hopping and popping include current Top Chef contestant Tristen Epps, who is expected to open his Afro-Caribbean restaurant BuBoy soon. Epps is no stranger to popping up at JUN, having done several special meals this past February. Other local talent includes Craft Pita’s Raffi Nasr, Subo’s Gabriel Medina and Nina Fonte of Aleng Nina’s.
The first chef to take the pop-up stage at Third Place will be Julio Mendez, sous-chef at JUN and a protege of James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega. His stint will be April 14 through April 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A sneak peek at his menu shows Hash Browns with sous vide egg, foam cheese and ham, plus Shakshuka with Mexican chorizo, farm egg and baguette.
While Mendez will be doing the pop-up launch, chef Suu Khin of Burmalicious will be doing a special Burmese New Year pickup April 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Third Place/JUN. Many will recognize Chef Suu from her spectacular journey on season 21 of Fox’s Master Chef: Legends. Making it to the finale, she impressed the judges with her Burmese cuisine. The young chef was also a semifinalist this year for the James Beard Award: Emerging Chef. She is a familiar face at local food events, usually helping Garcia and Liu feed hungry attendees.
Orders for the Burmese New Year dishes should be made through her website theburmalicious.com. Customers can indulge in staples like Ohn-no Khao-swe, a chicken coconut soup, or Duck Puff, made with duck liver pate and caramelized onions. For dessert there’s the colorful Shwe Yin Aye, a blend of mango gelee, sago, pandan noodles, sticky rice and jasmine coconut milk.
Not only will the food be unique and creative, 30 percent of the sales will go to support the World Central Kitchen and its efforts to bring nourishing food to the people of Myanmar after the devastating 7.7. magnitude earthquake that took the lives of more than 5,000 people and injured thousands of others.
De Fortune, 3515 W. Dallas, is slated to debut April 25. The globally-inspired bar and lounge will join other trendy businesses at Regent Square including Flight Club and Georgia James Steakhouse. It is the first concept for MAKE Investments hospitality group who have brought in Houston’s gin design group for the sleek and chic layout along with Unfiltered Hospitality, a bar management and cocktail consultancy out of Miami.
We will have more details about the grand opening next week.
Via 313 Pizza, 9250 Broadway, opens April 25 in Pearland. Located in the Silverlake Business Park, it’s the fourth location of the Detroit-style pizza brand for the Greater Houston area. The company was founded in 2011 in Austin by brothers Brandon and Zane Hunt. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, the duo wanted to introduce Texans to their hometown pizza. Unlike typical pizzas, the rectangular versions have a light, chewy dough that gets a crispy outer crust, with cheese right to the edges.
The Detroit-Style selection includes Classic Cheese, The Original Pepperoni, The Carnivore and The Bob Brazil which has hot Calabrese salami, sausage, red pepper flakes and Mike’s Hot Honey. All of the Detroit-style pizzas can be made with dairy-free cheese and gluten-free crust.
The Bar-Style pies are thinner, circular versions that also get loaded with cheese to the rim. Options include
Funkadelic Chicken, The Supreme and The Stooges, a vegetarian pizza with baby spinach, marinated artichokes, shallots and parmesan crisps. The menu includes salads, appetizers and desserts as well. For beverages, there are soft drinks and a full bar with cocktails, beer and wine.
In celebration of the grand opening, there will be an all-day part-ay from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a prize wheel, a photo booth by Bub’s photos and chances to win free tickets from White Oak Music Hall. Eureka Heights Brewery will be on hand with beer samples and there will be swag from Do713. Pearland Neighborhood Center will receive 25 percent of the day’s proceeds, so go purchase lots of rectangle pizza and support families in need.
55 Seventy, 3015 Richmond, has begun construction on its 30,000 square-foot clubhouse. The private social club is expected to debut in fall 2026. Adjacent to Levy Park, the exclusive, membership-only concept will cater to well-heeled types who love posh wine, gourmet food and the company of like-minded and like-incomed individuals.
This is the first outpost of the flagship location which opened in Dallas in 2022. The Houston club will offer 800 wine lockers with state-of-the-art storage, a full-service restaurant, a demonstration kitchen for wine and food events plus luxurious cellar suites overlooking a courtyard garden. A rooftop patio will overlook Levy Park and the plebeians playing below.
Expertly-trained sommeliers, a full-time wine concierge/cellar master and wine brokerage services are available for connoisseurs of rare wine. There is a Founder’s Lounge for the elite members of the invite-only Founder’s Equity.
Angry Chickz, 18207 Egret Bay Boulevard, will have its grand opening in Webster April 25. Known for its Nashville hot chicken sliders, the fast casual chain began its journey on the West Coast in Los Angeles, California in 2018. The new Webster location is its first foray into the Texas market and number 29 for the company systemwide.
The menu offers four classic combos that mix and match chicken tender sliders, tenders on white bread or tenders on buttery rice. Customers can also order the tenders served in bowls over its signature mac and cheese or fries. If you’re really pushing the calorie budget, the Angry Mac includes both. The spice levels range from Country (no heat) and Hot (feel the burn) all the way to Angry (sign a waiver).
The grand opening event will feature exclusive giveaways including a limited-edition Angry Chickz jersey for the first 100 guests. Five lucky ducks, or chickz, will win “Angry Chickz for a year” through an onsite raffle.
Black Restaurant Weeks 2025 in Houston is quickly coming to a close so diners have only a couple of days to participate in the annual event which showcases local Black-owned dining hotspots around the city.
Unfortunately, the Skip Day Party at Leland House/Around the Corner, 1510 Hutchins, has already sold out. However, there are still tickets available (at the time of publication) for the JetSetter Supper Club April 13. The curated dinner takes place at Chris William’s restaurant Late August , located at 4201 Main. The four-course meal includes Black-eyed Pea salad, King Trumpet Scallop, Braised Oxtail and Cornbread Bread Pudding, all perfectly paired with wines from Branwar Wines. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and tickets can be purchased here for $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
MF Lobster & Seafood, 3711 Autry Park, is launching a brunch service April 12 with a new chef and team member Matt Cornelius. Cornelius worked with chef MF Chris Kinjo to tweak the menu in order to showcase fresh seafood and he played an important role in the creation of the new brunch menu.
It will feature four types of eggs Benedict: lobster, braised bacon, pork belly and classic eggs. On the Not Your Usual section of the menu, guests will find Wagyu Steak n’ Eggs, Maine Lobster Popovers and Bagels n’ Lox with dill-cured King Ora salmon. Brunch desserts include Red Velvet Trifle, Pistachio Raspberry Cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme.
Mambo Seafood, 7728 FM 1960 W., will open May 1 in the Willowbrook area, taking over the former home of TGI Fridays, which shuttered in October 2024. The business was founded in 1996 and currently has a dozen locations across the Greater Houston area with several in San Antonio and McAllen, Texas.
It’s known for its Mambo rice and its signature Mambo Chelada, a spicy version of a michelada. Seafood is abundant here with fried platters, grilled fish, boiled crawfish and seafood soups. There are a few menu items for landlubbers including hamburger, crispy chicken sandwich and grilled Monterey chicken.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
