Ever Marvel Why…every part in Houston is a pop-up now?
In Houston, a number of the finest meals have all the time come from pop-ups, and diners line up in droves for them. Enduring Houston’s warmth and hours-long strains for a style of a limited-edition dish has change into a badge of honor. Snap a photograph for the Gram, and it is official: You’re a licensed H-City foodie. These short-term meals occasions—with wraparound strains, rave critiques, and menus that vanish in a single day—are pushing the town’s culinary scene past the normal brick-and-mortar. From ceremonial-grade matcha lattes to chef-led dinners, the common-or-garden pop-up is in all places. However how did all of it start?
Spend only a few minutes on-line, and also you’ll see the attract. Fleeting menus spark pleasure, whereas cooks acquire the liberty to check abilities or revive cult favorites with out prices of a everlasting area. In the present day, they seem in all places—at farmers markets, in ghost kitchens, and everlasting areas like Third Place, the café based by Jun chef-owners Henry Lu and Evelyn Garcia.
The pattern all the time existed in some kind, however “pop-ups had been large throughout COVID occasions,” says chef Nick Wong, who co-owns Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner within the Heights. In 2021, eating places just like the now-Michelin-starred Tatemó gained momentum throughout the shutdown. Ideas comparable to ChòpnBlọk captivated audiences throughout the town, whereas Bun B’s Trill Burgers traveled the nation, doling out smashburgers at live shows throughout the nation. Cheeky dessert purveyors, like Underground Creamery and Pudgy’s Cookies, noticed main success promoting from condominium buildings.
Chef Joseph Boudreaux, who now owns Boo’s Burgers, left his company job in 2018 to pursue his dream of working a meals and beverage enterprise, however he wasn’t fairly certain tips on how to begin. Then, Boudreaux’s pal David Rodriguez, proprietor of the Tipping Level—a collective area and multilayered store that featured a boutique, tattoo parlor, and sneaker store in Downtown—added a espresso store and recruited Boudreaux, who doled out breakfast sandwiches and low to the plenty.
The collaborative area was dynamic, permitting the homeowners to replicate their various pursuits and friendship in a single place, however extra importantly, the mannequin was financially savvy. “We’re sharing the lease. We’re sharing the utilities, and it permits us to…actually simply get our desires on the market,” Boudreaux explains.
Because the duo targeted on increasing Tipping Level’s espresso store, they claimed that 2020 can be a pivotal 12 months, a time to take it “to the subsequent degree,” Boudreaux says—little did they know simply how pivotal it could be. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Houston, leaving most native eating places in limbo for months. It compelled Boudreaux and Rodriguez to brainstorm methods to draw prospects whereas remaining in compliance with public well being measures. That’s when Boudreaux considered opening a burger pop-up to help hungry diners trying to social distance. And so, Boo’s Burgers was born, doling out smashburgers from Tipping Level’s communal area.
Whereas some pop-ups had been born out of survival and technique, for others, the short-term mannequin made for a playground of experimentation, ingenuity, and enjoyable. Following stints in New York at Momofuku, Nick Wong got here to Houston in 2018 to steer the now-closed UB Preserv beneath James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd. However after the acclaimed restaurant shuttered in 2021, Wong turned to pop-ups. He thought of these early collaborations with chef associates his inventive outlet and likewise a technique to help the restaurant group throughout the pandemic. Then, as plans for his restaurant Agnes and Sherman started to take form, Wong ramped up his pop-up sport. The mannequin isn’t essentially typical for opening a restaurant, he says, however “regular” is a relative time period. “I simply assume, when you’re planning to open a restaurant, it’s a wise thought to begin simply small, for proof of idea,” Wong says. Pop-ups can function a testing floor for analysis and menu growth: Every pop-up turned a technique to trial-run menu objects at “decrease stakes” to assist decide which had been flops and which might change into part of a future menu.
Throughout the pandemic, Wong’s pop-ups throughout the town featured collaborations with MasterChef Christine Ha’s Stuffed Stomach burger joint; chef Willet Feng’s Anti-Burger Membership dinners; and Aaron Bludorn’s tavern-inspired restaurant, Bar Bludorn. He additionally revived UB Preserv’s beloved crispy rice salad (extremely praised by former Houston Chronicle meals critic Alison Prepare dinner as a peppery, pungent, tart, and salty “showstopper”) throughout a cease at Leaf and Grain. In the meantime, he examined utterly new dishes, together with the Normal Tso-Boy, a playful twist on a po’boy sandwich made with Normal Tso’s hen, and his acclaimed scallion waffle. Each are actually featured on Agnes and Sherman’s day by day menu.
Different cooks say pop-ups have their monetary advantages. Of their short-term and sporadic nature, they’re typically a less expensive, lower-commitment choice. “Brick-and-mortars are pricey to maintain working,” says Willet Feng. The chef, who operates burger joint Burger-Chan and pop-up Borrowed Items along with his spouse, Diane, factors to infrastructure prices comparable to lease, gear upkeep, and staffing. “As somebody who’s popping up at another person’s venue, I don’t have to fret about any of these issues.”
Identified for his or her award-winning burgers, the Fengs started branching out into pop-up dinners to provide Willet a spot to flex his inventive muscle mass. The pair launched Anti-Burger Membership (ABC) in 2022, kicking off a collection of chef collaborations and pop-up dinners from Burger-Chan. ABC, an acronym that additionally performs on the time period “American Born Chinese language,” has now developed into Borrowed Items, a brand new Singaporean-inspired pop-up collection that showcases Willet’s skills past the burger at totally different areas in Houston, together with Plume, Third Place, and Narwhal Jousting Membership. The menus characteristic revolutionary, one-of-a-kind creations like beef rendang lasagna and Taiwanese popcorn hen units and permit the Fengs each unbridled creativity and a bodily separation between ideas with out the strain of opening one thing everlasting. “Typical pop-ups have a objective of producing buzz and income with the objective of opening a brick-and-mortar,” Feng explains. “Borrowed Items is totally different as a result of we don’t at present have any plans to pursue a brick-and-mortar.”
And if our social media feeds are any indication, pop-ups are right here to remain, with many evolving into total eating places of their very own. Boo’s Burgers opened its first brick-and-mortar location in July 2025, incomes a faithful fan base that features High Chef finalist Daybreak Burrell. Agnes and Sherman debuted within the Heights after years of planning and testing, incomes nods from publications across the nation, and new pop-ups proceed to emerge day by day. Their recognition in Houston shouldn’t be stunning, particularly in a metropolis that loves and embraces its numerous cultures and cuisines. “Pop-ups are fashionable in Houston as a result of we love making an attempt new issues!” Feng says.
