As seasons change, Houston will get cooler and quite a bit weirder. In only a few weeks, the town has as soon as once more outdone itself. For this month’s version of Solely in Houston, Houstonia is wanting again at a number of the most weird happenings within the area, together with Elon Musk’s curiosity in tunneling by the town and two influencers who recorded a near-death eating expertise.
Elon Musk tunnels by Houston?
Since Hurricane Harvey in 2017, metropolis consultants have toyed with the thought of constructing large tunnels to divert floodwaters from destroying Houston. Now, the nation’s most meme-worthy billionaire, Elon Musk, is making an attempt to get in on the motion. Latest investigations by the Texas Newsroom and Houston Chronicle reveal that Musk’s Bastrop-based Boring Firm is vying for a $760 million flood mitigation mission within the metropolis. Musk and Rep. Wesley Hunt have pushed native and state officers to rent the corporate to construct two slim, 12-foot tunnels round a significant watershed. Whereas the Boring Firm has labored on transportation tunnels throughout the US, it doesn’t have expertise in flood mitigation.
R.I.P, FunPlex
In one of many saddest updates of the yr, homeowners of Alief’s FunPlex introduced its everlasting closure after almost 40 years in enterprise. The indoor amusement park by no means really reopened after closing for renovations through the peak of the pandemic. Southsiders liked the longtime playground for its curler rink and indoor amusement, and it even obtained a stamp of approval from Beyoncé. The singer famously filmed the visuals for her 2013 single “Blow” on the park, and later hosted a social gathering at FunPlex, the place she invited husband Jay-Z to bust a transfer and check his skating expertise. However even Queen Bey couldn’t save this iconic Houston establishment. Relaxation in peace, FunPlex.
Huge winners robbed, massive time
Houston poker winners simply turned massive losers. Town is surprisingly crammed with a number of poker golf equipment, the place winners take house money prizes after profitable wins. Native crime rings have apparently caught on and have caught as much as the large winners: In latest weeks, police have reported an uptick in theft, recording 20 robberies. Seventeen of these profitable poker gamers have been robbed after leaving the Fortunate J Social Membership. Cops say they have been victims of a sequence of “jugging” robberies, which happen when gamers who’ve received giant sums of cash are adopted from one poker membership to the following and robbed.
Dine and crash
In August, native influencers Nina Santiago and Patrick Blackwood sat right down to movie a mukbang at brunch restaurant Cuvée’s Culinary Creations. Minutes into their meal, a black SUV crashed into the restaurant—slamming proper into the couple’s desk. The collision, which was caught on video, shattered home windows and despatched the pair flying. The pair was despatched to the hospital shortly after for remedy, however then returned, unhurt, to complete their meal of salmon sliders. The video went so viral that even the Cuvée pinned it to its Instagram profile. This marks the second time influencers in Houston have captured a automobile crash inside a restaurant. Again in 2023, podcasters Nathan Reeves and Alexsey Reyes have been filming at Downtown’s Tout Suite when a automobile smashed into the home windows behind them.
A(nother) celeb endorsement
It’s no secret: Kolaches are a number of the greatest pastries identified to humankind. Now, Grammy-award-winning Houstonian Lizzo (born Melissa Jefferson) is telling the world. In early September, the “Juice” singer took to TikTok to proclaim her love for Houston’s kolaches, sampling breakfast renditions from Kolache Manufacturing facility, Christy’s, and Shipley Do-Nuts. Days later, Lizzo posted one other H-City-proud video, displaying off a Mexican sweet haul from Fiesta Mart. Although Lizzo sometimes reps her hometown of Detroit, the “Reality Hurts” artist grew up in Houston, graduating from Alief Elsik Excessive Faculty and, later, the College of Houston.
