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    a new HK

    Modern general store set to open second location at historic Houston Farmers Market

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 24, 2022 | 11:20 am
    John and Veronica Avila are this week's guests on What's Eric Eating.
    John and Veronica Avila are this week's guests on What's Eric Eating.
    Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

    The Houston Farmers Market announced that it has signed Henderson & Kane as its newest tenant. Owners Veronica and John Avila will bring their modern general store to the property this fall.

     

    First opened in 2018 in a historic building in the Old Sixth Ward, Henderson & Kane sells a range of products created by local artisans alongside grocery items, beverages including beer and wine, and barbecue prepared by Avila, a talented pitmaster who once worked at Austin’s Franklin Barbecue. He tells CultureMap that opening a second location at the market appealed to him and his wife Veronica.

     

    “To hear [the market’s owners] thought our brand has a great reputation and that it was a really good fit, that was very meaningful to us,” Avila says. “The vibe they're presenting is what we’re trying to accomplish with Henderson & Kane.”

     

    It’s a vibe Avila knows well. The native Houstonian would join his parents on trips to the market during his childhood. As an adult, he came to rely on former market vendor Canino’s Produce for fresh ingredients such as corn and acorn squash. Since Henderson & Kane will occupy the same building Canino’s did, Avila hopes his customers will find his wares just as useful.

     

    “We know we have access to some of the best products in the city and some of the most talented folks making these products,” he says. “For us to have the stage to bring these people to light and offer their products on a larger scale means a lot to us.”

     

    Opening a second location in a larger space will bring other benefits as well. Design plans call for picnic-style seating both indoors and out as well as a demonstration counter for vendors to display their wares.

     

    In terms of food, the market location of Henderson & Kane will offer a full barbecue menu for both lunch and dinner. In addition, it will expand its selection of housemade sausages from the half dozen it currently makes to as many as 15 different varieties.

     

    Avila notes that he's observed two types of shoppers at the market. Some come to grab a specific product, while others wander through the stalls and the recently opened butcher shop from Texas wagyu purveyor R-C Ranch. In that spirit, Avila thinks shoppers will enjoy some fair-style foods they can eat while they shop such as smoked turkey legs and elotes-on-a-stick.

     

    Opening a second Henderson & Kane is one of a few projects the Avilas have undertaken. They recently opened a brick and mortar location of their Burro & Bull barbecue concept in Cypress. Earlier this month, they announced they've partnered with Houston chef Monica Pope to open Telegram Tea Room, a neighborhood market and cafe that will also open later this year.

     

    “We’re thrilled to have a concept like Henderson & Kane as part of the dynamic offerings at the Houston Farmers Market,” said Todd Mason, principal, MLB Capital Partners, in a statement. “Houston is filled with talented local artisans, and we believe Henderson & Kane has the ability to elevate these small, up-and-coming businesses and take them to the next level. They are a perfect fit for our growing community of local talent.”

     

    Adding Henderson & Kane is the latest step in real estate development firm MLB Capital Partners’ plans to transform the historic, 18-acre property into a citywide destination for food lovers. Since acquiring the site in 2017, MLB has upgraded the market’s stalls, renovated its buildings, and added features such as modern restrooms and a green space.

     

    In addition to the new butcher shop, the market has recently welcomed two new concepts from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd: Underbelly Burger and Wild Oats, a restaurant devoted to Texas cuisine. Later this year a second location of acclaimed Viet-Cajun restaurant Crawfish & Noodles will open on the property. As Avila notes, this kind of development isn’t typical for Houston.

     

    “When I found out Canino’s was closing, I thought for sure that property would turn into a luxury high-rise or something,” Avila says. “I’m sure there’s a fortune to be made by turning it into condominiums. In Houston that would have the go-to for most everybody. It was cool to find out they weren’t going to do that.”

    Henderson & Kane will occupy the former Canino's Produce space.

    Houston Farmers Market Henderson & Kane
      
    Courtesy of The Houston Farmers Market
    Henderson & Kane will occupy the former Canino's Produce space.
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    roll out

    Self-taught chef slices into Houston with high-quality sushi to go

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 17, 2025 | 5:57 pm
    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston
    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

    The ghost kitchen phenomenon may have diminished somewhat since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the idea of a delivery and to-go-only restaurant still draws talented chefs who want to focus on food at a lower overhead than a traditional brick-and-mortar. One of those chefs is Sunny Bertsch, whose restaurant Kaisen Sushi Houston is already drawing buzz from inner loopers looking for a more affordable, at-home sushi experience.

    Located at the Blodgett Food Hall in Third Ward, Kaisen Sushi serves typical nigiri, maki, and temaki (hand rolls), along with a steak bowl. Prices are a little lower than what someone would find at a typical sushi restaurant, with an eight-piece nigiri set priced at $18.99 when ordered through the Blodgett Food Hall website (expect to pay more if ordering via a third-party delivery service such as Uber Eats or DoorDash).

    While Bertsch’s food may be familiar, his story is not. The diners who’ve rated Kaisen with 4.9 stars on Google may be surprised to learn that he’s only been cooking professionally for two years. As Bertsch tells CultureMap, prior to becoming a professional chef, he worked in fields as varied as aerospace and dog walking.

    “I’d always been interested in cooking,” he says. “I was blessed to be born into a great Korean American family. My dad and my grandparents always cooked great food. I learned by osmosis.”

    Bertsch began his career as a private chef by working for friends. He built his business by catering lunches to powerhouse law firm Vinson & Elkins. Eventually, his clients asked for private sushi dinners, and he had to figure things out.

    “I got an opportunity to do a sushi omakase. It was brutal. It was messy. But I knew once I did that, I wanted to dedicate my life to sushi,” he says. “Since then, I have studied and practiced. I threw a lot of money and time and fish at it.”

    Bertsch improved his speed and knife skills by taking a $13-per-hour job at Japanese grocery store Seiwa Market. While there, he says he made thousands of pieces of nigiri, rolls, and sushi bowls. That experience, along with meals from similar to-go-only concepts in New York and San Francisco, convinced him to open Kaisen as a ghost kitchen.

    “So far, I’ve spent $90,000. That’s more than the average investment for a food hall kitchen,” Bertsch explains. “I’m a clean freak. I’m a technology freak. I’m an authenticity freak. I outfitted my kitchen in the way I thought was necessary for long-term success.”

    Just as he spared no expense in specing out his kitchen, Bertsch puts thoughtful touches into his food, too. For example, every order of nigiri comes with a dipping sauce Bertsch makes himself from low sodium soy sauce, kombu, vinegar, and sake.

    “It’s a complex sauce that’s less salty and tastes good,” he says. “You know when you don’t have it and you’re given cheap soy sauce.”

    Similarly, his California rolls use imitation crab (as do most restaurants), but it’s seasoned with a housemade, Japanese-style kewpie mayo, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sesame oil for more umami and less sweetness. Since the chef uses more crab mix than other restaurants do in their rolls, Kaisen’s California roll not only tastes better — at $11.99, it’s a better value, too.

    The chef showcases Japanese techniques and Korean influences with his $25 steak bowl. A USDA Choice ribeye or strip is cooked sous vide with a marinade made from garlic, tamari, and seasoning salt. Once a diner orders the entree, the steak is seared in a pan, basted with Kerrygold butter, seasoned with furikake and sesame oil, and served with short-grain sushi rice and microgreens from local farm Zero Point Organics.

    Word of mouth has been building. Even though it’s only been open for a month, Kaisen already has over 2,000 followers on Instagram. Once he’s able to hire a full roster of cooks, Bertsch plans to expand the menu and offer lunch service. Despite some challenges, he’s pleased with the restaurant’s progress.

    “The support I've gotten on social media has blown me away,” he says. “It’s been amazing. I could not have done it without Instagram. It blows my mind.”

    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
      

    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston

    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

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