Opt for Optimism

Houston artist talks inspiration behind his bright new East End mural

"We all have the ability to explode with positive energy," says GONZO247.

Courtesy photo

The new "Optimism Starts With You" mural that has gone up on a wall in the East End District has brought a bright burst of color to the area.

It's the latest project in Frost Bank's Opt for Optimism campaign, in partnership with CultureMap. The colorful new artwork is based around the idea that optimism may start with one person, but it can easily ripple out through small acts and thoughtful moments, therefore changing the people and communities around you. The mural's silhouette is meant to encourage passersby to stand in its place for photo opps.

"For me, optimism is a way out of a situation," says Mario E. Figueroa Jr., the local artist known as GONZO247 who painted the mural. "A lot of time people get stuck in this cycle and feel like there's no way out. More than ever, everyone needs to be optimistic and know that things are going to get better, and you're also a part of that solution."

GONZO247 is from the East End himself, and is an early pioneer in the graffiti and street art culture of Houston. Inspired by hip hop and his home city, he's known for supporting his fellow artists and lifting up others who also want to make a positive mark on their community.

He is hoping that the mural will remind everyone that it's okay to start small. "The smallest thing anyone can do to make an impact on their community, as crazy as it sounds, is just smile," he says.

And if you're looking for some fresh air, stop by and snap a pic with the uplifting mural at 2219 Canal St., on the southeast-facing wall on the corner of Canal and Navigation. Be sure to tag @culturemaphou and #optforoptimism with your photo.

promoted video charity-guide

another coney closure

Iconic Houston hot dog restaurant quietly closes Galleria-area location

James Coney Island original chili cheese dog

Courtesy photo

James Coney Island has closed another prominent location.

Another location of James Coney Island has served its last hot dog. The restaurant's Westheimer location in the Galleria area quietly closed last weekend. A note in the window reads as follows:

Dear JCI Customer, We made the difficult decision to permanently close this location. We are tremendously grateful for your patronage at Westheimer for many years. We are a small, local business and we hope you will continue to support us at our other Houston Area locations. In fact, our 99-year Houston tradition depends on your support. Please know that all employees from the location have been offered employment within the company.

Founded in 1923, James Coney Island is known primarily for its hot dogs, which are traditionally served with mustard, onions, cheese, and the restaurant's signature chili sauce. It operates nine Houston-area restaurants, including a Meyerland location that's approximately five miles from the shuttered Westheimer store.

The closure follows that of the company's last inner loop location at Shepherd and Richmond that shuttered in July as well as the closures of three other locations that are becoming outposts of Austin-based burrito restaurant Cabo Bob's. More locations could be closing in the future. Commercial real estate firm United Equities lists the Pasadena, east Houston (I-10 and Federal Rd.), and north Houston (I-45 and Crosstimbers) restaurants as being available for lease to new tenants.

As president Darrin Straughan told CultureMap at the time, the company has been selling off locations to reposition in smaller locations that are more suited for to-go business.

"We bought a lot of real estate 25 years ago when we started expanding Coney Island," he said in July. "They’re worth a lot of money today. The unit economics is too much to sell hot dogs out of. We made a decision to start selling off our real estate. We're going to open Coney Islands in smaller footprints with drive-thrus."

Straughan added that James Coney Island fans can expect a 100-year anniversary celebration in 2023 that honors the founding Papadakis family. Details will be announced in the months to come.

The Westheimer location won't stay empty for long. Real estate firm Littwitz Investments posted to Instagram that the property has already been sold and will be home to a new restaurant that's scheduled to open in spring 2023.

President David Littwitz told CultureMap in an email that he's "not allowed to say" who the buyer is, but rumors are quietly swirling that a prominent Midtown establishment has claimed the space. Expect more news soon.

news-you-can-eat closings

Size matters

Houston is home to some of the biggest houses in the U.S., new ranking shows

River Oaks mansion for sale 2604 Del Monte Drive

Houston Association of Realtors

Seems like our homes are pretty big here.

If everything’s bigger in Texas, that should include our homes, right? Well, a new study shows homes in the Lone Star State are among the biggest in the country — but not the biggest.

Texas appears at No. 11 on American Home Shield’s list of the states with the biggest houses. In Texas, the average home is 2,170 square feet, well behind top-ranked Utah (2,800 square feet).

But don’t despair, fellow Texans. Six Texas cities, including Houston, land on American Home Shield’s list of the top 20 major cities for home size. This list looks at average home sizes in the country’s 50 largest cities after surveying more than 500,000 U.S. home listings from Zillow,

Houston, surprisingly, doesn't lead the list; that honor goes to Fort Worth, No. 5 overall, where homes 2,255 square feet. Houston ranks No. 11 in the U.S.. per the study. The report notes the average home price per square foot in Houston is $208.28.

Here's how Texas cities fared:

No. 7 Austin, 2,081 square feet
No. 11 Houston, 2,041 square feet
No. 16 El Paso, 2,004 square feet
No. 17 San Antonio, 2,002 square feet
No. 20 Dallas, 1,930 square feet

In case you were wondering, the big city with the biggest houses is Colorado Springs, Colorado (2,760 square feet), while the tiniest houses are in Honolulu (825 square feet).

“Several factors can dictate how large the average home is in a certain state or city,” says American Home Shield, which sells home warranties. “One of the primary factors is the age of the housing stock. American homes have gotten larger over time; states with a higher percentage of new homes tend to have larger homes on average.”

home-for-sale rankings

weekend event planner

Here are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

The Chicks

Photo by Nadine Ljewere

Gaslighters beware: The Chicks are coming.

This weekend features a flurry of festivals for nearly every taste, from art, to Black and Greek culture, to ye olde Renaissance Festival.

Meanwhile, a hot stage show comes to town, Texas' favorite grocery store hosts a wine walk for those who love to strip and stroll, and Texas' most unafraid country music ladies head to town.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, October 6

18th Annual H-E-B Wine Walk

The 18th annual walk will shed light on great wines, culinary creations, and lifestyle enthusiasts. The event encourages attendees to put on their favorite bling, light-up attire and enjoy a night of illumination. Light sticks and glow necklaces will be randomly distributed. Three blocks of Market Street will also be jam-packed with culinary creations, wine displays, craft beers, live music, and wine experiences. More than 40 wine tasting tents, more than 40 craft beer selections and dozens of culinary offerings from area restaurants, chefs and caterers will be featured. There will also be tasting stations that will offer choices from more than 250 beverages. 6 pm.

Christopher Martin Gallery presents Christopher Martin: Centric opening reception

Christopher Martin is coming full circle with the first Houston exhibition dedicated solely to his coveted and collectible disc series. A self-taught artist, Christopher coaxes layers of sheer pigment and water to achieve his vision — harnessing brushes, wind, heat, and gravity. Since debuting his first discs in 2011, successive series have continued the evolution of iterations that play with rhythmic and eye-catching geometry. The exhibition will also offer a retrospective of pieces from earlier releases. Through Thursday, October 20. 6 pm.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center: Hadestown

This eight-time Tony winner intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone - as it invites the audience on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and director Rachel Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, this haunting, hopeful, theatrical experience grabs you and never lets go. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday, 2 and 8 pm Saturday and 2 and 7:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, October 7

Rockefellers Houston presents Tracy Anne Hart: "Past, Present, and Future"

Rockefellers Houston presents this exhibition of prints by photographer Tracy Anne Hart, in conjunction with FotoFest. This is the official release event for Hart's 2023 Stevie Ray Vaughan calendar. The show includes the calendar, live music, and prints of Hart's images of SRV, Gary Clark Jr, Billy Gibbons, Eric Tessmer, Sue Foley, Fantastic Negrito, Eric Gales, and other great past, present, and future artists. These images explore both culture and cultural appropriation, as well as amazing American music. The event includes a brief Q&A session, a cash bar and refreshments. 6 pm.

Theatre Under The Stars Lights Up Gala

Theatre Under The Stars' Lights Up Gala will feature a performance by Alex Newell, the renowned Grammy-nominated singer of Glee fame, along with the TUTS Pre-Professional Company and the Performance Troupe. The evening will begin with cocktails and a silent auction followed by a four-course dinner. Chaired by Patricia & Sig Cornelius and Dolores Cavatore & John Tobola, the annual event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre and raise funds for TUTS. 6:30 pm.

Moody Center for the Arts presents Elainie Lillios: Night Sky

Composer Elainie Lillios will present the debut of her newest sound and light composition at the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany Skyspace. Lillios presents a meditative sonic journey in response to the iconic Turrell work situated on Rice's campus. Her composition also incorporates the poem Night Sky by Don Bogen. Lillios integrates Bogen’s poem into her soundscape in a manner that reflects and enhances the text while simultaneously forming a connection between the twilight of life and the Twilight Epiphany Skyspace. Through Sunday, October 23. 7 pm.

Performing Arts Houston presents Tom Papa: Family Reunion Tour

With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country. He’s found success in film, TV, books, radio, and podcasts, as well as on the live stage. Papa recently released his second book, You’re Doing Great! - And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, which was the follow-up to Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas. He is also a contributing writer to the New Yorker magazine. Papa has four stand-up specials, including his latest Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great! on Netflix. His other specials include Human Mule, Freaked Out, and Tom Papa Live in New York City. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, October 8

Art Colony Association, Inc. presents Bayou City Art Festival

Bayou City Art Festival will return to downtown Houston to celebrate 50 years of providing unique art experiences and education in Houston, while supporting local organizations and promoting the impact that art has on the Houston community. Patrons will have the opportunity to meet artists, view original works, and purchase artwork from 19 art disciplines, including paintings, prints, jewelry, sculptures, and more. The two-day festival will feature live music, a food truck park, and beverage stations, along with two entertainment stages and art installations. 10 am.

Houston Black Heritage Fest

Check out this celebration of Black culture over at Emancipation Park. An extensive cultural experience that promotes diversity, cultural sensitivity and community social responsibility, this two-day festival honors local giants, features local artists, guest speakers, exhibits, poets, crafts people and culminates with legends of the music industry (Eric Benet will be the headliner), which draws thousands each year. Houstonians and visitors alike will have the opportunity to experience business, networking, and cultural programming throughout the weekend that highlights and celebrates Houston's vibrant, African-American community. 4 pm.

Houston Plant Market presents Plants in the Park After Dark

Enjoy a free sunset evening market at Historic Market Square Park lasting into the night with plants, crafts, art, food, music, and more. Bring your kids, dogs, in-laws, pet goldfish, emotional support plants-- you name it. Whether you're a new plant parent, or an importing dream queen, there's something for everyone. Philodendrons, hoyas, anthuriums, alocasias, pothos – they’re all there. And a pot for them to go into? They have that too! The wonderful community of vendors spend weeks propagating and growing their babies, crafting and creating their work for you. 5 pm.

Galveston Artist Residency presents J.R. Roykovich: Travel in Light Years (Part 2)

Conceptual & research based artist J.R. Roykovich will hit us this weekend with part two of his newest solo exhibition. The work explores locations to expose and document how the layers of history, mythology and psychic scars of a site can affect the phenomenological intersections of current physical, mental and emotional experiences within that place and time. These explorations result in large installations and mappings based on environmental recollection which serve as a nerve center to explore, document and connect various histories. Roykovich’s research explores the spatial exchanges between existing entities at those locations while documenting geo-spectral networked and system-based transferences. 6 pm.

The Chicks with Patty Griffin

Texas’ most controversial — and possibly most fearless — country music gals The Chicks (now performing under a new name) are back after a long 14-year hiatus. Fans can expect hits from 1999’s Fly and 2020’s Gaslighter, draws heavily on some old school country themes and no-holds-barred reflections on toxic relationships, politics, and more No doubt the phones will start waving when The Chicks perform "Wide Open Spaces." Noted singer-songwriter Patty Griffin joins the ladies; tickets start at $79.50 (plus fees). 6 pm.

Sunday, October 9

Afrikanah Book Club presents Lit In The 5th

Celebrate Black women in literature in Houston's historic Fifth Ward! Going down at the legendary DeLuxe Theater, this literary event was created to highlight the African-American literary tradition while also making literature more accessible to Houston’s historic Fifth Ward community. Focusing on the voices of African-American women in literature, the event will feature a full day of literary activities, including author talks and readings, workshops in creative writing and bookmaking, dramatic presentations, literary vendors, a book drive, and poetry performances. Noon.

Kinetic Ensemble presents The Wilderness Anthology

Houston’s artist-led, artist-curated Kinetic Ensemble opens its 2022-23 season with an evening of live music inspired by nature, including world premieres by composers Nicky Sohn and Patrick Harlin. This combines Kinetic’s live performance with pre-recorded soundscapes, captured in the Amazon Rainforest and in the Book Cliffs of the western U.S. The concert will be rounded out by the first Houston performance of Paul Novak’s “a string quartet is like a flock of birds,” which Kinetic commissioned in 2020. This season opener will be a fully immersive sound experience; a musical meditation on our natural world, which ever surrounds and inspires us. 6 pm.

Noah Cyrus in concert

Noah Cyrus has recently released her highly anticipated and critically acclaimed debut album The Hardest Part. Already, Cyrus has accumulated an impressive 3 billion combined streams to date, with songs from The Hardest Part already amassing more than 40 million combined streams and counting. In a whirlwind of loss, heartbreak, and chaos, Noah Cyrus grabbed the reins, took control of her life, and has been able to finally tell her story like never before. Noah and her band just started her North American tour, making 23 stops in total – including a stop this weekend in H-Town. 7 pm.