Hot Headlines

Houston star chef reveals new restaurant details and more top stories

House of Louie is coming to Montrose.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston news of the week, from high-profile restaurant openings to the return of a foodie favorite event. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then plan your weekend with the help of this guide.

1. Beard-winning Houston chef shares first details of new Montrose restaurant. Houston hospitality veterans Bobby Heugel and chef Justin Yu are sharing more details about House of Louie, their new neighborhood restaurant that’s opening this summer in the former Vibrant space at 1931 Fairview Ave.

2. 11 eateries participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks for the first time. CultureMap has compiled a list of several of the first-time participants in Houston Restaurant Weeks to help guide people’s selections.

3. How vintage finds shaped the look of Houston’s nostalgic new steakhouse. Ford Fry’s new Heights steakhouse Star Rover fills a gap few Houstonians were aware was missing — good ol’ fashioned nostalgia.

4. H-E-B's affordable Joe V's expands with 2 new Houston-area stores. Joe V's Smart Shop, the affordable grocery chain from H-E-B, is expanding in the Houston area with two new stores set to open in 2027 — and construction is already underway.

Joe V's Smart Shop by H-E-B Joe V's is expanding. newsroom.heb.com

5. Chef Austin Simmons dishes on his newly-opened Woodlands restaurant. One of this year’s most eagerly anticipated new restaurants opened its doors Tuesday, July 14.

money woes

Texas dips on ranking of America's most financially distressed states

Photo by Image Source/Getty Images

Texas actually improved in this year's ranking.

After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

This is how Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
No. 12 – Credit score rank
No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability have been top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Houston residents, which were dubbed the second most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Kansas
No. 2 – Lousiana
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – Texas
No. 5 – South Carolina
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – California
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Kentucky

economy wallethub reports texas finance