This Week's Hot Headlines

New Mexican restaurant sizzles into Houston's 5 most popular stories

Johnny Ritas Cocina y Cantina restaurant exterior

Johnny Ritas is now cooking.

Photo by Hasan Yousef

Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston news of the week, including restaurant comings and goings and a local suburb that is booming with wealth. Read on for our five most popular stories, then plan your weekend via this guide.

1. New restaurant shakes up Houston with Oaxacan and Tex-Mex classics. A Houston hospitality veteran has opened a new Mexican restaurant in Lindale Park. Johnny Ritas Cocina y Cantina debuted Friday, February 6.

2. Houston suburb has top-20 highest rate of new wealthy residents in U.S. A new income study has revealed Houston's wealthiest aren't settling down in Pearland anymore — they've set their sights on Conroe, instead.

3. Arizona Mexican restaurant is the latest to shutter at the Galleria. A Mexican-inspired restaurant in the Galleria has quietly closed. Blanco Cocina + Cantina has shaken its last margarita.

4. Veteran French chef blows into Bellaire with a new neighborhood bistro. One of Houston’s most well-regarded French chefs has opened a new restaurant in Bellaire. Bistro Mistral is the latest project from chef David Denis.

Bistro Mistral French onion soup Bistro Mistral serves classic fare like French onion soup. Courtesy of Bistro Mistral

5. Houston sushi spot's Dubai outpost named to prestigious 50 best list. The Dubai location of a Houston-based Japanese restaurant has been named one of the best restaurants in the Middle East. Kokoro ranks No. 15 on the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

h-town tenacity

Houston punches in as one of 2026's most hardworking American cities

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash

Houstonians are hard workers.

Houston and its residents are proving their tenacity as some of the hardest-working Americans in 2026, so says a new study.

WalletHub's annual "Hardest-Working Cities in America (2026)" report ranked Houston the 37th most hardworking city nationwide. H-town last appeared as the 28th most industrious American city in 2025, but it still remains among the top 50.

The personal finance website evaluated 116 U.S. cities based on 11 key indicators across "direct" and "indirect" work factors, such as an individual's average workweek hours, average commute times, employment rates, and more.

The U.S. cities that comprised the top five include Cheyenne, Wyoming (No. 1); Anchorage, Alaska (No. 2); Washington, D.C. (No. 2); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 4); and Irving, Texas (No. 5). Dallas and Austin also earned a spot among the top 10, landing as No. 7 and No. 10, respectively.

Based on the report's findings, Houston has the No. 31-best "direct work factors" ranking in the nation, which analyzed residents' average workweek hours, employment rates, the share of households where no adults work, the share of workers leaving vacation time unused, the share of "engaged" workers, and the rate of "idle youth" (residents aged 16-24 that are not in school nor have a job).

However, Houston lagged behind in the "indirect work factors" ranking, landing at No. 77 out of all 116 cities in the report. "Indirect" work factors that were considered include residents' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, the share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations, annual volunteer hours, and residents' average leisure time spent per day.

Based on data from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WalletHub said the average American employee works hundreds of more hours than workers residing in "several other industrialized nations."

"The typical American puts in 1,796 hours per year – 179 more than in Japan, 284 more than in the U.K., and 465 more than in Germany," the report's author wrote. "In recent years, the rise of remote work has, in some cases, extended work hours even further."

WalletHub also tracked the nation's lowest and highest employment rates based on the largest city in each state from 2009 to 2024.

Source: WalletHub

Other Texas cities that earned spots on the list include Fort Worth (No. 13), Corpus Christi (No. 14), Arlington (No. 15), Plano (No. 17), Laredo (No. 22), Garland (No. 24), El Paso (No. 43), Lubbock (No. 46), and San Antonio (No. 61).

Data for this study was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, Social Science Research Council, and the Corporation for National & Community Service as of January 29, 2026.

austin reports wallethub