bond, common bond

Houston's favorite bakery heats up Memorial area with 2 new to-go locations

Common Bond On The Go Memorial City rendering

A rendering shows the Common Bond On-The-Go coming to the Lawn at Memorial City.

Courtesy of MetroNational

Common Bond's push to bring its sweets to all parts of Houston shows no signs of slowing. The popular bakery and cafe will open two of its On-The-Go locations at Memorial City this fall: one as part of the Lawn at Memorial City greenspace and another in the Two Memorial City Plaza office tower.

First introduced in 2020, Common Bond On-The-Go slims down the bakery and cafe's offerings to a core menu of items that can be served quickly such as breads, sweets, and pastries along with savory items like sandwiches and salads. They will be the seventh and eighth locations of the to-go oriented concept, joining outposts in places such as the Heights, Spring Branch, and Midtown's Ion mixed-use development.

“We are thrilled about expanding into West Houston and look forward to serving our delicious pastries, cookies, and macarons, as well as salad bowls and sandwiches to Houstonians at these On-The-Go concepts,” Common Bond CEO George Joseph said in a statement. “Our hope is that the new Memorial City locations will lend itself to opening a full-service Common Bond Bistro and Bakery in the near future here.”

In addition to serving Common Bond signature items such as croissants, cookies, and macarons, On-The-Go offers a full coffee program, including the popular Frozen Bond coffee drink. On-The-Go locations recently added a vegetarian sandwich made with everything spiced cream cheese, pickled red onions, avocado, cucumber, and arugula on sunflower rye bread.

Both On-The-Go locations will be part of significant changes to the Memorial City landscape. The Lawn at Memorial City is a 30,000-square-foot dining and event space that's adjacent to the Hotel ZaZa and the McKinley luxury high-rise. Two Memorial City Plaza is an 18-story office tower currently undergoing a $20 million renovation.

”The Common Bond is a perfect addition to Memorial City as we continue to introduce Houston’s favorite food concepts to the West Houston market,” said Danna Diamond, Memorial City owner MetroNational’s vice president of retail leasing. “The new On-The-Go offering is literally the ‘common bond’ that will bring together all those that live, work or come to experience an event at our new Lawn.”

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an offer he couldn't refuse

Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

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Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

“Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

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