• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    TABC Report Secrets

    Secrets of the TABC reports: Restaurant & bar shockers emerge — plus Washington's demise is not exaggerated

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2014 | 4:40 pm

    Every month the State Comptroller's Office publishes the amount of money bars and restaurants pay in Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts taxes. Known colloquially as the "TABC report" after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, it might be the best kept non-secret in the Houston restaurant industry. Every month owners, chefs and industry insiders peruse the numbers to get a glimpse at the state of the competition.

     

    Who's up? Who's down? Who's in danger of closing due to declining revenue?

     

    We decided to take our own look by pulling the most recent TABC report available online. Sorting by city, we combined the results for Houston and its suburbs (The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Webster, Katy, etc) to generate a list of more than 3,600 bars and restaurants that reported their sales to the state. The results may surprise readers who correlate press coverage with profits, but Houstonians aren't always chasing the new thing or the biggest names.

     

    The numbers don't factor in food sales, obviously, or paint a picture of the costs associated with rent, labor and insurance. They also don't provide any information about restaurants with beer and wine licenses — a group that includes hot spots like Oxheart, Underbelly and Uchi. Still, examining the numbers can reveal a few hidden truths about where Houstonians are spending their money.

     

     1. Downtown bars may get all the press, but Midtown bars sell much more liquor.

     

    Between December 2012 and December 2013, eight new bars and bar-forward restaurants opened along Main Street and near Market Square: The Original OKRA Charity Saloon, Clutch City Squire, Goro & Gun, Batanga, Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge, The Pastry War, Little Dipper and El Big Bad. They've been credited in this publication and others for sparking a revival of downtown Houston as an eating and drinking destination, with both statewide and national press.

     

    Collectively, they paid $34,398.84 in taxes in April, which represents $513,415.52 in sales at the 6.7 percent tax rate on Mixed Beverages.

     

    While that's an impressive sum and downtown is certainly more fun than it used to be, the numbers pale in comparison to Midtown, where The Dogwood alone paid $30,664.96, which is 89 percent of the combined sales of the eight downtown bars. By adding in Celtic Gardens, Little Woodrow's, Pub Fiction, The Gaslamp and 3rd Floor, the number skyrockets to $136,316.70, almost four times as much revenue despite two fewer locations.

     

    Dismiss them as low-concept party spots if you want, but they're successful businesses that earn money for their owners.

     

     2. Washington Avenue is declining.

     

    Midtown may be booming, but Washington Ave has taken a huge hit in the past year. For example, Hughes Hangar paid more than $55,000 in taxes per June 2013 (at the old rate of 14 percent) but only about $15,400 in the recent report (at the new rate of 6.7 percent). That represents almost $140,000 in lost sales revenue. Similarly, Kung Fu Saloon's sales are down about $135,000 between the two reporting periods.

     
     

      Midtown may be booming, but Washington Ave has taken a huge hit in the past year. 

     

     

    The change is affecting restaurants, too. Coppa Ristorante's mixed beverage sales are off by more $40,000. No wonder so many bars have closed along Washington in the last year.

     

    Note that this trend hasn't stopped people from wanting to open businesses in the area. Facebook reveals page for The Glass House, a new nightclub from the The Kirby Group (owners of the now-shuttered "funeral bars") that's set to take over the former Roosevelt Lounge space starting this weekend. Also, Dallas bar Concrete Cowboy will take over the former Chopping Block space next to Kung Fu in the near future.

     

     3. Twin Peaks is booming

     

    The recently opened Twin Peaks on the Katy Freeway may have upset neighbors with its proximity to schools, but people are flocking to it. The location reported the 23rd-highest amount of taxes paid, at just over $20,000. That means it sold approximately $300,000 worth of alcohol in a month. The Kirby and Gulf Freeway locations are almost as popular, ranking 33rd and 50th respectively. Add in The Woodlands Twins Peaks (58th) and the Northwest Freeway outpost (73rd), and the total for the five breastaurants exceeds $1.2 million.

     

    Strangely, this prosperity doesn't seem to extend to other breastaurants. The highest generating Hooters is only 363rd, at just under $100,000 in sales. Hooters on Kirby, which remodeled to better compete with the nearby Twin Peaks, clocks in at 701, at just above $60,000. The highest selling non-Twin Peaks seems to be the Bombshells on NASA Rd 1 at 223 with $122,000-plus in sales.

     

     4. Steakhouses and Tex-Mex are still really popular

     

    Over the last five years or so, Houston has shifted its national reputation away from being a city known primarily for steakhouses and Tex-Mex thanks to high profile restaurants that emphasize local ingredients, a blending of Houston ethnic cuisines and a new generation of chefs. Yet, TABC numbers reveal that this city still loves steak and Tex-Mex.

     
     

      In its first full month of operations at the new location, the Mexican restaurant reported more than $166,000 in sales. That's a lot of perfect margaritas. 

     
     

    Pappas Bros., Vic & Anthony's and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse all make the Top 20 in sales — with more than $1.15 million combined. Brenner's on the Bayou, Truluck's, Taste of Texas, Del Frisco's Grille and Eddie V's all claim spots in the Top 100. Although it's only open 26 hours per week, Killen's Steakhouse manages over $150,000 in sales, which puts it just ahead of both The Palm and Ruth's Chris in the Top 150.

     

    As for Tex-Mex, the El Tiempo on Washington is tops at 77 ($196,000), followed by Ninfa's on Navigation at 92 ($184,000). The three other El Tiempo locations all report more than $100,000 each in monthly sales, and the 12 Pappasito's locations report more than $1.27 million in combined sales.

     

    Fajitas and margaritas are a Houston tradition that apparently shows no signs of slowing down.

     

     5. The future of Kirby?

     

    In the article about Brio closing its location on Kirby, an industry insider used the TABC reports to predict another restaurant would follow soon. That restaurant might appear to be Trenza, which reported only $9,100 in alcohol sales. Additionally, Haven's clearly experienced a dip. The restaurant reported sales of approximately $51,000 in April, compared to more than $94,000 in May 2013.

     

    As noted above, Eddie V's and Del Frisco's Grille continue to dominate West Ave.

     

    Pico's has also made a strong debut. In its first full month of operations at the new Kirby location, the Mexican restaurant reported more than $166,000 in sales. That's a lot of perfect margaritas.

    The Dogwood is leading the Midtown boom.

    Dogwood bar Houston exterior with crowd
      
    Dogwood Houston Facebook
    The Dogwood is leading the Midtown boom.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    Matcha News

    TikTok star Keith Lee crafts matcha latte for Hill Country flood relief

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 11, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Keith Lee and matcha drink
    Instagram
    Keith Lee hoists his special matcha drink.

    The devastating floods that swept across Central Texas on July 4 are bringing out all kinds of charitable endeavors — and that includes a limited-edition beverage from Texas-based TikTok food influencer Keith Lee.

    Lee, a social media sensation whose online food reviews have benefited hundreds of small restaurants, is partnering with La La Land Kind Cafe on a special drink: Called the La La Land X Keith Lee Latte, it's a matcha drink in which 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards Kerr County flood relief.

    La La Land is the coffee chain founded in Dallas in 2019 with a mission to provide opportunities for fostering youth and individuals in need. It has three locations in Houston, along with 10 across Dallas-Fort Worth and six in Southern California.

    The new Keith Lee Latte will consist of double ceremonial matcha, with secret syrup, matcha cloud, a whole fresh strawberry, flaky salt, and matcha powder. (See Lee enjoy the latte in the video below.)


      
     
     
     
     
     
     
    View this post on Instagram
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A post shared by Keith Lee (@keith_lee125)
     


    Matcha is the Japanese green tea powder that has experienced a surge in popularity, appearing in everything from drinks like the matcha latte to desserts like matcha mousse.

     Keith Lee Latte Keith Lee Latte is a matcha drink.Instagram 

    Lee, who relocated to Dallas in 2024, has been on a matcha kick ever since he tried it in Chicago, which he says "led me down a rabbit hole," and it has become his trademark drink. In May, he visited seven cafes across DFW in search of the perfect matcha in town, and that included La La Land, where he ordered a matcha with almond milk.

    He also has a charitable history, including a special visit he made to Taste Project in Fort Worth to donate $4,000 to support the nonprofit's mission to fight food insecurity.

    The Keith Lee Latte will be available at all La La Land cafes beginning Friday July 11, for a limited time only. From July 11-27, 100 percent of all proceeds will support flood relief efforts in Kerr County — "a community in our home state that’s hurting," La La Land Cafe says.

    mediaweathercelebrities
    news/restaurants-bars

    most read posts

    Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds

    This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June

    Growing burger chain slides into first Houston location

    Loading...