Taco Stand Webster

Heights street-style taco shop unfolds second location in south Houston suburb

The restaurant serves street-style tacos.

Photo by Becca Wright

A popular Heights restaurant is coming to Webster. The Taco Stand will bring its street-style tacos and canned cocktails to the southern suburb.

Located in the Eastfield at Baybrook development, a H-E-B anchored shopping center at the corner of El Dorado Blvd. and I-45, the new Taco Stand will be located less than two miles from the Baybrook Mall location of The Burger Joint, its burger-obsessed sibling. Construction will begin soon, with an opening expected next year. Like the original location that opened in the Heights in 2021, the new Taco Stand will offer both dine-in and drive-thru ordering.

Founded by restaurateur Shawn Bermudez and chef Matthew Pak, the Taco stand serves street-style tacos with a range of fillings that include meaty options such as pastor, carnitas, carne asada, and barbacoa, as well as shrimp, fish, and a number of vegan and vegetarian choices. They're wrapped in housemade corn or flour tortillas and paired with five different salsas: everything from a mild red table salsa to a smokey chile de arbol and fiery jalapeño and habanero-based options.

“Over [at The Burger Joint], the main concept was going back to classic burgers,” Bermudez told CultureMap in 2021. “Over here, we’re going back to classic street tacos — nothing crazy, just solid, traditional tacos.”

In addition to its lunch and dinner options, the Taco Stand serves breakfast tacos daily. All of its taco fillings are also available as a burrito, quesadilla, or bowl.

Bermudez tasked Present Company beverage director Rex Nielsen with developing The Taco Stand’s frozen margaritas and canned cocktails, all of which use 100-percent blue agave tequila. Other beverage choices include agua frescas, Mexican and domestic beers, and sodas.

Pak, who lives in nearby Friendswood, has high hopes for the new location's prospects based on the response to the Burger Joint's arrival late last year.

“I hope that the Taco Stand is received just as well as The Burger Joint has been, it being our first venture outside the city," he said in a statement. "We couldn’t be more grateful for the warm welcoming we’ve had from the community.”

The Taco Stand is coming to Houston.

Photo by Becca Wright

The Taco Stand is coming to Houston.

openings news-you-can-eat tacos

Kirby Ice House 5

Houston's modern ice house plans fall opening for new Clear Lake outpost

Courtesy of Kirby Ice House

A rendering previews Kirby Ice House's Clear Lake location.

Houston’s growing chain of modern ice houses is heading to the Bay Area. Kirby Ice House will open a Clear Lake outpost in September.

Located near the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston at open at 530 Bay Area Boulevard, the new Kirby Ice House will build on the brand’s winning formula — a huge indoor-outdoor bar with an extensive selection of beer and cocktails, lawn games, space for food trucks, and plenty of TVs for watching sports. The Clear Lake location will also offer Kirby Ice House’s daily specials and happy hour discounts.

The bar is customing its interior for Clear Lake. For example, the design will nod to NASA with a neon sign that depicts its signature cowgirl riding a rocket.

“One of the things we enjoy most is creating spaces that reflect the communities they serve,” co-owner Danny Evans said in a statement. “We never want our locations to feel copied and pasted. We want them to have their own personality, and we hope guests feel that from the moment they walk in.”

While the construction team is building the bar, Kirby Ice House has already begun recruiting the 100 or so employees who will be necessary at opening by setting up a hiring facility adjacent to the construction site.

Those employees will be pouring beers from dozens of taps alongside wines by-the-glass or bottle. Kirby Ice House also serves cocktails such as a cucumber-lime Moscow Mule, blood orange paloma, and lemonade Old Fashioned. A rotating roster of food trucks serves customers who want a bite with their beers. Taken together, the extensive selection and massive footprint have helped each location of Kirby Ice House rank among the highest’s grossing bars in Texas.

Over time, the concept has grown to four Houston-area locations in Upper Kirby, Memorial City, The Woodlands, and a Heights-adjacent location that opened last year.

“The Kirby Ice House team is excited to become part of Clear Lake’s vibrant, historic culture,” added vice president of operations Margo Axton. “We’re looking forward to being a neighborhood gathering place that supports local businesses, welcomes casual groups, and gives the community an easy place to meet up before, during, or after whatever the day has planned.”