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    the big apple's big cookie

    New York's most famous chocolate chip cookie now available in Houston

    Teresa Gubbins
    Aug 21, 2020 | 9:10 am
    Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie
    Now you won't have to fly to New York to get them.
    Central Market

    UPDATE: Central Market says "today is the day" (Wednesday, September 2) that Levain cookies arrive in Texas stores. Look for them in the frozen section.

    -----

    If you're a cookie freak, you already know about the Levain chocolate chip cookie made by Levain Bakery in New York.

    This monstrous cookie weighs six ounces — twice as big as your typical chocolate chip cookie, with a crisp outside and gooey inside. They have such a following that fans have been known to make field trips to New York to get them. They've also been a holy grail for countless food bloggers such as Cookie Madness, who've tried to duplicate the recipe.

    Come September, you can buy them in Houston.

    Levain Bakery has launched Levain Bakery Frozen Cookies, a new line of frozen cookies, made from their signature recipes, that will be sold at Central Market locations throughout Texas.

    The cookies are unique because they are fully baked — not raw. You pop them in the oven for 5 minutes to get them to the desired crispy-outside-gooey-inside state, but you can also just defrost and eat at room temperature.

    Levain Bakery founders Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes say in a release that they began development of this new item nearly two years ago, and are confident it best reflects the experience customers line up for in NYC.

    "For years we've considered bringing packaged cookies to grocery stores, but it took time to come up with the perfect delicious cookie experience that would be a fitting representation of what our amazing customers have come to expect at the Bakery," they say. "We are eager to share the joy of our cookies with so many more people! Regardless of whether they are first trying the cookies in our bakeries or from the grocery store, we know they’re getting a true Levain Bakery experience."

    By doing a frozen cookie, they can also maintain their original recipes, without preservatives or texture-enhancing additives.

    Levain Bakery Frozen Cookies will come in four flavors:

    • Chocolate Chip Walnut
    • Oatmeal Raisin
    • Two Chip Chocolate Chip
    • Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip

    However: The new line will not be the super-sized cookie sold in New York but will instead be two-ounce versions, better for snacking.

    Weekes and McDonald founded Levain Bakery in 1995 as a small bread shop, and started making mammoth 6-ounce cookies as energy boosts that could keep up with their workout appetites. After finalizing the recipe, they offered the cookies for sale, and they became a smash hit. Levain now has seven locations and is expanding, with its first location outside New York, in Washington, DC, opening in mid-September.

    A box of eight cookies is $10. Initially, they'll be available at Central Market only, but negotiations are underway with other supermarkets for national distribution.

    dessertssupermarkets
    news/restaurants-bars

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    Pivot to catering

    Houston barbecue joint will soon shutter due to $72,000 of unpaid rent

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 12, 2026 | 4:37 pm
    Fainmous BBQ plate
    Fainmous BBQ/Facebook
    Fainmous BBQ is asking for help.

    Unpaid rent is forcing a Houston barbecue joint to shutter its brick-and-mortar location, but the restaurant’s popular catering business will live on. In an emotional social media post, Jamie and Karen Fain shared that Fainmous BBQ, their restaurant in Sawyer Yards, will soon close due to unpaid rent of $72,000.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Fainmous BBQ (@fainmousbbq)


    Widely considered the only East Tennessee-inspired barbecue restaurant in Houston, Fainmous moved from its original location in Westbury to Sawyer Yards in 2019. In a 2025 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Fains explain the location didn’t pan out the way they thought it would, prompting them to focus on catering. When the restaurant reopened for dine-in, it offered barbecue sandwiches for as little as $8, but it hasn’t been sufficient to pay back the rent they owe.

    The social media post also discusses their challenges with other tenants at the property. With the unpaid rent due by Sunday, February 15, the restaurant's time at the development appears to be coming to an end.

    Lovett Commercial, which owns the property, provided CultureMap with a statement about the situation:

    We’re aware of the recent fundraising effort and the public conversation surrounding it. Like many businesses, we experienced significant impacts during COVID, particularly related to development timelines and operations. With that context in mind, ownership has worked extensively and in good faith with Fainmous BBQ over a prolonged period, providing meaningful flexibility on rent, including a structured payment plan that ultimately was not fulfilled.

    The accumulation of several years of incomplete payments has contributed to the current outstanding balance and situation. Our priority remains finding a responsible and equitable resolution for all involved, and we remain hopeful that a constructive path forward can be achieved.

    For the Fains, the path forward is to leave. Towards that end, the couple have started a GoFundMe to facilitate their exit from Sawyer Yards and a move to a new catering kitchen. So far, it has raised approximately $2,000 out of $3,500 requested.

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