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    Foodie News

    Emporium of gourmet groceries and fancy coffees kicks it up a notch in Rice Village

    Eric Sandler
    Eric Sandler
    Sep 5, 2013 | 12:58 pm

    In another sign that Rice Village is growing into one of Houston's most pedestrian friendly areas, it now has a gourmet grocer and coffee purveyor.

     

    That would be newly-opened Mercantile, where operating partner Max Gonzalez brings the experiences and relationships he's built during his six-plus years of owning Catalina Coffee to a venture that's poised to be a go-to destination for residents of the newly opened Hanover complex, Rice students and pretty much anyone else in the area who wants properly poured espresso.

     

    "We saw an opportunity for density (and went for it)," Gonzalez tells CultureMap. "We secured this place in January or February, but I've been real quiet about it. Even my staff at Catalina didn't know what it is."

     

    Gonzalez says he's "not accustomed to" operating a space that doesn't offer any seating, but he's embracing the challenge. He describes Mercantile's sourcing philosophy as "if we can get high quality locally, we'll do it." If not, he'll sell products from other producers that people can't typically find in Houston.

     

    As an example, beans from Chicago's Intelligentsia sit on a shelf next to Gonzalez's Amaya Roasting. In a refrigerated case, familiar products from the Houston Dairymaids sit next to local essentials like Topo Chico and Mexican Coke. Gonzalez is particularly excited about selling Tavola pasta. The locally-made product will be selling its first ever fresh pastas at Mercantile, along with a special coffee pasta and Texas pesto that's made with pecans instead of pine nuts.

     

    In addition to a gleaming espresso machine, Gonzalez expresses enthusiasm about possessing Houston's first Gold Cup Brewer that Mercantile will utilize instead of serving drip coffee. "It's incredibly cool . . . essentially a pour over machine."

     

    Once it receives a license, Mercantile will sell beer and wine and extend its hours to serve the crowds that pack the area's bars every weekend. For now, it's open every day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

     

    If the concept proves successful, Gonzalez expects to take it to other neighbors, including the Heights. For now, the shop is already developing regulars. Once the word spreads, that number should grow rapidly. Follow the shop on Twitter to stay current.

    At Mercanile, customers can purchase coffee and grocery items to go.

    Mercantile in Rice Village September 2013 counter
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    At Mercanile, customers can purchase coffee and grocery items to go.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    roll out

    Self-taught chef slices into Houston with high-quality sushi to go

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 17, 2025 | 5:57 pm
    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston
    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

    The ghost kitchen phenomenon may have diminished somewhat since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the idea of a delivery and to-go-only restaurant still draws talented chefs who want to focus on food at a lower overhead than a traditional brick-and-mortar. One of those chefs is Sunny Bertsch, whose restaurant Kaisen Sushi Houston is already drawing buzz from inner loopers looking for a more affordable, at-home sushi experience.

    Located at the Blodgett Food Hall in Third Ward, Kaisen Sushi serves typical nigiri, maki, and temaki (hand rolls), along with a steak bowl. Prices are a little lower than what someone would find at a typical sushi restaurant, with an eight-piece nigiri set priced at $18.99 when ordered through the Blodgett Food Hall website (expect to pay more if ordering via a third-party delivery service such as Uber Eats or DoorDash).

    While Bertsch’s food may be familiar, his story is not. The diners who’ve rated Kaisen with 4.9 stars on Google may be surprised to learn that he’s only been cooking professionally for two years. As Bertsch tells CultureMap, prior to becoming a professional chef, he worked in fields as varied as aerospace and dog walking.

    “I’d always been interested in cooking,” he says. “I was blessed to be born into a great Korean American family. My dad and my grandparents always cooked great food. I learned by osmosis.”

    Bertsch began his career as a private chef by working for friends. He built his business by catering lunches to powerhouse law firm Vinson & Elkins. Eventually, his clients asked for private sushi dinners, and he had to figure things out.

    “I got an opportunity to do a sushi omakase. It was brutal. It was messy. But I knew once I did that, I wanted to dedicate my life to sushi,” he says. “Since then, I have studied and practiced. I threw a lot of money and time and fish at it.”

    Bertsch improved his speed and knife skills by taking a $13-per-hour job at Japanese grocery store Seiwa Market. While there, he says he made thousands of pieces of nigiri, rolls, and sushi bowls. That experience, along with meals from similar to-go-only concepts in New York and San Francisco, convinced him to open Kaisen as a ghost kitchen.

    “So far, I’ve spent $90,000. That’s more than the average investment for a food hall kitchen,” Bertsch explains. “I’m a clean freak. I’m a technology freak. I’m an authenticity freak. I outfitted my kitchen in the way I thought was necessary for long-term success.”

    Just as he spared no expense in specing out his kitchen, Bertsch puts thoughtful touches into his food, too. For example, every order of nigiri comes with a dipping sauce Bertsch makes himself from low sodium soy sauce, kombu, vinegar, and sake.

    “It’s a complex sauce that’s less salty and tastes good,” he says. “You know when you don’t have it and you’re given cheap soy sauce.”

    Similarly, his California rolls use imitation crab (as do most restaurants), but it’s seasoned with a housemade, Japanese-style kewpie mayo, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sesame oil for more umami and less sweetness. Since the chef uses more crab mix than other restaurants do in their rolls, Kaisen’s California roll not only tastes better — at $11.99, it’s a better value, too.

    The chef showcases Japanese techniques and Korean influences with his $25 steak bowl. A USDA Choice ribeye or strip is cooked sous vide with a marinade made from garlic, tamari, and seasoning salt. Once a diner orders the entree, the steak is seared in a pan, basted with Kerrygold butter, seasoned with furikake and sesame oil, and served with short-grain sushi rice and microgreens from local farm Zero Point Organics.

    Word of mouth has been building. Even though it’s only been open for a month, Kaisen already has over 2,000 followers on Instagram. Once he’s able to hire a full roster of cooks, Bertsch plans to expand the menu and offer lunch service. Despite some challenges, he’s pleased with the restaurant’s progress.

    “The support I've gotten on social media has blown me away,” he says. “It’s been amazing. I could not have done it without Instagram. It blows my mind.”

    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
      

    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston

    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

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