A grassroots effort

Houston restaurants rally to take food to victims of Montgomery and WallerCounty fires

When Chef Chris Shepherd puts his mind to doing good, the man makes it happen.
With heavy smoke billowing over Montgomery and Waller counties, both theresidents and the relief workers need all the help they can get.
Photo via Magnolia TX Fire and Evacuation Information/Facebook
This food station at the Command Center in Magnolia may look well-stocked, butsupplies go quickly when you have nothing.
Photo via Magnolia TX Fire and Evacuation Information/Facebook

You'd better believe that when the Houston foodie community rallies around a cause, by golly, it rallies.

And while Texas continues to burn hot, the calm, cool heads behind food establishments citywide have banded together to fight the fires that they can — with grassroots efforts.

"The restaurant community in Houston needs to do something," said Chris Shepherd, former Catalan chef and current Underbelly creator. "These are our neighbors, our farmers — they're in our backyard."

The collective culinary conscience simply wouldn't allow these able hands to sit idly by.

So Shepherd and chef Lyle Bento of Party Fowl and The Modular did what they do best — they cooked up a scheme.

"[On Friday], we're going to roll up to Montgomery and Waller Counties and belly up where we can," said Shepherd. "We started off taking a food truck up there and handing stuff out, and now Central Market's given us pallets of things to take."

But that's not all.

With other restaurants like Stella Sola, Brennan's, and Haven — among many others — throwing their perishable goods into the ring of fire, Shepherd, Bento, and their industry buddies are doing so much more than they originally imagined they could.

"The restaurants are donating hot food boxes, and the kids at the Art Institute will be making sandwiches to put in the cooler," said Shepherd. "We've had trucks donated and chocolate milk for kids. Whatever companies want to donate food, we'll take the food trucks up there, and fry things and bake things."

Now they just have to find a place to drop everything off for distribution.

But Friday's Good Samaritan efforts are very much a work in progress. The details aren't set in stone just yet.

In fact, if you're a restaurant, food vendor, or can contribute supplies or equipment to Friday's efforts, you're invited to meet up at 13 Celsius at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.

"We want to find out what restaurants can do food for us, and who wants to be involved in this," Shepherd said. "All restaurants and industry people that want to be a part of what we're doing on Friday should come."

Throughout our continuing coverage of the wildfires ravaging our state, plenty of you have been asking, "How can I help?"

Well, folks, here's your answer.

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shining star

New chicken restaurant flies into Houston with 'gluten-friendly' tendies

Courtesy of Starbird

Starbird sells chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, and more.

A local restaurant group is bringing a California-based chicken concept to Texas. Mac Haik Restaurant Group announced it has reached an agreement with Starbird to open locations in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Founded in the San Francisco area in 2016, Starbird is a fast casual restaurant with 19 locations in California and Colorado. It serves fried chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken wings, and salads that are made with chicken that’s “all-natural, never-frozen, antibiotic-free” and covered in a “gluten-friendly breading” that’s cooked fresh to order, according to a press release.

Pair them with sides such as cole slaw, french fries, crispy Thai Brussels sprouts, or elote. Diners can dip their tenders in 11 sauces, including Greek yogurt ranch, Thai herb aioli, honey mustard, honey chipotle bbq, and more.

Part of Mac Haik Enterprises Ltd, Mac Haik Restaurant Group operates a number of franchised restaurants, including breakfast concept First Watch Daytime Café, the Original ChopShop, and Due’ Cucina. It will open Kirkwood, an upscale supper club, later this spring in a West Houston office building that’s also owned by MHE.

“We evaluate opportunities through the lens of long-term brand relevance, not just unit growth,” MHRG COO Dan Anfinson said in a statement. “Starbird delivers a level of culinary quality and operational sophistication that we believe is still underserved in the premium fast-casual chicken category, particularly in Texas. The brand has a clear point of view and the systems to scale responsibly. That combination is rare, and we’re excited to introduce it thoughtfully across our markets.”

The company intends to open as many as 36 locations beginning in 2027, but MHRG is still in the process of securing specific locations. It will announce which city will be first to receive a Starbird at a later time.

“This agreement reflects the strength of our business model and the clarity of our long-term vision,” added Starbird CEO Greg Levin. “As we mark our 10th anniversary, this is shaping up to be our biggest year yet in terms of expansion. Texas is a critical market for us moving forward, and partnering with an experienced organization like Mac Haik Restaurant Group allows us to grow thoughtfully while staying true to what makes Starbird special.”

Courtesy of Starbird

Starbird sells chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, and more.

openings news-you-can-eat starbird