The sweet life

Parisian-inspired crepe cafe sweetens up Sugar Land Town Square

Sweet Paris Creperie toasted bueno crepe

How apropos: Sweet Paris has opened in Sugar Land.

Photo by Shannon O’Hara Photography

Crêpe lovers in Sugar Land, take note: Sweet Paris, the Houston-based, fast-casual concept that made a name for itself offering a variety of sweet and savory crepes, along with a modest selection of wines, fizzy water and other soft drinks, opened its 11th location in Sugar Land Town Square. The new restaurant at 15911 City Walk opened its doors on October 26.

“Our mission from day one has been to revive the art of eating crêpes, and we could not be more thrilled to see the expansion of Sweet Paris into the beautiful community of Sugar Land Town Square," said Allison Chavez, Sweet Paris co-founder, in a press release announcing the new restaurant. “This opening will mark the second store opening for the Rueda Family — our first ever strategic partners and the wonderful family behind the successful operation of Sweet Paris Katy.”

Sweet Paris' began franchising in 2018, and the Rueda family was among the first on board for the concept. Sweet Paris Katy opened in 2018, six years following the brand's launch.

The Sugar Land location is the Ruedas' second outpost. Sweet Paris Sugar Land has implemented robust health and safety protocols for the COVID-19 era. These include frequent cleaning and sanitizing, requiring face coverings for all employees and guests, limiting parties to 10 or fewer guests, offering individually packaged utensils, and practicing social distancing.

In the eight years since it's been on the Houston dining scene, Sweet Paris has become synonymous with crêpes, both savory, such as its chicken Florentine and turkey, grapes, and brie, and sweet like the Nutella, and lemon and sugar. Over the years, the menu has expanded to include waffles, salads, paninis, and soups, along with milkshakes, frozen mimosas, and hot espresso and Nutella drinks.

Its Parisian-inspired decor make the concept a go-to for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and snacks, as well as dinner or dessert.

The Sugar Land location is open Sunday through Thursday from 8 am to 9 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm for dine-in and carryout orders. Those who want curbside pickup can order through the Sweet Paris website, and delivery is available via Uber Eats and Door Dash.

a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

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