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    Baking On Stage

    Cake Boss Buddy Valastro wants to make Houston cry like little cupcake babies

    Tyler Rudick
    Nov 10, 2011 | 10:42 am
    • Buddy Valastro with one of his creations
      Photo by Thomas Kosa
    • Inside Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey
      Photo courtesy of Carlo's

    How’s he do it? For 11 months of the year, celebrity baker Buddy Valastro is busy filming not one, but three different television shows — including the TLC mega-hit Cake Boss. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also added a traveling theater show to his repertoire, visiting nearly 40 United States cities.

    The Cake Boss hits Houston on Friday night for show at Jones Hall as his frenzied run continues. Valastro took time out from his baking duties one morning to speak with CultureMap about the tour and how he’s officially “living the dream.”

    “Seriously . . . I always wanted a TV show about the bakery,” Valastro says. “This is a family business and, let me tell you, there’s a lot of great material going on all the time.”

    “It’ll definitely make you smile, maybe even cry — it depends," Valastro says.

    “Almost out of the blue, TLC approached me one day,” he recalls. “I rushed them a quick home video I’d made and, luckily, they loved it.”

    Set in Hoboken, N.J., Cake Boss premiered in the spring of 2009 and has enjoyed four popular seasons. Valastro and family will begin taping the fifth season this January. While the Cake Boss was relatively tight-lipped about the upcoming shows, he did reveal that he and his wife would be renewing their vows on a Bahamas cruise.

    The live tour started after Valastro was asked to give a motivational speech at a local New Jersey culinary college.

    “The school wanted me to do something onstage," he says, "so I came up with a fun and entertaining show that eventually premiered at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.

    “I was so nervous at first, but the show’s a well-oiled machine at this point. I love to play off the crowd — it keeps each show fresh and a little different from the next. It helps me stay in touch with our fans.”

    “I really want to people to be dancing in the aisles, to have a great time. I like to randomly pick people out of the audience and have them go head to head against each other in a cupcake competition. It’s funny to call kids up onstage too.”

    My own mother, who caught Valastro’s show earlier this month in Pennsylvania, noted that the baker was comically brutal to the adults — and incredibly kind to the kids.

    “I want to theater show to give a positive message, something that makes people want to follow their dreams," Valastro says. "It’s a great night, really. You can bring your entire family, even your mother-in-law.

    “It’ll definitely make you smile, maybe even cry — it depends." Valastro laughs.

    “You’ll have fun, guaranteed.”

    Buddy Valastro appears at Jones Hall Friday night at 7:30. Ticket are available online and at the theater box office.

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    shining star

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

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 10, 2026 | 10:00 am
    Starbird chicken restaurant
    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.”

    Starbird chicken restaurant

    Courtesy of Starbird

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

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