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Houston restaurateur Ben Berg conjures up 3 new Galleria-area ghost kitchens

UPDATE: The ghost kitchens will open on Tuesday, December 22 via third-party apps. Direct ordering will go live later this week.

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Three of Berg Hospitality's concepts are joining the ghost kitchen trend. Beginning Monday, December 21, diners will be able to order B.B. Lemon, the Butcher Shop at B&B Butchers, and B.B. Italia from the Fair Food Co., a facility near the Galleria (5832 Fairdale Ln.), a representative tells CultureMap.

Diners will have the option of ordering their food for delivery via major third-party apps or directly from Berg Hospitality's website. Third-party delivery will be restricted to three miles (or 15 minutes from the facility), while orders placed through the company's website have a 5-mile delivery radius. Pickup will also be available.

For residents of neighborhoods like Briargrove, Tanglewood, and Afton Oaks, the facility will provide access to dishes from Berg Hospitality concepts without the hassle of driving to Washington Avenue or the Energy Corridor.

Both the B.B. Italia and B.B. Lemon menus feature all of each restaurant's most popular dishes. For example, B.B. Lemon will serve its blue crab beignets, hog wings, New York-style cheeseburger, and signature lobster roll. B.B. Italia will offer an extensive selection of pizzas, pastas, salads, and Italian-American entrees like chicken parmigiana and veal picatta.

The Butcher Shop menu will feature raw ingredients such as dry-aged USDA Prime steaks, both American and Japanese wagyu, burgers, hot dogs, and more.

All three concepts will open at 10 am daily.

The trend towards ghost kitchens has been accelerating due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prominent Houston restaurants such as Riel have launched sister concepts out of their kitchen, while another, Phat Eatery, has opened a satellite location in a ghost kitchen facility in Third Ward. By focusing on delivery and to-go, restaurants can expand their reach at a much lower cost than opening a full-service restaurant.

B.B. Italia will serve a full range of pastas, pizzas, and sides.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

B.B. Italia will serve a full range of pastas, pizzas, and sides.

news-you-can-eat openings

an offer he couldn't refuse

Exclusive: Killen's Barbecue will soon shutter in The Woodlands

Killen's barbecue meat platter with sides

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

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Fans of Killen’s Barbecue’s location in The Woodlands have a days to make one last visit. The restaurant will close this Sunday, December 7, chef-owner Ronnie Killen tells CultureMap.

Open since 2021, Killen says that he’s in final negotiations to sell the location at 8800 Six Pines Dr. to Whataburger for a new location of the iconic Texas fast food restaurant. Neither the original location of Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland nor its Cypress location are affected by the closure of The Woodlands and will remain open.

“Whataburger made me a deal I couldn’t pass up. It would take 10 years to do that kind of revenue,” Killen writes in a text, adding that the company recently made a significant payment to keep the deal’s window open through the end of the year.

He added that the costs to operate the restaurant have gone up significantly. As one example, a cord of wood cost $175 when he opened the first Killen’s Barbecue in 2013. It costs $475 now, he writes.

If the deal falls through, Killen states that he could look for a new buyer or convert the restaurant into a second location of Killen’s Burger, the retro-styled burger joint he operates in Pearland.

The restaurant’s closure had been expected since February, when Killen sold The Woodlands’ location of Killen's Steakhouse. At the time, Killen said he also planned to find a buyer for his barbecue joint in the bustling suburb. He cited the driving distance from Pearland to The Woodlands as one reason he chose to divest both locations. He still operates Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, comfort food restaurant Killen's near the Heights, Killen's Burger, and three other locations of Killen's Barbecue.

As it approaches its 13th anniversary in the spring, Killen’s Barbecue remains a vital part of Houston’s barbecue scene. The restaurant recently earned an honorable mention from Texas Monthly and holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In July, it opened a new location at Hobby Airport.

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