major memorial city moves

Acclaimed Austin pizzeria and Miami kebab-burger restaurant fire up first Houston locales in Memorial City

Houston first Via 313 is coming to Memorial City.

Via 313/Facebook

The Memorial City area will soon be home to two rapidly expanding restaurant brands. Austin-based pizzeria Via 313 and and Miami-based burger and kebab concept Pincho will join Velvet Taco and Goode Co. Seafood in the shopping center at 10201 Katy Fwy.

Houstonians who travel to Austin will recognize Via 313, which has earned wide acclaim for its Detroit-style pizzas. The rectangular-shaped, deep dish pies feature a rim of a crispy cheese along the crust. Originally founded as a food trailer by brothers Zane and Brandon Hunt, Via 313 has grown to seven Texas locations as well as outposts in Colorado and Utah. In August, it opened its first San Antonio location.

Pincho has achieved similar success in south Florida with its Latin American-inspired kebabs, which are called pinchos. Five different proteins, including chicken, shrimp, and steak, are paired with sides such as rice and beans or tostones and served as platters. The restaurant also serves well-regarded burgers along with bowls and salads. Founded in 2010, it has eight locations in the greater Miami area.

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Slated to open in spring 2023, both restaurant come to Houston via their partnerships with Savory, the food and beverage arm of Utah-based investment firm Mercato Partners. Savory partnered with Via 313 in 2020 and with Pincho in 2021. Earlier this year, the private equity firm selected Houston Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Hustle as the winner of its Million Dollar Restaurant Launch competition.

“Memorial City is a great spot for the hottest developments, and we can’t wait to add Via 313 and PINCHO to the mix,” Savory vice president of brand development and strategy Alonso Castañeda said in a statement. “The standout community is a dining destination and a clear choice for our expansion. We know locals and visitors alike will fall in love with our vibrant spaces, bold flavors, and addictive menus. From Via 313’s Detroit-style pizza to Pincho's Miami-born burgers, we’re bringing the heat to Houston.”

The Memorial City area has been on an upswing as a dining destination. In addition to the recent opening of Velvet Taco, the area will soon see additions such as Common Bond and Montrose-based barbecue joint The Pit Room.

“We are excited that Memorial City will be first to bring both of these award-winning restaurants to our city,” Danna Diamond, vice president of retail leasing for Memorial City owner MetroNational added. “The fact that Food & Wine Magazine has touted Via 313 as ‘one of the best pizzas’ and Pincho is considered by Miami News Times as ‘one of the top 10 best burgers’ is a testament of how much Houstonians are going to love experiencing these new flavors.”

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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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