Welcome Burger Bodega

Buzzy burger pop-up's smash new Washington Avenue restaurant reveals opening date

A wildly popular smash burger pop-up will finally unveil its permanent home. Burger Bodega will officially open its new location at 4520 Washington Ave. next Thursday, November 3.

Founded by Houston food influencer Abbas Dhanani, whose @houstoneatz account has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram and more than 110,000 on TikTok, Burger Bodega serves a double-patty cheeseburger that’s smashed on a griddle, topped with grilled onions, pickles, and “bodega sauce,” and served on a Martin’s potato bun. Dhanani has developed a following with a series of sold out pop-ups, and Burger Bodega served sliders to attendees at last weekend’s Southern Smoke Festival.

Diners will be able to get a first taste of the restaurant this week. It will operate from its to-go window only from Tuesday, October 25 through Friday, October 28 from 11 am until sold out. After the grand opening, it will open daily for lunch and dinner service with late night weekend hours to follow in the coming weeks.

Opening a permanent location will allow Dhanani to expand his menu. Diners will be able to get their smash burgers with one, two, or three patties. In addition, the chopped cheese, a staple of the New York bodegas that helped inspire the concept, will have a permanent place on the menu. It consists of two chopped patties with American cheese, onions, bell peppers, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and bodega sauce on a hero roll As an alternative to the smash burger, the restaurant will serve a classic cheeseburger topped with American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and bodega sauce on a sesame bun.

The restaurant will offer fries available plain, “Screwed” (topped with cheese sauce, onions, and bodega sauce, or “Chopped” (topped with chopped beef, cheese sauce, onions, bell peppers, and bodega sauce).

Dhanani partnered with Craft Creamery owner Steve Marques to develop his milkshakes. Veteran Houston burger lovers will recall that Marques created the milkshakes for The Burger Guys, a short-lived, critically acclaimed burger joint in the early 2010s. Burger Bodega will serve vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango lassi, and the Burger Guys’ signature Vietnamese coffee milkshake.

Prior to launching Burger Bodega last year, Dhanani worked for the family business, the Sugar Land-based Dhanani Group, which operates hundreds of franchised restaurants such as Burger King and Popeyes, as well as Cyclone Anaya’s and La Madeline. That experience combined with his pop-ups has prepared him to open this restaurant.

“With years of working in the fast food industry for my family's business, I’ve always had the dream of opening up my own restaurant,” Dhanani said in a statement. “All the overwhelming support from the city over the last year at each pop-up truly has been amazing, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring my passion project to Washington Avenue.”

As its name implies, Burger Bodega will carry a limited selection of grab-and-go products. Look for products from restaurants and bakeries such as Bludorn, Craft Pita, Pudgy’s Cookies, Blood Bros BBQ, Seaside Poke, Kin, Feges BBQ, Greenway Coffee, and others. Adding to the New York atmosphere will be a mural created by local artist Donkeeboy, students from Young Art Pros, and graffiti artist Noke 713. Vy Truong and Han Dang of local design firm Very Handsome Studio created the restaurant's overall look.

Burger Bodega graffiti wall A graffiti wall contributes to the New York atmosphere.Photo by Michael Ma

“I started my food Instagram @houstoneatz with the goal to promote other local restaurants and chefs in Houston, and Burger Bodega will be able to bring that goal full circle by showcasing products from local restaurants in the city,” Dhanani said. “I can’t wait to serve the city, and bring a little bit of New York with a Houston flair to Washington Avenue.”

Photo by Michael Ma

Smash burgers are available with one, two, or three patties.

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Pizza purchase

Private equity gobbles up Texas-based Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut is being sold.

Texas-based Pizza Hut, whose sales have floundered for several years, is set to be acquired by private equity firm LongRange Capital in a $2.7 billion deal.

LongRage said Tuesday, June 16 that it agreed to buy Pizza Hut’s global business, except for the chain’s operations in China, from restaurant conglomerate Yum Brands for about $1.5 billion. Restaurant group Yum China Holdings, which has a corporate office in Plano, is purchasing Pizza Hut’s Chinese business for about $1.2 billion.

The deals are expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

This will mark the first time since 1977 that Pizza Hut hasn’t been owned by either PepsiCo or Yum and its predecessor, Tricon Global Restaurants.

“Despite efforts to revitalize the brand and shut underperforming locations, it has become increasingly clear that pushing the [Pizza Hut] division back into growth will require a level of investment and patience that Yum is just not prepared to commit to,” Neal Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, wrote.

The deals follow a sweeping review, launched in November, of the troubled Pizza Hut brand. Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas.

There are almost 20,000 Pizza Huts in more than 100 countries, including nearly 1,000 locations in Texas.

In February, Yum said it was shutting down an estimated 250 Pizza Hut restaurants as the chain continued to post weak sales and profit. In 2025, Pizza Hut generated global sales of $12.8 billion, including $5.6 billion in the U.S. That compares with $13.1 billion in global sales and $6 billion in U.S. sales the previous year.

“Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry,” Yum CEO Chris Turner says in a press release. “Pizza Hut is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world, and we are proud of the important role it has played in Yum’s history.”

Among the brands in LongRange’s portfolio are 24 Hour Fitness; casket manufacturer Batesville; and Greencore Group, which makes food items such as sandwiches, salads, prepared meals, desserts and pizzas.

Aside from Pizza Hut, brands under the Yum umbrella include KFC and Taco Bell. Yum and its franchisees operate more than 63,000 restaurants in 155 countries.

More pizza deals
Pizza Hut isn’t the only locally based pizza chain with new ownership. In January, OneRyan Global said it acquired a majority stake in Fort Worth-based Mr. Gatti’s Pizza for an undisclosed amount. OneRyan, which has been a Gatti’s franchisee, is the investment vehicle for Brint Ryan, chairman and CEO of the Plano-based Ryan tax consulting firm.

Gatti’s was founded in Stephenville in 1964 and relocated its headquarters to Austin in 1969. Today, the chain has more than 230 open or planned locations in Texas and the Southeast.

In February, Gatti’s said it was targeting the Houston area as part of the chain’s expansion plans. “Houston is a strategic market for sustainable growth and wide-open franchise opportunities,” said Scott McIntosh, vice president of franchise development at Gatti’s.

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