10 new restaurants at Hobby

Pappas exits Hobby Airport as City Council approves controversial, $470 million restaurant deal

Hobby Airport will soon be home to a group of new restaurants thanks to a new concessions contract. In a 11-6 vote, Houston City Council approved the 10-year, $470 million agreement with a local subsidiary of Areas, a Spain-based company with operations in airports around the world, including more than 130 restaurants at 10 U.S. airports, according to a release.

Areas has partnered with a number of local restaurants, including Killen’s Barbecue, SpindleTap Brewery, and Galveston’s The Spot. National brands including Yard House, Raising Cane’s, and Starbucks are also part of the company’s plans.

Approving the agreement came with controversy. Areas will be replacing Houston’s Pappas Restaurants, which has operated at the airport for 20 years. A social media campaign to encourage council to reject the contract garnered more than 50,000 signatures. Pappas CEO Chris Pappas issued a lengthy statement criticizing the vote and saying that the company will “explore legal options” related to the decision.

“We are disappointed in the City of Houston’s decision. Houstonians deserve a fair and transparent procurement process that supports local businesses. We did not get that from our leaders,” Pappas said.

Pappas Restaurants will offer its airport employees positions at their other Houston-area restaurants with “the same compensation, benefits, and seniority as their current position,” he added.

Ultimately, the decision came down to money. The Areas contract emerged as the winner of the city’s scoring process due to the percentage of revenue that would be provided to the City of Houston.

"One thing that will always be concrete is the percent of revenue that comes back to the city. You can't change that," District J Councilmember Edward Pollard told the Houston Chronicle. "One group was 22.2 (percent), the other group was at 15.5 (percent). You can't change those numbers. That's the only thing that you can hang your hat on."

The city states that it followed the same procurement process for Hobby’s other concessions contract. In January, council approved a separate, 10-year agreement with LaTrelle’s Management that will bring local restaurants such as Dish Society, Fat Cat Creamery, and Common Bond to Hobby.Travelers should start to see the new restaurants opening later this year. All 10 new establishments are expected to open by November 2024.

As for the agreement, projections estimate that it will generate as much as $104 million for Houston airports. Areas will hire more than 200 people to staff the restaurants.

“The new concessions package brings together an all-star list of fantastic dining concepts that includes well-known Houston area and national brands,” Jim Szczesniak, chief operations officer for Houston Airports, said in a statement. “Houston Airports is relentless in our quest to make our passengers happy. I am confident these new concessions will elevate the already incredible experience guests of Hobby Airport have come to expect from the first and only 5-Star airport in North America.”

“We are excited to partner with the City of Houston and Houston Airports to bring a distinctive program that complements the city’s culinary virtues and ethnic diversity,” said Carlos Bernal, CEO of Areas. “Travelers to William P. Hobby Airport will be delighted by an exceptional lineup of concepts, which represent the essence of the city’s greatness.”

Photo by Julia Casbarian

Pappas is out after the City Council vote.

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NYT best dishes

Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

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