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Longtime Houston kolache bakery opens new Memorial location

One of Houston’s most reliable kolache bakeries has opened its new location. The Kolache Shoppe is now open near Memorial City Mall.

Located in the same shopping center as the second location of The Pit Room and the newly-opened Katz’s (10321 Katy Fwy), the new Kolache Shoppe occupies 1,400 square feet, giving the mostly grab-and-go concept a limited amount of indoor and outdoor seating. Like its sister locations in Greenway Plaza, the Heights, and Pearland, it serves a mixture of more than two dozen sweet and savory pastries using a dough recipe first developed by founder Erwin Ahrens.

Choices include everything from breakfast sandwich-style fillings such as bacon, egg, and cheese to savory options like kielbasa, cheese, and jalapeno or the classic sausage and cheese and classic sweet flavors like peach, blueberry, and poppy seed. Like the other locations, Memorial will serve rotating monthly specials that will include collaborations with area chefs.

For the Memorial location, Kolache Shoppe owners Lucy and Randy Hines partnered with director of operations Michael Horne. It’s a big move for Horne, who started at the bakery in 2018 as a part-time employee while attending grad school.

“Opening a new location as co-owner has given me a new respect for what our franchisees and other owners have been through,” says Horne. “That said, this next step brings me closer to the brand and allows me to serve in a different way. We’ve built an excellent team to maintain the level of service we’re known for and are excited to be open and operating within the Memorial community.”

“This is technically our third bakery to open as owners, so some of the edge is taken off, but for the first two, we didn’t have Michael’s help,” Randy Hines added. “Both the experience and know-how of another key player have made it less stressful. It’s nice to be able to bounce ideas and problem-solve together — and to spread both the rewards and challenges with a great support team. From our growing team to the restaurant community reaching out to collaborate on fun specials, this feels like a moment of abundance.”

Kolache Shoppe will celebrate its grand opening from Monday, November 3 through Sunday, November 9 with a number of giveaways and promotions. They include:

Monday, Nov. 3: Loyalty Member Appreciation Day — Loyalty members will receive a complimentary sweet or savory kolache.
Tuesday, Nov. 4: Early Bird Gift Cards — The first 50 guests in line will receive a $25 gift card, redeemable at any Kolache Shoppe location.
Wednesday, Nov. 5: Benefit Day — 20 percent of all proceeds will benefit the Houston Food Bank.
Thursday, Nov. 6: Customer Appreciation Day — Buy one, get one pastries for all guests while supplies last.
Friday, Nov. 7: Free Coffee Drink Day — Complimentary coffee drinks all day; the first 25 guests receive a free Kolache Shoppe mug.
Saturday, Nov. 8: Free Savory Kolaches — Complimentary savory kolaches while supplies last. One per person.
Sunday, Nov. 9: Free Sweet Kolaches — Complimentary sweet kolaches while supplies last. One per person.

The Kolache Shoppe Memorial is open Monday through Friday from 6 am-12:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 7 am-1 pm.

Photo by Becca Wright

Michael Horne and Randy Hines.

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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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