sweet land of liberty

Patriotic Houston seafood restaurant picks Rice Village for new spot

Liberty Kitchen will open in Rice Village this fall.

Rendering by Laura Loreman

A Houston seafood restaurant has claimed a prime space in Rice Village for its third location. The next outpost of Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette will open in the area this fall.

Located in the former Gratify space at 5212 Morningside, Culinary Khancepts — the local hospitality group behind Liberty Kitchen, State Fare, Star Cinema Grill, CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant winner Leo’s River Oaks, and others — plans to transform the space by adding 550 square feet of indoor dining. When complete, the restaurant will seat 112 people inside, 18 at the bar, and 50 on an outdoor patio.

“We’ve always loved the energy of Rice Village,” CEO Omar Khan said in a statement. “It’s a perfect blend of families, college students, and professionals — and we’re excited to bring Liberty Kitchen’s warm, coastal ambiance to this new corner of town. On a personal note, my wife grew up in the area and her father worked at Rice University, so as a family, Rice Village holds a very special place in our hearts.”

Liberty Kitchen is a seafood-driven, Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant with locations in River Oaks and Memorial. It’s known for dishes such as gumbo, oysters (raw or grilled), redfish on the half shell, and more. Like its siblings, the restaurant will be open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch with a happy hour available Tuesday through Friday from 3-6 pm.

Culinary Khancepts acquired the restaurant from F.E.E.D. TX in 2020. Rice Village will be the first location of Liberty Kitchen opened by Culinary Khancepts since it assumed ownership.

The area has seen some changes in 2025. East Coast-inspired restaurant Hudson House opened its second Houston location in Rice Village in May, and Ohio-based ice cream shop Jeni’s followed in June. Rice Village staples Helen Greek Food & Wine and Thai Village both closed in May.

openings news-you-can-eat liberty kitchen & oysterette

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.

openings news-you-can-eat the rice box