bienvenido, los tios

Houston Tex-Mex institution serves up opening date for long-awaited West University location

A Houston Tex-Mex institution debuts in West U. next week. Los Tios will open its sixth Houston-area location on Monday, June 5.

Located in the former Buca di Beppo space in the Plaza in the Park shopping center (5192 Buffalo Speedway), the new Los Tios occupies approximately 6,000-square-feet. It joins sister concept Adair Kitchen and CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year winner Craft Pita in the Kroger-anchored shopping center.

Open for more than 50 years, Los Tios is known for signature items like the Original Puffy Queso, Tex-Mex combination plates, and being among the first Houston restaurants to serve frozen margaritas. Its current owner, local hospitality group Adair Concepts, acquired the brand in 2000.

“Our clients in West U. and adjoining neighborhoods like Upper Kirby, Greenway Plaza, and River Oaks have long been asking us to open here, and we’re thrilled to finally be part of this wonderful community,” Adair Concepts co-founder Katie Barnhart said in a statement. “We’re especially eager to reveal the interiors to guests. The design reflects our family’s love of Mexican art and culture and incorporates numerous finds from San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city brimming with creativity.”

The new restaurant opens to a 40-seat bar area that features a brick ceiling and wall lanterns. From there, diners enter a 150-seat main dining room that’s lit by a large skylight and decorated by a 14-foot tall tree. Groups will gather in a 60-seat private dining room. Other design details include imported furniture, native plants, and the iron door handles from Los Tios’ first location.

Like the restaurant’s other locations, the West U. restaurant will open for lunch and dinner beginning at 11 am Monday-Saturday and 10 am on Sunday for breakfast and dinner. Lunch specials are served Monday-Friday 11 am - 2 pm with happy hour offered Monday-Friday 3-7 pm.

Photo by Rachel Alyse Photography

Los Tios opens in West U next week.

openings news-you-can-eat

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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