but will there be burger pizza?

Duo behind Burger Joint and Taco Stand set to debut new Heights pizzeria

Chef Matt Pak and entrepreneur Shawn Bermudez are ready to put their spin on another of America’s most popular dishes. The duo behind The Burger Joint and The Taco Stand will soon add pizza to their repertoire.

Scheduled to open next fall, their new pizzeria — dubbed The Pizza Place, obviously — will be located at 2124 N. Shepherd Dr., which is just down the street from the Heights locations of the Taco Stand and the Burger Joint. Construction has already begun to convert the former resale shop into a 3,800-square-foot restaurant that will also offer a 2,600-square-foot covered patio.

As its name implies, the restaurant will serve pizzas, pastas, salads, and gelato, all of which will be made in-house. Pak tells CultureMap that pizza seemed like a logical next step for the growing restaurant group that currently operates three Burger Joints and one Taco Stand.

“Pizza was the missing fast casual piece of the puzzle for me,” Pak says. “Burgers, tacos and pizza. I like a challenge and I’ve been intrigued by the art of pizza making for a long time.”

As for the style of pizza he’ll be serving, it’s described in press materials as a New York-Neapolitan hybrid that will be baked in a Forza Forni gas-wood oven. Pak’s goal is to have a Neapolitan’s chewy outer edge with a New York pie’s crispy bottom. The chef explains that he considered other options like Detroit or traditional Neapolitan but prefers to forge his own pizza path.

“Like everyone else, I have my opinion of my favorite pizza,” he says. "Although I have had great pizzas of the styles you mention, there is always an element missing when trying them. I want to create a pizza that has my favorite elements from several styles and I believe people will enjoy what I come up with.”

Pastas will be made fresh daily. Like he does with tacos, expect Pak to focus on familiar styles with a limited number of well-chosen ingredients for sauces and toppings. The Pizza Place’s beverage offerings will include beer, wine, and cocktails.

Although a couple of burgers at The Burger Joint nod to Pak’s Korean heritage, the chef says those influences won’t show up on The Pizza Place’s daily menu. But that doesn’t mean he won’t showcase that side of his cooking at the restaurant — or in other venues.

“I might not include any Korean influence on the menu but I certainly will on our monthly specials,” he says. “Besides, we have a concept in the works where I will be able to veer outside of the box more.”

Stayed tuned for more details on that unnamed project. In the meantime, Pak and Bermudez have their hands full with upcoming openings, including a second location of The Taco Stand in Webster and a fourth location of The Burger Joint near Rice Village. In an interview with CultureMap in May, Bermudez acknowledged plans to open additional locations of The Taco Stand as well as a dessert concept. Details on those — including addresses and when they’re expected to debut — will be released in the months to come.

Courtesy of The Pizza Place

The Pizza Place will be located near The Burger Joint and The Taco Stand.

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meet the tastemakers

Houston's 11 best chefs of 2026 are leading the city's rise to prominence

Photo by Zachary Horst

Felipe Riccio, March.

We’ve reached the final category in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. These are the nominees for Chef of the Year.

This year’s nominees are an accomplished group. They hold Michelin stars and received Bib Gourmand designations. They are James Beard Award semifinalists, finalists, and winners. They’ve competed on Top Chef.

Of course they all serve consistently well-prepared dishes that keep diners coming back again and again. They’re also leaders and mentors who are guiding the next generation of cooks who will make their own mark on the dining scene. Many are involved in a number of local nonprofits, including I’ll Have What She’s Having and the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Who will win? Find out this Thursday, April 16, at the Tastemaker Awards party at Silver Street Studios. We’ll dine on bites from this year’s nominated restaurants and sip cocktails from our sponsors before revealing the winners in our short and sweet ceremony.

A limited number of tickets remain. Buy yours before they sell out.

Here are the nominees for Chef of the Year:

Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen
The first Houstonian to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas, Chef G, as she’s known to friends and supporters, continues to make Street to Kitchen one of Houston’s destination restaurants. Regular travels back home to Thailand inspire new dishes on the menu, and G has also embraced her inner Texan with a rotating selection of steaks and chops. Her warm personality also sets the tone for the friendly service diners can expect at Street to Kitchen.

Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, Jūn
The two friends and business partners have come a long way since their days of serving meals under a tent at area farmers markets. Now, they’re James Beard Award finalists for Best Chef: Texas, Top Chef alumni, and they successfully spun up a daytime concept, Third Place, that hosts the city’s most intriguing roster of pop-ups. If that weren’t enough, they released debuted Loaded Potatoes, a new podcast that showcases their distinct perspectives on food and culture.

Felipe Riccio, March
As the leader of Houston’s one-star, Mediterranean-inspired tasting menu restaurant, Riccio leads the ultra-ambitious team that changes its entire menu twice per year. Not only does this effort require extensive research, training, and preparation, it only requires the discipline necessary to execute at a consistently high level to meet the expectations of diners who are fully aware of the restaurant’s lofty reputation.

Jassi Bindra, Amrina/Kitchen Rumors
Houstonians already knew Bindra could execute fine dining cuisine based on his success at Amrina, but the chef also showcased his adeptness with casual fare at twin concepts Bol and Pok Pok Po. He dialed up the creativity at Kitchen Rumors, bringing Indian flavors to everything from pot roast to ramen. Although his Top Chef experience came to an abrupt end in only this season’s second episode, he’ll remain a local chef whose future projects will always be worth sampling.

Lucas McKinney, Josephine's
Already a winner of Rising Star Chef of the Year, McKinney steps into Chef of the Year consideration after leading Josephine’s to a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide. The inspectors praises dishes like the crab fat rice bowl and shrimp po’ boy, but they neglected to include McKinney’s world-class crawfish. That just means more for us.

Manabu Horiuchi, Katami/Kata Robata/Sushi Horiuchi
Known to all as Hori-san, your favorite chef’s favorite chef is riding higher than ever. Katami, his ode to contemporary Japanese fine dining, quickly established itself as one of Houston’s most sought after reservations and earned the chef a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for America's best chef. More recently, he opened Sushi Horiuchi, a six-seat omakase counter that gives diners an even most personal experience. While diners should certainly engage with him about the dishes they’re eating, we also suggest asking him about his favorite karaoke songs.

Mayank Istwal, Musaafer
As the leader of Houston’s only Michelin-starred Indian fine dining restaurant, Istwal oversees an impressive restaurant that offers both a la carte and tasting menus. With Musaafer’s recent expansion to New York City, he’s also the only nominee to be dividing his time between two cities. Thankfully, he’s built a strong team who can ensure Musaafer remains consistent even when he’s in the Big Apple.

Nick Wong, Agnes and Sherman
Known for leading UB Preserv to a best new restaurant award from Texas Monthly, Wong returned to the kitchen with this Asian American diner in the Heights, which also earned best new restaurant nods from both Texas Monthly and finalist status in the James Beard Awards. The wide-ranging menu applies his unique perspective to everything from fried chicken and club sandwiches to egg foo young and pasta bolognese — made with Korean rice dumplings, natch. While his commitment to make Agnes and Sherman a good place to work is certainly worthy of respect, he deserves this nomination simply for introducing Houston to cheeseburger fried rice.

Shawn Gawle, Camaraderie
A former Pastry Chef of the Year winner for his work at Goodnight Hospitality, Gawle has been showing off his savory chops at this restaurant in the Heights. The restaurant’s prix fixe menu reflects the style of dining Gawle enjoys the most, where friends share a meal and conversation. Recently, the chef has been inviting guest chefs such as Rebecca Mason and Raffi Nasr in for can’t-miss collabs.

Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast
As the winner of Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards and a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide, Belly of the Beast no longer qualifies as a hidden gem. Still, Bille isn’t resting on his laurels. He added a tasting menu to Belly of the Beast’s offerings and continues to roll out new dishes that explore the intersection of Mexican flavors with other immigrant cuisines.

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The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Houston by Maker's Mark, Culinary Khancepts, Herradura Tequila, Ritual Zero Proof + Seedlip, Shutto, NXT LVL EVENT, and more to be announced. A portion of proceeds will benefit our nonprofit partner, the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Photo by Zachary Horst

Felipe Riccio, March.

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