now boarding for flavor...

3 Houston-area favorites open at Hobby Airport to launch big restaurant rollout

Just in time for Spring Break and summer travel, Hobby Airport has unveiled the first phase of its 20 planned restaurants and dining options for busy travelers passing through the only 5-Star Skytrax airport in North America.

This week, the airport officially opened The Spot/The Spot Bar, Velvet Taco, Fat Cat Creamery, and Dunkin Donuts. This mix of familiar local favorites and national, go-to names represents a desire to “celebrate Houston,” per a Houston Airports announcement.

Opening this first phase of restaurants also marks the beginning of Phase 2 of a four-phase food and beverage transition at Hobby. The four phases, which will roll out Summer 2024 through Spring 2025, will include instantly recognizable names such as Common Bond, Dish Society, Killen’s Barbeque, Landry’s Seafood, Pink’s Pizza, SpindleTap, The Rustic, and Throughgood Coffee.

The first phase of openings follow the plans laid out in two separate food and beverage concessions contracts between Houston Airports and Areas HOU JV and LaTrelle’s Management that Houston City Council approved early last year. The contracts mark a Houston Airports initiative to create a sense of community for local travelers, showcase Houston as a world-class dining destination to visitors, and create a five-star experience overall, per press materials.

Not that many locals will need a description of these local and national mainstays, but here’s a quick refresher on the newly opened destinations.

Velvet Taco
As CultureMap’s Eric Sandler notes, Velvet Taco serves up a variety of globally inspired fillings such as tikka masala chicken tenders with cilantro basmati rice, falafel with tahini crema, and shrimp and grits with Cajun remoulade.

Fat Cat Creamery
A Heights and Houston favorite, the shop scoops out artisanal, made-from-scratch ice cream in signature brown butter waffle cones. Look for shakes, sundaes, and other sweet escapes on the menu.

The Spot/The Spot Bar
Galveston’s “island famous” Seawall landmark has grown to other areas, dishing out comfort food faves, burgers, and more, with a fully stocked bar.

Dunkin' Donuts
Early-morning flyers who need a host of sweet, iced, and savory offerings and a massive hot or iced coffee can look for this iconic coffee-and-doughnut beacon.

Velvet Taco is coming to Memorial.

Courtesy of Velvet Taco

Velvet Taco has travel meals all wrapped up.

As for the restaurant phase rollout, plans call for the following schedule (with local denotations):

Phase 2 (Summer 2024)

The Rustic (local)
Starbucks
Throughgood Coffee (local)
Chick-fil-A
Pei Wei
Starbucks

Phase 3 (Fall 2024)

Killen’s Barbeque (local)
Common Bond Café (local)
Yard House
SpindleTap Brewery (local)

Phase 4 (Spring 2025)

Pink’s Pizza (local)
Wendy’s
Jersey Mike’s
Dish Society (local)
Landry’s Seafood House (local)

Hobby Airport’s restaurant journey has not been without controversy. Last year, as CultureMap reported, the beloved and mainstay Pappas Restaurants was forced to exit Hobby Airport after operating there for some 20 years, as part of the Areas agreement. At the time, Pappas Restaurant Group launched a social media campaign to encourage Houston City Council to reject the contract garnered more than 50,000 signatures. Pappas CEO Chris Pappas eventually issued a lengthy statement criticizing the vote and saying that the company will “explore legal options” related to the decision.

For now, Houston Airports looks to clear skies ahead as it rolls out the 20 dining destinations for locals and visitors. “Houston Airports is relentless in our quest to make our passengers happy,” noted Francisco Cuellar, chief commercial development officer for Houston Airports, in a statement. “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.”

Turkey Day news

Houston plates up top-20 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Courtesy of Amrina

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Houston is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Houston ranked No. 15 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a big leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 32, and is the third highest-ranked Texas destination for the holiday.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The categories that Houston ranked the highest in were the city's affordability (No. 15) and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 19), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 95). Other categories that determined Houston's overall ranking were the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 23), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 30).

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Houston will be fully decked out for the December holidays. Houstonians who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Houston certainly goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas (No. 5) and San Antonio (No. 7) were the among the top 10 best cities to go for Thanksgiving, while Austin only came in at No. 39.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

thanksgiving wallethub rankings holidays lists