New Railway Heights Market food hall to soon open grocery store and beer garden
Railway Heights Market in Houston is still in its smooth opening phase, but by lunchtime on a recent Saturday it was already teeming with people.
Families and friends mingled in the large space, strolling with glasses of wine, sipping noodles on tables in the middle of the dining room, taking photos of the large art wall in the back and making the queue for fresh juices.
Just north of Interstate 10 in the Timbergrove area, Railway Heights is a project of Company of Nomads, specifically co-founder Anh Mai and COO Shepard Ross, the team behind Bravery Chef Hall downtown and the Conservatory now closed. It takes its name from the railroad just behind the market; Under construction for a few years, the pandemic has delayed its opening, initially scheduled for mid-2020.
The food hall trend in Houston seemed unstoppable before COVID-19. The conservatory, which claimed to be the city’s first dining hall, opened downtown in 2016 with great fanfare. A multitude of similar concepts emerged over the following years.
Finn Hall debuted in 2018, and Bravery Chef Hall and Understory arrived a year later – all in the city center, an office-rich area that suffered greatly during the lockdown. Politan Row arrived in Rice Village in 2019 and closed its doors last November due to the pandemic. The Company of Nomads team has promised to bring the Conservatory, which closed in January 2020, to a new space in the Galleria district (the old space is now occupied by the Underground Hall under different operators).
Now, 18 months after the start of a coming and going global pandemic, entrepreneurs are betting food halls can make a comeback. Railway Heights is the latest in a series of ambitious mixed-use developments – including the ongoing Airline Farmers Market in one neighborhood – to provide a sprawling, hip eating and drinking experience for Houstonians.
For all palates
When fully opened, the 25,000 square foot lobby will house approximately 50 food, drink, art and other retail vendors, many of which are already in full swing.
Pierogi Queen is delighting its Inner Loop fans by opening a second location of its very popular League City joint in the market. The flavors of its perfectly chewy pierogies change daily, and the stand also serves Polish fries and zapiekanka, a type of Polish street pizza.
BOH Slice, which is not yet open, is another name that will be familiar to those familiar with pizza and pasta from Bravery Chef Hall. This outpost will focus on pizza by the slice.
Greedy Chicken specializes in wings with flavors such as tangy ‘Alabama’ mango, barbecue, lemon-pepper, and honey-garlic sesame. It’s also your place to get fried pickles and fried gizzards.
Drunken Pho offers three different bowls and a do-it-yourself option, as well as appetizers including fried egg rolls and spring rolls. Sandos makes these famous Japanese milk bread sandwiches with tamago or strawberry cream.
Mac & Twist serves four bowls of pasta: the Jefferson with Four Cheese and Panko, the Texan-themed Smokey with Breast, the Philadelphia-inspired Rocky, and a Vegitalian with Pesto and Mozzarella.
The longest line on Saturday was at Churazzon, where people quenched their thirst on a sweltering day with agua frescas like watermelon-hibiscus and mango-orange. The ladies behind the counter drove him forward at excellent speed, cutting and squeezing mountains of fresh fruit into a tiny space.
Other food vendors include Latin Asian fusion spot Mykuna, Heads & Tails for Cajun food, Samosa Haus for samosas, and other Indian snacks such as chaat and Peaky Grinders for freshly ground beef burgers. .
The dining room is anchored by a long bar, Puncheon, which offers a concise list of mostly exclusive wines, local beers and ciders. Behind is the entrance to a patio where people can sit and bring their food and drinks.
Support system
Martin Weaver, CEO of Company of Nomads, explains that the team sees Railway Heights as an incubator for small businesses. With the exception of Pierogi Queen and BOH, who already have strong followers, all food entrepreneurs are booming and in their prime location.
“We would like them to stay here, but the point of what we do is to help them grow, to put the spotlight on them,” he said. “They will evolve and open their own bricks and mortars and leave the company.”
Like at Bravery Chef Hall, Weaver says, stand operators have access to the Company of Nomads team, who can help them with marketing, staffing, and other logistical aspects of running a business. The hope is to serve as a springboard to facilitate the start-up of these small start-ups.
“That’s the beauty of these rooms,” Weaver said.
Railway Heights also has a strong retail component with vendors such as Pop Soap for vegan soaps; Pink Swan Shop for clothes, accessories, and pretty Houston booty; Mrs. Moss Potter for all kinds of flowers and plants; D’Vora Jewelry and more.
Saturday was the first day open for the Analogue Coffee Bar, at the ground floor entrance; it will eventually also be a roasting.
More on the horizon
The most exciting components of Railway Heights Market are yet to come. In September or October, a grocery store will open on the first floor, selling exclusively local products from farmers, ranchers, fishermen and manufacturers in the region. This will also include Something Fresh, offering salads and take-out bowls, as well as a cheese and deli store called Tablitas.
In the meantime, on the weekends, Railway Heights invites small start-ups to set up free stands and sell their products. That Saturday, Key’s Home Scents, Thrive Juices, Ziba Candles, De Mi Fogón Arepas Colombianas, Happy Daze Ahead CBD, Mina’s Cake Pops and a few more were in attendance.
A 10,000 square foot beer garden is under construction outside, as is a large dog park, which will open around the same time as the grocery store. The beer garden will focus on craft breweries in Houston and other areas of Texas, with a few out-of-state selections.
Ross says he wants to bring in locals like Saint Arnold, Eureka Heights and Spindletap. The team is partnering with Plant a Tree Houston to create a fund to which they will donate a percentage of beer sales.
Art Curio, at the end of the second floor, is a space where local artists can display their works and put them up for sale. Paintings ranging from modern abstracts to a colorful portrait of Bob Marley decorate one large wall.
More pieces will be added throughout the space, along with a digital search and payment system for art, but this will be another Railway Heights element that you’ll have to wait for the official fall opening for. .
