Meat Magnate Ronnie Killen Debuts His Newest Restaurant in The Woodlands

Welcome to AM Intel in the time of coronavirus, a round-up of the city’s newest bits of restaurant-related intel. Follow Eater on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date details on how COVID-19 is impacting the city’s dining scene.

Killen’s Barbecue comes to The Woodlands

Just a few months after opening his Southern comfort food restaurant in The Heights, chef Ronnie Killen has opened a second location of his popular barbecue joint in The Woodlands. Killen’s Barbecue opened quietly earlier this month, reports Culturemap, at 8800 Six Pines Drive, a location that was formerly a Culver’s. The first Killen’s Barbecue opened in Pearland in 2014.

Killen has been hosting barbecue pop-ups in The Woodlands for a while now, based out of his steakhouse restaurant there. The new smokehouse includes two rotisserie smokers and two barbecue pits, and will serve Central Texas-style barbecued meats like brisket, pork ribs, smoked turkey, pulled pork and sausage made in house. For now, the restaurant is serving dine-in and to-go from 11 am until sold out. Drive-thru service will follow in the coming weeks.

Rose’s Seafood founder Canh Tran has died

Canh T. Tran, the founder of waterfront seafood supplier Rose’s in Seabrook, has died of natural causes, his family announced. In a Facebook post on January 18, the family wrote of Tran’s incredible life — as a teenager, he was sold as a slave to find work in Vietnam, leaving behind family in China. After marrying in Vietnam, he build a successful coffee business, only to have it destroy during the turmoil of the Vietnam war. He managed to emigrate with his family to the United States, and in 1980, founded the seafood supplier known for selling crawfish, Gulf oysters and other sundries fresh off fishing boats. Rose’s Seafood is still family-owned. Tran was 71.

One Fifth to host final anniversary dinner

One Fifth, the experimental restaurant from Chef Chris Shepherd, will host its fourth and final anniversary dinner on January 27. The restaurant, founded in 2017, was created with an ambitious goal — host five restaurant concepts in five years, all within the same building. The restaurant, which has served menus inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, steak and seafood, will offer dishes from past menus as part of the dinner. More information can be found on One Fifth’s website.