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Van Leeuwen’s Uptown Park ice cream shop will open later this month
The second Houston location of cult favorite ice cream shop Van Leeuwen will open on Saturday, August 21 in Uptown Park. The shop, at 1151 Uptown Park Boulevard, will join a location in Rice Village that opened in May. A third location is expected to open soon at the new Montrose Commons development on lower Westheimer.
To celebrate the Uptown park opening, Van Leeuwen has partnered with celebrated Houston chef Hugo Ortega for a special, limited edition ice cream flavor, horchata dulce de leche swirl. The flavor will be available at Van Leeuwen’s Uptown Park location, and Ortega’s restaurant Caracol, which is located nearby.
Wildly popular LA chain Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening in Spring
Dave’s Hot Chicken, a Nashville-style fried chicken joint founded in Los Angelas, will open a location in Spring’s Town Center. It’ll be the second planned location for the fried chicken chain in the Houston area. Known for its cayenne-covered, extra crispy hot fried chicken, Dave’s first landed in Texas with a location in Dallas that opened in May. Fried chicken fans lines up for hours outside of the restaurant, including some who drove all the way from Houston for the spicy meat. The Spring location, at 20740 Kuykendahl Road, will open this fall. The other Houston location is scheduled to open later this year at the Westminster Shopping Plaza near Royal Oaks.
Moroccan restaurant Zoa to open second location in Bellaire
Zoa Moroccan Kitchen, a cult-fave halal restaurant tucked away just south of Washington Avenue off Shepherd, is set to open a second location in Bellaire in September. The new location, at 6700 Rice Boulevard, will open on September 1.
Zoa, which first opened in March 2020, has gained a small but devoted following thanks to its North African street food, with dishes like build-your-own couscous bowls, beef tagine, and veggie-stuffed sandwiches. Zoa chef Youssef Nafaa, a native of Morocco, is also known for his restaurants Mia Bella Trattoria and Coco Crepes, Waffles & Coffee.
