taco takeover

Darling Mexican eatery Gabriela’s expands to Houston with first restaurant outside Austin

Siblings Arturo and Gabriela Bucio

Courtesy photo

One of Austin’s favorite Mexican restaurants is branching out to Houston with its first location outside the Capital City. Gabriela’s will open in Midtown Houston at 1910 Bagby St. for its first Houston location.

Founded by siblings and Michoacán natives Gabriela and Arturo Bucio, we've described Gabriela’s as “the city’s most Instagramable Mexican eatery” (though the company’s all-pink Taquero Mucho also vies for that coveted title).

Its successful formula combines Michoacán-inspired dishes such as house-made choriquesos and mole enchiladas with colorful cocktails (margarita flights are particularly popular) and a lively atmosphere that includes DJs spinning during brunch.

Expected to open later this spring, Gabriela’s in Houston is part of a growth strategy the siblings rolled out in 2021 under the Gabriela’s Group banner. In the past year, they opened a second location of Gabriela’s in South Austin and a second location of their Taquero Mucho taqueria, revamped East Austin coffee shop Revival Coffee, launched a nightclub and bar called Mala Santa, and opened Seareinas, a Sinaloan-inspired seafood and sushi restaurant.

“As we continue to expand across Austin and beyond, we hope to reach new audiences who are hungry for authentic and memorable dining experiences,” Gabriela Bucio told CultureMap last year. “Each project has been a true labor of love, especially after considering all that has happened over the past 12 months.”

It seems Gabriela’s Group has big plans for the Bayou City. A press release advises Houston fans to “stay tuned” for future announcements about further expanding into the market.

Gabriela's serves Michoacán-inspired dishes.

Gabriela's Mexican restaurant food spread

Courtesy of Gabriela's Group

Gabriela's serves Michoacán-inspired dishes.

openings tex-mex tacos news-you-can-eat cocktails

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.