Houston Pop-Up Boo’s Burgers Lands a Permanent Stand on East End’s Esplanade | Eater Houston
"A permanent burger stand is opening in the East End esplanade on Navigation Boulevard (2510 Navigation Boulevard) early this year after a three-year run of often sold-out pop-ups. The operation will offer the chef’s signature burger (the focus remains squarely on burgers) along with debut fries, drinks, and a dessert menu; the burger is built from a single meat patty that’s smashed on a grill for a crispy char, propped up on a locally sourced bun, and topped with a smoky-yet-bright remoulade sauce, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, homemade pickles and what he calls the most significant essential: American cheese. "My biggest thing is American cheese goes on burgers — nothing else," he says. He describes the stand as more than a restaurant, saying, "We’re building a space where food, culture, and community come together. We want [this place] to be the kind of place where people feel connected to Houston’s past and future." The physical space, with patio seating, aims to evoke a comfortable, familial feel with nods to streetwear and hip-hop and a variety of community events and programming with other players in Houston’s dining scene. With Creole roots and self-taught culinary instincts, the Houston native worked at local restaurants including Leeland House and Tiny Champions, co-founded the Tipping Point coffee shop, and launched the annual Crawfish & Brews event (now celebrating its 10th year). In 2021 he launched the burger-focused pop-up inspired by cookouts and visits to local burger joints with family and friends: "For me, burgers are at every cookout. They’re at every family function, and I grew up going to these burger places," he says. "It’s just a comforting thing, and it gives me this nostalgic feeling. I don’t know very many other things that do that for me." The nickname that inspired the pop-up title was chosen to avoid mispronunciations of his Creole last name, and after a ghost mascot was added, "It just took off from there," he says. After parting ways with the coffee shop to focus on burgers—"burgers took over my life, and I owed it that much to go pursue that," he says—he’s leading up to opening day with a collaborative tour of local burger spots called the Boo’s Burger Run: "It’s kind of an awesome way to show that we’re closing on a chapter of a pop-up and moving into brick-and-mortar. We’re going out the same way we came in," he says. "We’re just really excited to get started, to hopefully become a pillar in the neighborhood, and to engage with the city in a different way than we have before." - Brittany Britto Garley
