Despite the global pandemic and economic difficulties, Correa’s belief in the traditions he learned in his youth and a lot of hard work and ingenuity has made Andy’s Bar & Grill his third and most successful venture yet, following Andy’s Kitchen on Mason Road and We Wagon Catering in Cypress.
“I grew up with my parents in the restaurant industry. I worked off and on since I was 13 years old in the restaurant, and I've always had a passion for serving a platter or a dinner special or something and the ‘oohs and ahs’ and the smiles and the ‘wow, this is great’ ... and having people react to what you’ve created as being a little bit different than the average restaurant,” Correa said.
Having the experience of big family dinners with his Sicilian-American family, and working in his parents' South American grill, Correa sought to learn not only other cuisines and traditions but to understand and gain experience in the restaurant industry.
“I wanted to learn the nuts and bolts from the dishwashing station all the way up to the management position in case I ever had a chance to have my own restaurant,” he said.
All of those experiences and growing up in the Cypress area made him want his restaurants to feel like part of the neighborhood. Correa explained he also wanted a place with live music and karaoke and a sports bar feel as well, but the original location was too small.
Correa explained he eventually took the burger portion of the original location’s menu and added it to the new location as well, and joked that now there are two “best burgers in Cypress,” as he has held the title of best burger of Cypress for a while.
Aside from the burgers, the menu features loaded fries, chicken wings, salads, wraps, flatbreads, sandwiches, Cajun pasta, chicken-fried steak and other American dishes. The restaurant also has a full bar.
“Our slogan at the original [Andy's] Kitchen location is ‘a small kitchen with a big heart,’ and here at the new location it's ‘great food and good times,'” Correa said.
Correa said he is proud to be part of the Cypress community and volunteers his company’s time and efforts to many charitable and civic organizations in the area, from Cy-Fair ISD to organizations benefiting first responders.
Correa explained his broad experience in different cuisines and restaurant atmospheres as well as his passion for creating and serving unique or special dishes is what launched him in the food industry. While working in another industry, he began his food truck business part-time.
“When I was able to launch my food truck, I did that on the weekends. And then I moved on to doing a brick-and-mortar location in 2018 with the ‘Andy's Kitchen,’ and then last year, we opened up ‘Andy's Bar and Grill’ in April 2022," he said.
Correa’s experience with different spice palettes and ingredients allows him and his staff to offer a customized catering menu. Coming from a family who operated different types of restaurants, from South American and Mexican food, coupled with his Italian food upbringing, and his passion for burgers and barbecue, his services are valuable to local event organizers, whether they are planning a wedding, anniversary party, or corporate or community events.
He credits his training in his family's restaurants with his desire to instill his desire and passion for the business in his staff, making them feel that they are a part of his family because he depends on them and wants them to enjoy the business as much as he does.
“It's been six years now, and it's amazing what we've been able to accomplish. And six years we went from having a food truck to having two restaurants,” Correa said.
Andy's Bar & Grill, 27200 Hwy. 290, Ste. 160, Cypress. 281-304-2627. www.bit.ly/andysbarandgrill
Hours: Sun.-Wed. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thu.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
