Photo by Shawn Arrajj
Photo by Shawn ArrajjIt did not take long for the Cypress Breakfast House to find success after opening in May 2013. Catering to Cypress residents who were eager for a local community gathering place, the eatery was seeing lines out the door every weekend by December.
After noticing how successful the restaurant was, Tin Nguyen purchased the business in January 2014 with plans to take things to the next level.
"I love to see small businesses succeed, and I saw an opportunity to get involved in something in my community that I thought had a lot of potential," he said.
Nguyen was slow and measured in his efforts to evolve the restaurant through the first few months, acknowledging that major changes were not necessary given how popular the breakfast house already was. His biggest experiment so far has been the introduction of daily specials, including more lunch options. Specials especially popular with customers are being considered for menu status.
"We hope to have a new menu released sometime in the next month or so," Nguyen said. "We are going to keep it mostly the way it is, but we'll be adding a few new things."
New menu ideas come from customer suggestions and chefs trying out new concepts, Nguyen said. Some of the more popular items that were piloted as specials include a homemade meatloaf dish and Parmesan crusted chicken. Everything served at the restaurant is made from scratch daily, including the salsas, dressings and gravies.
The restaurant reinforces its dedication to the community by partnering with area organizations like the Cypress Historical Association to sponsor events.
"As our growth continues, we want to always make sure we are keeping it local," Nguyen said. "We never want to lose the mom and pop community breakfast house feeling."
Owner recommendations
Benedict Buenos—Jalapeno corn cakes are topped with chorizo, poached eggs, signature queso, pico de gallo, avocado, sour cream and green onions. ($8.99)
Mexican Skillet—Three scrambled eggs are served with chorizo, jalapenos and onions on a bed of skillet potatoes with queso, avocado, pico de gallo. ($8.99)
Stuffed French Toast—Two pieces of French toast are filled with sweetened cream cheese, strawberries and blueberries and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. ($7.99)
Lunch options
Part of new owner Tin Nguyen's plans for growing the Cypress Breakfast House include expanding the lunch menu options. Several new items being considered for the menu include Parmesan crusted chicken and different cheeseburgers made with Angus beef.
"We will definitely keep the breakfast part of our identity, but we also want to make sure we are always improving," Nguyen said. "We have a lot of customers ask us about more lunch offerings."
Happy staff
Working at the Cypress Breakfast House feels like being a part of a big family, Manager Leena Reyes said. Reyes, who rose to the manager position after initially working as a server, said another one of her favorite parts about working at the breakfast house is interacting with loyal customers.
"It gets to the point where it's not just us knowing our customers' names and favorite dishes, but the customers actually know all the servers by name as well," she said.
Cypress Breakfast House
12344 Barker Cypress Road
Cypress 832-220-1562
www.cypressbreakfasthouse.com
Hours: Mon.–Fri. 6 a.m.–2 p.m., Sat.–Sun. 6 a.m.–3 p.m.
