The owner and general manager of the Cane Island master planned community’s premier restaurant, The Oaks Kitchen & Bar, started out as the executive chef and the restaurant’s first hire before it opened in March 2019.
She never planned on buying the restaurant from Cane Island’s president, but after a weeklong deliberation over her decision, considering the eatery’s then-sour relationship with residents and her own career—she became the owner in August 2023.
“You put effort and all your hard work into [something],” Comer said. “And for me, I believe in destiny. If it’s destined for you, it's for you.”
Though she characterizes herself as a shy person who prefers to work behind-the-scenes, an entrepreneurial thread weaves through Comer’s lineage.
“When I was a kid in the Philippines, my grandparents owned a coconut farm for making oil,” she said. “They would steam coconut shells and sell them for oil manufacturing. ... My mother runs the farm now.”
Comer’s passion for cooking began when she was young, she said, when she’d climb on her mother’s kitchen counters to gather ingredients and fresh vegetables, and run outside to their wood-fired, earthenware stove, called a kalan, to make rice and other dishes.
“That’s what we use for cooking—the wood,” Comer said. “Even our pots are clay; that's what we use for cooking the food. It tastes really good; the flavor is different.”
Comer said she went to culinary school in Australia, and garnered experience as a sous chef and pastry chef at a hotel in the Philippines. She’s worked for years in restaurants around Houston, she said.
As executive chef and now owner of The Oaks Kitchen, Comer calls back to her roots for the restaurant’s cuisine. She brings an Asian, American and French fusion to the menu that she said guests rave about.
The Oaks Kitchen is the only restaurant located within the Cane Island community, which has space dedicated to 2,100 homes.
But Comer said her customer base abounds from areas throughout Houston. Diners tell her they are attracted to the aesthetic of the space, she said.
“I was surprised. They're from Richmond. They come from Pearland, Sugar Land. And they’re choosing to have their events here," Comer said.
“We are nonstop working,” Comer said. “My chef, kitchen manager and I are working on a new menu. We’re trying to create a new menu that people can afford, with entrees that are different from other restaurants.”
- 2100 Cane Island Parkway, Katy
- 281-574-4144
