February: Spice Buddy Den & Grill
Finding community has always been a top priority for Paul Wilburn. After working for many years in the public school system and cultivating his community there, he said it made sense for him to transfer that sense of community over to Spice Buddy Den & Grill, the restaurant he owns with his wife, Tasha Wilburn.
Beginning in 2008, Paul worked as a janitor for Houston ISD, where teachers encouraged him to enroll in college, he said. He worked for HISD until he opened the Pearland restaurant in September 2020.
Spice Buddy Den & Grill
9603 Broadway St., Ste. 105, Pearland
832-216-3105
www.facebook.com/spicebuddyden
Hours: Tue.-Thu. noon-8 p.m., Fri.-Sat. noon-10 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
March: Sauce Time
For years, Travis Hamilton’s relatives would tell him he should open his own restaurant.
After serving eight years in the U.S. Army, Hamilton began as a line cook at a hotel and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming a chef.
By 2020, Hamilton was still not ready to launch a restaurant because of the costs, so he opted for the next best thing—a food truck, he said. There was just one obstacle: He launched Sauce Time on March 18, 2020, after the pandemic hit.
Sauce Time
The food truck travels across different areas in the southeast Houston region.
281-901-0232
www.saucetimefoodtruck.com
Hours: vary; schedule on website
April: Stefano’s Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen
Community support and a solid work ethic have always been priorities for restaurant owner Stephen Carpentier, but he had never imagined he would be living out his values in a pizzeria.
Hailing from Naples, Italy, Carpentier said he was raised by immigrant parents who instilled in him the values of respecting one’s elders, working for what you have and uplifting your community. He took these values with him to college, where he studied architecture.
Upon graduation, he found job prospects were slim. So he pivoted, deciding to open Stefano’s Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen in 1994 with the intention of handing it off to a protege while he pursued architecture.
Stefano’s Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen
106 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood
281-992-2233
www.stefanositalian.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 3-10 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
May: Honore’s Cajun Cafe
Brook Honore always intended to open a restaurant; it was only a question of when.
“I knew at some point—I didn’t know when—I knew at some point God was going to give me the opportunity to do it,” he said.
Hailing from Lafayette, Louisiana, Brook brought his love of Cajun food and family recipes to Texas. The Manvel building Honore’s Cajun Cafe is housed in was built in 1997 and originally StoneCo Inc. In 2018, he decided to move his stone business, convert the building into a restaurant and follow his passion.
Honore’s Cajun Cafe
19430 Hwy. 6, Manvel
281-489-7777
www.honorescajuncafe.com
Hours: Sun-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
July: Moreno’s Mexican Restaurant
For Moreno’s Mexican Restaurant, opening a second location in Pearland was a chance the family-owned establishment could not pass up.
The owners, Rosalio and Maria Moreno, first moved the restaurant to Friendswood in 2005 after initially opening in the Galveston Bay area. In October 2018, the Pearland location became a reality.
Moreno’s Mexican Restaurant
5420 Broadway St., Pearland
281-272-6623
www.morenosmexicanrestaurant.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
September: Hometown Sports Bar & Grill
Mexico Bar & Grill opened in 2013, but the eatery did not grow as fast as owner Ram Aguilera would have liked.
He later opened Stadia Sports Grill in 2015 at the same location as well as in The Woodlands, Katy and Sugar Land. The restaurant served a mix of Mexican food and comfort food, but many locations did not renew their leases and closed.
Finally, in October 2021, Aguilera turned the Pearland spot into Hometown Sports Bar & Grill, which focuses on comfort foods such as wings and pasta.
Hometown Sports Bar & Grill
1853 Pearland Parkway, Ste. 135, Pearland
832-486-9611
www.hometownsbg.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight daily
October: Pizza Parlor Pearland
Kenneth Flores has been serving pizza in Pearland for nearly 12 years. He brings 30 years of experience in the pizza restaurant industry to Pizza Parlor Pearland.
The New Jersey native started his journey in the pizza industry at a pizza company in Sugar Land. What started out as a high school job eventually turned into his career. After 20 years in the industry, Flores started his own pizza restaurant.
Pizza Parlor Pearland
2810 Business Center Drive, Ste. 128, Pearland
281-612-7256
www.pizzaparlortx.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu., Sun. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
December: Mingo’s Latin Kitchen
Tomas Villarreal is a chef, like his father, Domingo Villarreal, before him, but he did not immediately follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I’ve always liked the artistic side of it,” Tomas said. “You’ve got a blank canvas, and you make something out of it. You got colors; you got flavors; you got presentation.”
Tomas is owner of Mingo’s Latin Kitchen, a new eatery in Pearland. Long before opening his first food truck or restaurant, Tomas worked in the banking industry for about 12 years.
Mingo’s Latin Kitchen
3320 Broadway St., Ste. 114, Pearland
281-683-5986
www.mingoslatinkitchen.com/pearland
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sun.
