The 04-15-23 Edition of The Heights Leader

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

One of the largest expressions of art in the Houston area is coming back this weekend with the Houston Art Car Parade, and it’s creating excitement around the area as several local schools have put the finishing touches on their creations for the showcase.

This Saturday, the 36th annual Houston Art Car Parade will once again make its way through downtown Houston – and there will be several local cars on display among the hundreds of creations that will be shown off for the Houston community. Hosted annually by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art – one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country dedicated to the preservation, documentation and exhibition of visionary and outsider art – the parade will run from 2-4 p.m.

Among those submitting entries will be 21 campuses from Houston Independent School District – including area schools Garden Oaks Montessori, Heights High School, Harvard Elementary, and Frank Black Middle School. And district officials say having a chance to put their creativity on display is more than just sticking a few drawings and stickers on cars.

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

At long last, a new amenity at a local park is available for the community and its families to enjoy.

Late last month, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department cut the ribbon on the new “stateof-the-art” playground at TC Jester Park. It is the culmination of work that has been taking place for a little over a year, and is now open to the public.

When the park was first introduced to the public in early 2022, officials had said the hope was to have it ready by that fall, but that was pushed back earlier this year to late February and then late March due to supply chain issues and inclement weather.

But the wait is now over.

There are amenities for all dif-

ferent age groups at the new playgrounds, including swing sets, climbers, freestanding play components and a boulder water play element. There have also been sidewalk upgrades made and decorative fencing put up, as well as new picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and a drinking fountain for parents and their children to utilize.

“The playground provides cognitive, social, physical, and emotional benefits which speaks to our goal of making parks more inclusive and inviting to individuals of all abilities,” Parks and Recreation director Kenneth Allen said. And social media reaction generally veered towards being excited that work on the park was finally finished after waiting in anticipation for more than a year.

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

T here is a jury duty scam now circulating around Harris County that local law enforcement officials say has caused victims to lose thousands of dollars as a result.

According to Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, there is a scammer who has been calling victims around the area claiming to be a lieutenant from the office’s Warrant division and saying that a warrant is out for the victim’s arrest because of an outstanding jury duty.

Rosen said during a press conference Tuesday that to date there have been at least 60 victims, many of them from the medical community, which Rosen said the scammers have begun specifically targeting.

“They’re calling doctors and saying their medical license is going to be revoked because they have an outstanding warrant for jury duty,” Rosen said. “It is imperative that we get this message out to the entire community, so nobody falls prey to this.”

How the process works, Rosen said, is that the caller asks the victims to go purchase prepaid gift cards from MoneyPak, then put thousands of dollars on them and then give them the gift card number on the back of the card. The number that pops up on the screen, Rosen said, is the Precinct 1 Warrant division number.

“Now they’re targeting a community that we all care so deeply about. And doctors are working so hard now that they don’t have time to vet the source of this,” he said.

It causes fear for the victim, Rosen said, causing them to send the caller the money and fall prey to other demands in efforts to avoid going to prison.

“The scammer is so good, in many cases he has the victim disrobe for him via camera phone to show they are not carrying any weapons are contraband,” Precinct 1 wrote on Facebook.

However, Rosen said that neither Precinct 1 nor any law enforcement entity will ever call someone up on the phone telling them there is a warrant out

Man charged in fatal Inwood shooting

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A man has been arrested and charged in a fatal shooting of another man that took place following a car crash near Greater Inwood last week, according to the Houston Police Department.

Christopher Pete Santos, 21, has been charged with

murder in the shooting, according to Harris County court records. He was in jail as of Tuesday, with his bond set at $1 million according to county court records.

The identity of the victim is pending an autopsy from the county’s medical examiner, according to the police department.

Officers responded to a call about a small car

crash at 5600 Antoine Dr. near the Greater Inwood area around 7:10 p.m. last Wednesday, April 5. When they arrived, police said officers discovered the victim had been shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the department.

Citing eyewitness testimony, police said Santos and the victim were allegedly involved in a minor car

crash that later turned into an argument. During the course of the argument, Santos allegedly shot the other man multiple times, according to HPD.

Santos was detained at the scene, police said, and officers allegedly found the gun allegedly used to shoot the victim at the scene. He was then arrested and charged, according to police.

Two men charged in local fatal shooting

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection to a fatal shooting at an area shopping center late last month, according to the Houston Police Department.

Andres Lara, 19, and Daniel Medrano, 20, have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Joel Villarreal, according to Harris

“You walk around down town Houston, which is butt ugly, not much there...” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. He was speaking on a local morning radio pro gram in, obviously, Connecti cut, commenting on Houston, host of the Final Four which UConn’s Huskies won. “Ex cept for the UConn fans,” he said, “everywhere you’d hear bouncing off of those big, empty walls, ‘Let’s go UConn, UConn Huskies.’” On yet another radio program Gov. Lamont said: “You’re walking around downtown Houston, it’s kind of godforsaken, not very pretty…” Gee, and we spent so much time and effort behind those big, empty walls to make our visitors welcome. At such times we might be defensive and fight back, with comments like: “No one ever said, “Hartford, the Eagle has landed.” Or even, “New Haven, we have a problem.” Such retorts would be childish. So would, “What about Benghazi, Hillary?”

That accusation is still ripe in some GOP circles. We must look at these uncalled for and gratuitous insults in a typical Texas way. No, don’t shoot him, reason with him. First, we need to note all the good points about Connecticut. It is the nation’s third smallest state, hence its license plate logo: “We’re Bigger than Rhodes Island and Delaware.” The name Connecticut is derived from the Mohegan-Pequot word that has been translated as “Boorish Yankee.” Actually it means “long tidal river” and “upon the long river.” The state is 5,543 square miles, which would easily fit into our Brewster County (6,193 square miles). Its state song is “Yankee Doodle.” Ours is “The Eyes of Texas,” or should be. State nickname: “The Nutmeg State.” Connecticut residents have the second highest rate in the nation of combined state and local taxes (after California).

Connecticut’s population: 3.6 million, a bit more than onetenth Texas’. It has Yale University, established in 1701. The school produced Nathan Hale and William Buckley, the latter being the last sane Republican and the quintessential Ivy Leaguer. Little known fact: Buckley’s grandfather was the high sheriff of Duval County, Texas. That’s all we need to know about the Nutmeg State.

Insulting Houston and Texas is nothing new. We get put down all the time. You can chalk it up to jealousy. “Bucees is too damn big,” wrote Gerrett Martin of Atlantabased “Paste Magazine. I don’t even think it’s fair to call Buc-ees a gas station; Bucees is basically a K-Mart that only sells junk food and Bucees shirts. It’s overwhelming,

ter the flood of 1900 in a report to the War Department.

John James Audubon visited Houston in the 1840s and later wrote, “We approached the President’s mansion, wading in water above our ankles.”

He noted that the mansion was a dirty and muddy hut and that the Capitol roof leaked. The mansion’s inhabitant didn’t fare much better.

Alexis de Toqueville, French author of “Democracy in America,” after meeting Sam Houston, said, “He is one of the unpleasant consequences of popular sovereignty.”

Consider a fellow named Charles Hedenberg who persuaded an uncle living in New Jersey (not Connecticut) to come to Houston in the late 1830s. The uncle arrived one morning and transferred his bags to his nephew’s business, Hedenberg and Vedder.

Charles suggested that his uncle go over to the Capitol and watch Congress in action.

The uncle agreed and went to the Capitol, whereupon he heard gunshots. He rushed to a hallway just in time to see Algernon Thompson, a Senate clerk, being carted off. Thompson had been severely wounded by another clerk.

The uncle left the Capitol and walked down the west side of Main Street. As he passed the Round Tent Saloon, inside, one Texian soldier shot another. The wounded soldier staggered out and almost fell on the New Jerseyian.

He ran across the street and arrived at John Carlos’ Saloon. Just then a man fell out of the saloon with his bowels protruding from a huge wound made by a Bowie knife. The newcomer raced back to his nephew’s store and said, “Get me a dray so I can at once go to the boat that leaves for Galveston this afternoon.” “Why, Uncle, what do you mean? You have seen nothing; have not had time to look at the town.”

“Charley,” said the uncle, “I have seen enough. I wish to return home immediately. I do not wish to see any more of Texas.” He left.

“If I owned Texas and hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell.” That famed quote came from Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan. He later explained, “In all my life, gentlemen, I

County court records. They both remained in jail as of Tuesday, according to court records, and have been denied bail.

Officers responded to a shooting call at a strip center parking lot in the 7500 block of Long Point Road around 6:45 p.m. on March 28 to find Villarreal unresponsive and lying on the ground and having been shot, according to HPD. He was taken to a local hospital, police said, where he

was later pronounced dead.

According to police, a preliminary investigation indicated that an unknown suspect was allegedly involved in an armed robbery at the shopping complex, and that Villarreal may have been trying to stop the alleged robber from running away.

Lara and Medrano were both arrested and charged on April 6, according to police.

will never forget my first visit to the State of Texas. I had been bumped over its sterile plains for a week in an ambulance. I was tired, dusty and worn out. When I reached my destination (Galveston), I found some people there who wanted me to talk and be received and all that sort of thing, before I had a chance to get the sand out of my eyes and ears. One fellow was persistent. He asked me with pure American curiosity what I thought of Texas. In a moment of worry and annoyance I said if I owned hell and Texas, I would live in the former and rent out the latter. The fellow who asked me the question proved to be a reporter. The next day, what I had said was in print and I never could stop it.”

One last slap from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.

He said the Huskies’ victory “is enormous for UConn, and it’s enormous for the state of Connecticut,” noting that “for one brief and shining moment everyone was talking about the state of Connecticut.” Yes, one brief moment.

Enjoy

Ashby

Baseball/softball roundup: Jaime, Palomo help Lady Bulldogs stay hot

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

The Heights Lady Bulldogs have been scorching for much of the season so far. And thanks to one of the sport’s rare occurrences last week plus a banner day for one of their offensive stars, they have continued their winning ways and are seeing recognition in regional and state rankings.

Heights picked up a win in their only game of the week last week, a 7-0 win over district rival Bellaire to improve to 21-2-1 overall and remain perfect in District 18-6A with an 8-0 mark. As a result, the Lady Bulldogs are up to No. 2 in the Region III-6A rankings and the No. 7 team in the state by Texas High School Softball.

Leading the way for Heights in the circle was junior pitcher Hayley Jaime, who continued her strong season in the circle by throwing a no-hitter in a complete-game effort against Bellaire, marking a seasonhigh total that she has now hit four times. Jaime now sports a 1.74 ERA in 80.1 innings,

LAndAn KuhLmAnn Editor

who homered twice while driving in four of the Lady Bulldogs’ seven runs on the night. She wasn’t alone, however, as Helen Maddux and Kennedy Hill also each put one over the wall.

Heights was set to return to action Tuesday night against Westside looking to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

Elsewhere in the area, Waltrip’s Lady Rams won their fifth game in a row with a resounding 17-0 victory over Wisdom on April 3. Gabrielle Thomas-Brice homered three times and had a season-high eight RBIs for Waltrip (13-3, 10-1), while Mireya Chavez also picked up her first home run of the season and drove in

In private school action, St. Pius X ran its winning streak to three games with a 7-4 win over St. Agnes Academy on April 4. The Lady Panthers (20-10, 4-0) were set for a Tuesday night matchup against Concordia Lutheran looking to extend their winning streak.

Baseball In the private school ranks, St. Thomas took home victories in both games last week, beating Kinkaid 7-6 before taking down the John Cooper School 1-0. Donte Lewis was the star of the week for the Eagles, with a walk-off double in the win over Kinkaid and a nohitter with 11 strikeouts on the mound against John Cooper. St. Pius X also pulled off a win in their only game of the week, a 2-1 victory over Kinkaid thanks to a walk-off wild pitch scoring the winning run.

In the public school ranks, the Heights Bulldogs had their seven-game winning streak snapped with an 8-0 loss to Westside on April 4, their first district loss of the season. Robert Robinson had a hit and a walk for the Bulldogs (15-7, 4-1), while Mateo Quintanilla

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Houston’s beloved and world famous Art Car Parade has officially been renamed to include the word festival. The Annual Houston Art Car Festival & Parade presented by Team Gillman, always a multi-day event got started April 6 and continues through the weekend.

As noted in the official story in this week’s The Leader, the big parade is Saturday and rolls at 2 p.m. for about two hours through Downtown Houston and Allen Parkway. Pro tip - get their early, visit with the artists, and stake your viewing space.

Any astute parade attendee knows there is more going on than just crazily adjourned vehicles and costumed riders parading the streets; it’s a moving party, festival, circus, concert, and celebration.

No vehicle or rather entourage, exemplifies this rolling phenomenon more than “The Zebra Lady” aka Amy Lynch Kolflat founder and leader of The Zebra Krewe.

Kolflat has been known as the “Zebra Lady” since her first parade around the year 2000. It wasn’t just that her 1989 Isuzu Trooper (now retired and on view at Saint Arnold Brewery) was painted black and white resembling a zebra, the interior was striped black and white, Kolflat and all riders were costumed in similar zebra attire and a few years later, even the babies were zebra’d.

Kolflat and her husband Erik Kolflat lead a group of 40 plus adults and children on seven vehicles (this year), a trailer, dancers and stilt walkers. Seeing The Zebra Krewe roll by is like watching a parade within a parade. In a phone call Amy Kolflat gave me a sneak peek at this year’s theme and vehicle lineup.

Each year more people and vehicles joined the “The Zebra Krewe.” Kolflat told me they have different costume themes each year that have included babies, biking, animated characters and this

year, The Addams Family. The Kolflats will be dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams, of course.

“I love driving my Zebra ArtCars every day and adding to Houston’s unique culture,” Kolflat said. “On parade weekend it is my Christmas and Hanukkah all rolled into one! All my ArtCar families come into town and we get to parade the streets together! It is the most wonderful time of the year!”

As The Zebra Krewe rolls past this year expect to find skaters, stilt walkers and the occasional flash mob dancers doing the viral Wednesday dance. You know the dance that has Wednesday Addams, the family’s morbid looking little girl, doing some fancy footwork on repeat. Watch for Lurch on stilts doing that dance too. The stilt walkers, Juniper Jairala and Adam Skidmore, look professional because they are, and they just happen to love this parade too.

The Zebra Crew vehicles include (but may not be limited to) a Ford F150 pickup and trailer, a Toyota Venza, a Maxima aka Z-Max, 2 station wagons striped with ears and tails named Xena and Zoe by Jody Gibson, a 1960s coupe themed golf cart, zebra striped and brought in by

Nancy Curry.

“Watch for me bringing up the rear of the parade as the grand finale! I’m #270” Kolflat said.

When you see the stilt walkers, skaters and dancers approaching, set your cameras to record video, there is a lot to take in from this parade entry!

Kolflat doesn’t change gears after the parade, she

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named her company after her favorite pastime, Zebra Properties. Follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homewithamyzebra/

Cohen is an artist and founder of the First Saturday Arts Market and The Market at Sawyer Yards. Find him at ArtValet. com for additional highlights and artist’s stories.

Zebra

Isuzu Trooper at the Art

Amy Lynch Kolflat (top left) Juniper Jairala and followed by Phil Brayton at the Houston Art Car Parade.

“By participating in these community events, [students] develop a greater sense of pride in themselves, their schools and their immediate community,” HISD Visual Arts Curriculum Specialist Rickey F. Polidore Jr. said. “They learn to appreciate the freedom of expression a project of this nature provides. Most importantly, they gain a greater sense of self.” Each art car entered by area schools and from around the country are working cars which are decorated around themes devised by students and instructors. Among this year’s entries from HISD include a tribute to blues rocker Stevie Ray Vaughn and a car inspired by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, according to HISD.

Garden Oaks Montessori’s theme, project organizer Kim Doupe said, was “Our future is limitless.” Each child in the school, she said, made stars that are now attached to the car. Inside each star, the student was to write what they want to be when they grow up.

They also created a moon, the earth, and a rocket. Doupe said the children’s desired career choices written inside their stars included those who want to be a teacher, surgeon, private investigator, or something else.

“We chose to go with our theme, to inspire our children that there is no limit to what they can do or be,” Doupe said. “Their star is shining bright and that they have

a limitless future.”

Saturday’s parade will last about two hours according to organizers, beginning at the intersection of Dallas and Bagby Streets heading into downtown before circling City Hall and heading outbound onto Allen Parkway out of Downtown until dispersing at Waugh Drive. It is free to attend, and parking

can be found in downtown parking garages or on side streets along Allen Parkway. There will also be a Kids’ Creative Zone at Sam Houston Park (1000 Bagby St.) at 11 a.m. Saturday leading up to the parade, among other festivities.

On Sunday, more than $16,000 will be distributed to art car artists and groups in various cat -

“It looks amazing,” Melinda Gleghorn wrote on Facebook.

The goal of the project, officials said, was to redevelop and enlarge T.C Jester Park’s playground with “state-of-the-art” equipment to provide holistic opportunities for children and families to both play and learn. Funding for the T.C.

Jury Duty from P. 1

Jester playground began with District C councilmember Abbie Kamin’s predecessor – former Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen – who Kamin said last year was a major driver in helping to secure funding for the $1.02 million project.

And now, the community’s new gift has officially been unwrapped.

for their arrest. He said they will either come to a person’s residence or send them a letter, but there is never a call.

In the event that someone receives a call claiming to be from Precinct 1 – or any law enforcement agency – saying a warrant is out for their arrest, Rosen said to look up the number of the agency online and call them directly. He warned against calling the number popping up on the phone back directly, saying it will send people directly to the scammer.

“It sounds very authoritative, and it sounds very real,” he said. “You call this number back, they’ll put you on hold and

“The Houston Parks and Recreation Department is proud of the tremendous upgrades made to the T.C. Jester Park playground,” Allen said. “…. Thank you to the Braxton Davies Reed Foundation, and all of our partners for helping to make this special playground a reality.”

tell you it’s (our) Warrant division. It all sounds very official.”

He said his office has also been in contact with medical leaders in the area in order to make their doctors and physicians aware of what has been happening so that nobody else is victimized by the scam.

“It’s a very serious situation, and we want to prevent people from having this happen and falling prey to it,” Rosen said. “It’s happening a whole lot – we’re seeing a surge in this, and it’s terribly important to get this out to the community.”

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egories through a judging process that will rate entries based on their creativity, artistic techniques, and inspiration.

The chance to see the finished product that is the result of the children’s hard work, Doupe said, is what she is most excited about. She said they learned how to use a spray paint can, paper maché, use a staple gun, and more during the process. And in the end, she said it was a project that helped bring the community and school even closer together.

“The best (part) is children get to see their work of art rolling down the road,” Doupe said. “I hope they see it in the parade (and) at the school and say they are proud of what they accomplished and remember they can truly do anything.”

Playground from P. 1

Photo from Facebook

Pictured are the water boulders at the new T.C. Jester Park playground, with its new slide and other amenities in the background.

Photos by Danitza Ladwig

More than 250 art cars from throughout the country will be on display during Saturday’s Houston Art Car Parade, according to organizers.

Classifieds

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

For Daddy’s Chicken Shack cofounder and CEO Pace Webb, food has long been a way for her family, friends, and everyone to come together in celebration.

It might seem a simple tradition – but it’s one that Webb said has served her well and does not intend to stop anytime soon. And it’s in that vein that she and her husband Chris Georgalas brought their California-based chicken restaurant to the Heights a little more than five months ago.

“It’s ingrained in my blood through generations to bring people together over food in the state of Texas and have a good time,” she said.

Webb’s restaurant may have locations in California, Colorado, Oregon, Michigan, Florida, and more. But the Heights location at 1223 W. 11th St. brings an extra tinge of meaning, as it is located where Webb spent years of her childhood. She grew up in the Woodland Heights, she said, and would drive down Studewood each day to attend the High School for Performing and Visual Arts – now called the Kinder School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

“Given all of my history here, Houston just seemed like the right place to open our flagship location,” Webb said.

Daddy’s Chicken Shack, Webb said, is tailored to the dual-working household that doesn’t have a lot of time. They can come in for the full “warm hug” experience, pull up to the drive-up window to collect their mobile order, order online for delivery – whatever best suits their needs or desires in that moment. Webb even said that if an online order is timed up just right, the customer pulls up to the window, puts their hand out, gets a nice greeting, and are on their way.

Their regular and spicy chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, chicken sliders, and salads are all made fresh, she said, with Southeast Asian and American fusion ingredients. Daddy’s also serves breakfast all day, with options such as a breakfast burrito and a Waffle breakfast sandwich.

“You have better quality food, quickly, for your family. We’re looking to deliver that to people across the nation, starting with Houston,” Webb said. “We’re aiming to meet everybody where they are or where they want to be for their day.”

Humble beginnings

To truly understand the story of how Daddy’s Chicken Shack came to be, however, Webb said the story begins even before she was born. Her grandmother and grandfather, she said, eloped and got married when her grandmother was 19 years old. They wound up living on a ranch in Laredo, she said, where her grandfather managed the ranch. During that time, she said her

grandmother cooked everything from scratch. For the family, it was healthy and for gatherings a little more flare was added to the cuisine. Growing up, Webb said she saw pictures of everyone at the ranch coming together for one occasion or the other and from ranch hands on up, there was a place for everyone at the table.

Her grandmother, grandfather, mother, and uncle, she said, would even sing together as a family band at the get togethers and beyond.

“I come from a long line of women who like to entertain,” she said. “…. when special occasions came around, they always put on an incredible spread and made it a lively party. It was this inclusive, gettogether environment when it came time for celebrations of any kind.”

Despite having that lineage, however, food was not always Webb’s first love. Her mother, she said, was an actress who studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and would later perform in New York City. Even when they moved back to Houston when Webb was four years old, her mom was a member of the company at the Alley Theatre for 13 years. Inspired by her formative years backstage at the Alley, it’s no surprise Webb later attended HSPVA to study theatre.

“Theatre and Visual Arts was all I knew, really,” she said.

But around the age of 18, Webb said she felt something more might be out there. She also had colon

cancer her final year at HSPVA, which she said was a turning point in her young life.

“That’s a pivotal moment for a person – it really got me interested in food, thinking about what I put into my body and all these things related to that,” she said. “It stuck with me since that time, and was continuing to be a series of life questions.”

So, she went off on a journey. After spending a year at college in Colorado, she said she didn’t feel learning in school was for her. So after latching on with a corporate company initially, she went back to school – but with studying abroad instead of in a classroom, later traveling to Italy and Australia.

“That’s where I started cutting my teeth, just learning about how somebody else lives and works.

That was my ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ experience by going and learning about food,” she said. “That’s when I really fell in love with and repaired my relationship with food.”

And from that, she said, is where the story of Daddy’s Chicken Shack truly came from – bringing comfort and love and connection through food. It’s where she began learning

what she could do to bring such an experience home to America when she came back in 2006. Wheels turning

Webb would go to culinary school in Los Angeles, taking odd jobs here and there with a catering service that she had started. And it all started when she was catering a party – where Mandy Moore happened to be a guest – with chicken sliders that she had cooked up for the event.

“We whipped up these chicken sliders and were like ‘This is really good’,” she said. “’ I called my dad the next day and told him ‘this could be your retirement plan.’ When I told him that he had this big belly ‘daddy laugh,’ and said it had a nice ring to it. That started the wheels turning.”

It was an idea, she said, that was born from simplicity.

“My intention for cooking was always to bring people together, just like it was ingrained in me growing up. But in order to make a living, you have to cook a type of food that’s going to appeal to (everyone),” she said. “And after a while, I could just make sandwiches, and people would come up and just buy

it. It would be this very simple exchange. I did this (Daddy’s) for that kind of simplicity in the exchange.”

However, Webb was still running her catering business seven days a week. So as years went by, she kept cooking the sandwiches and perfecting the recipe. And when she met her husband in 2015, she said he told her “this is your Shake Shack.”

Georgealas, she said, would later try to find a spot where they could sell the chicken sandwiches. He eventually found a small spot on Craigslist, she said. They continued to perfect the operations out of little 700 square foot test kitchen over the years.

Cooking with love

As the years went by, she said a Houston location would just feel like home. And Webb said she wants to give her customers the same kind of hospitality that her mother would provide growing up. When her mom, Annalee Jefferies, worked at the Alley Theatre, she said there would always be parties for the cast and crew at their house.

“Whether we lived in a big or little house, my mom always decorated it amazingly and always had music playing. It just looked like a place you wanted to be, and I didn’t know there was an art to entertaining until after that,” Webb said.

And the hospitality? The lightbulb moment happened, she said, when she just went to grab a couple of new drinks for people at the party. As she handed them their drinks, she said, something sparked.

“I didn’t know at the time that that was hospitality and service,” she said. “I had this lightbulb moment where I want to be on the curating side of hospitality and parties and events.”

All these years later, she and Daddy’s Chicken Shack are thriving. And a little more than five months after opening in the Heights, the response has been more than she thought possible. And she said she is always looking for feedback on how she can make a customer’s experience better.

“Opening a restaurant is one of the hardest things you can do – the variables are infinite. We’ve had much more success than I thought getting the doors open and getting people in,” she said. “…As that perfectionist, I always want to know if we can do better. What do they like, what don’t they like? And how do we give them more of what they like? It’s about understanding your customers so you can better serve them.”

And she has no intention of stopping. She wants to bring people together, in all times possible. Because that’s what she knows best.

“I just want to love people and cook them tasty food,” she said. “I like to say my food tastes like a warm hug feels, and that goes for all the food at Daddy’s.”

This story is paid content for The Leader

By Dan Greer For The Leader

It’s not every day when the front doors of a restaurant make an impression on you. But not every restaurant has beautifully ornate doors dating from the 16th century. Would this impressive entryway foretell what culinary experience awaited us inside?

Jun opened in February with great anticipation from the Houston food scene. It’s not every day that successful alums of “Top Chef” and “Chopped”, decide to bring their exceptional talents to our little corner of the world, but that’s just what Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu did. Most notable dining establishments have a really good story. Garcia has a family background from El Salvador and Mexico, She is also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Lu is a veteran chef from the Bronx with quite the resume of his own. They stress the importance of their family’s influence in the creation of Jun.

As you enter through those doors, you are greeted with a beautifully stylish interior that is eclectic, funky, and inviting. The hostess seated us right away. Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and fun. Complimentary sparkling water was promptly delivered to us. I can only

describe the interior of the restaurant as “cool”.

The menu is designed for perfect-sized sharing options. Our group started with simplicity. Peanuts. These were not ballpark peanuts. They are seasoned with a hint of kaffir lime leaf and finished out with garlic and chili flakes. Our group loved them so much that we wanted to bring some home. Jun thoughtfully offers them in to-go packages, which we happily purchased for use during Astros viewings at home.

The house-made pickles and cauliflower made for a good palate transition to the Sweet Potatoes with labneh, walnuts, dill and chives. A member of our party aptly dubbed this dish as tasting like “Asian Thanksgiving”. The sweet potatoes were beautifully complimented by the savory additions. We also had a light and tasty coconut jasmine rice on the side.

If I see grits on a menu I will order them instinctively, as I did tonight. I do not know how successful chefs come up with these perfect ingredients in their recipes but adding carne seca (a Mexican beef), cherry tomatoes and pearl onions was inspired. Another inspired dish appeared. It was the charred carrots with a quail egg. The humble carrot has come a

long way and are threatening brussels sprouts as being the new, must-have side dish on a menu. Perfectly charred with salsa matcha, these were a carrot lovers dream. It’s a fine-line between an undercooked or a rubbery carrot. These were cooked to perfection. The fried chicken was really complimented by the accompanying citrus chili sauce. The shrimp paste, and ginger and thai chili elements worked well. The meat was moist and tender and the skin, light and crispy. Our second entrée, the salmon was beautifully presented like all the dishes here. It was prepared in a savory sauce with nice pioppini mushrooms. We ordered two desserts and both were excellent. The

first was meringue-topped chocolate with tart calamansi and luscious slices of charred grapefruit. Bits of pecan were sprinkled about. We concluded the meal with a blackberry compote on cornbread in duck fat butter with a scoop of thai basil key lime gelato. I apologize for overwhelming you with goodness in that last sentence. The manager described it as tasting like “Texas in the summer”. I couldn’t have described it better. A cappuccino went great with these two delectable desserts. On their website Jun is partially described as a “celebration of our differences and funky flavors coming together…”. That statement leads me to believe they have

landed in the perfect neighborhood. The Heights is no stranger to new and bold concepts. And based on our experience, I believe Jun will be a destination point for fine dining in Houston. Those beautiful old front doors have seen thousands of stories.

Jun is poised to make many more.

Jun

Address: 420 E. 20th St.

Dining options: Dine-in

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 5-11 p.m.

Friday-Saturday

Entrée prices: $23 - $51

Kid-Friendly:

Alcohol: Yes

Healthy Options: Yes

Star of the show: Blackberry Compote on Cornbread with Key Lime Gelato

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Contributed photos

Daddy’s Chicken Shack owner Pace Webb co-founded the restaurant with husband Chris Georgalas, and they opened up a location in the Heights a little over five months ago. Webb said coming to the Heights - which she knew well due to