10-15-22 Edition of The Leader

Heritage Classical Academy attempts to secure charter again

By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com

As the old adage goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. At least, that seems to be the theme those behind a contro versial proposed charter school as they seek state authorization to open for the third time in four years.

“The story of Heritage Classi cal Academy is one of determina tion,” said Kathryn Van Der Pol, secretary of the board for the pro posed charter school.

Essentially, school leaders must

secure a charter from the state board of education in order to open, Van Der Pol explained. But each time the school has come before the board previously, the board has always vetoed giving it authorization to open.

Heritage Classical Academy, if approved, would be a tuition-free public charter school somewhere in the 77092 zip code area of Houston, according to the school’s website. The school would be gin with students in kindergarten and first grade classes, and would grow each year until it is a full kin dergarten through eighth grade

Still going strong

school that uses a classical model for learning, according to the web site.

The school has come under con troversy during previous attempts to secure final authorization be cause administrators planned to use a curriculum developed by Hillsdale College, a conservative college in Michigan, according to a June Texas Tribune article.

But Van Der Pol rejected those claims in a conversation this week with the Leader, arguing the is sue previously was that too many

Odd Fellows Lodge 225 coming up on century of service

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

For nearly a century, the Odd Fellows Lodge 225 has stood tall near the corner of Yale Street and East 14th Street in the Heights as a place for all comers to gather and enjoy the fellowship of each other’s company.

Such places, some mem bers say, are becoming almost a thing of the past –especially places that have continuously been active in membership and the com munity. But Lodge 225, they say, has and will continue to stand the test of time as a beacon of fellowship in the neighborhood.

“The number of places where people can gather and socialize in the real world is small, and getting smaller,” Paul Jennings said. “They can sit down and just enjoy each other’s company. We

provide that.”

The history of Odd Fel lows in the Heights is a long one. In 1905, a group of Odd Fellows residing in Houston Heights petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas to charter a lodge in their area. And by 1912, it had become of the most active lodges in the Houston area. Eventually, the group was able to build a

building of their own on April 12, 1923 at its current spot at 115 East 14th Street.

It had 43 active members during its first full year of membership in 1923, and currently has about 70 ac tive members according to Past Grand Ken Hoge. And from the heyday of the lodge in the 19th century and the falling away of other lodges

that began around the turn of the 21st century, Lodge 225 has remained. There used to be separate branch with female members called the Rebekahs, Hoge said, but the two merged in the early 2000s.

The Lodge, Hoge said, has hosted events from

Leader Readers Choice 2022 voting now open

Do you have that one spot that is a favorite or a go-to destination.

Maybe it’s the coffee shop where the barista knows your order by heart, or a restaurant where the wait staff goes the extra mile to make sure you have the best dining experience possible. Or maybe it’s even the little mom and pop auto shop you trust with your vehicle’s longevity more than anyone else.

If so, then within the pages of this week’s print edition is sure to be a treat. It’s time again for our annual Readers’ Choice Awards, in which community members vote for their favorite busi nesses and service providers in the Heights, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest areas. Find the ballot on Page 7.

Inside today, readers and community members will see a full list of nominees for this year’s Reader’s Choice Awards, chosen by you and for you. Over the course of the next month or so, readers will be able to go online and select 1st, 2nd- and 3rd-place winners in more than 100 categories that cover a wide range of industries, from restaurants, bars and grocery stores to physicians, dentists and veterinarians to real estate professionals and attorneys to bou tiques, gift shops and specialty stores. Schools, churches, fitness centers and auto shops are also among categories to be voted on.

The ballots for this year’s Reader’s Choice awards are located inside the pages of today’s paper. So take a look, gather your friends, and vote for those spots you believe to be the best in the neighborhood. After all, it’s the dedica tion of readers and community mem bers like you that help these businesses thrive year in and year out.

And for the time you take to vote ei ther in person or online, all of us here at The Leader would like to say “thank you” in advance for your time.

Wabash Feed and Garden restarting turkey visits

By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com

Tom has plans to renew an old tradition and visit el ementary classrooms across the area in coming weeks to get scores of children into the Thanksgiving spirit.

But Tom is no scientist or Thanksgiving advocate, he’s a five-month-old Royal Palm Turkey, according to Betty Heacker, the owner of Wa bash Feed and Garden, who is helping to coordinate the event.

And the hope is that Turkey Tom’s visits to local elemen tary classrooms will help children learn visually about animals and serve as a perfect visitor ahead of the holiday, she said.

“We’ve found few children growing up in the area have seen a real-life turkey,” she said.

While Heacker and others are attempting to restart the tradition this year, Wabash Feed and Garden used to host a similar event years ago, she said.

Personalized attention.

Each year, interested teach ers would sign up to borrow the turkey and would use it as an opportunity to teach chil dren about turkeys in a handson environment, Heacker said. Interest reached such a height that schools would be gin calling to book the turkey as early as September, and the feed store would send the animal to between 20 and 25 schools, she said.

Wabash stopped hosting the event when the original

Contributed photo

Pictured is Odd Fellows Lodge 225 in the Heights, which will celebrate 100 years of service and activity next year.

Contributed

Leader receives distinction for veterans book

Last weekend, the National Society of the Daughters of the Ameri can Revolution Tejas Chapter. presented The Leader with the organi zation’s Distinction in Historical Preservation Award for the paper’s “Our Veterans” book.

As part of the book, The Leader gathered sto ries and photos of vet erans from the Garden

Oaks, Oak Forest, and Heights areas along with other neighborhoods of north Houston and pieced it together in or der to tell the stories of and honor veterans who live in our local neigh borhoods.

During the award pre sentation, there was also a short panel that includ ed Leader editor Lan dan Kuhlmann as well as others who published the book and, one of the veterans featured in the

book.

“Our organization is founded on honoring veterans, and we all have soldiers in our families going back to the Revo lutionary War,” Diane Teichman, Chair of the Historical Preservation Committee for the Na tional DAR Tejas Chapter in an email. “This book is so well written, and it preserves our American history so well.”

Waltrip keeps pace at top of District 9-5A standings

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

The Waltrip Rams have not made the playoffs since the 2017 season, but look to have designs on changing that this year. And as the regular season enters its final month, the Rams are in a strong position following a big win last week.

Waltrip improved to 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in District 9-5A with a 45-0 win over Hous ton Madison last week end, staying tied atop the district standings with Galveston Ball.

Shaun Crawford Jr. had a fantastic all-around game for the Rams. Of fensively, the junior hauled in three catches for 96 yards and a touch down. On the defensive side of the ball, Craw ford also had a team-high third interception along with a fumble recovery to help Waltrip secure its second shutout of the season.

Tramayne Black led the Rams’ rushing at tack with 120 yards and a touchdown on 15 car ries, while quarterback Beto Ramirez amassed 200 total yards and three touchdowns.

Booker T. Washington continued the program’s best season in recent memory, blasting North Forest 61-0 to move to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in District 11-4A play and keeping pace with Furr and Worthing atop the district standings. With the win, the Eagles already have the most wins for the program in a single season since 2011.

Quarterback Kamryn Jackson was on point all night, tossing a seasonhigh seven touchdown passes to drive the Ea gles’ offensive attack as they eclipsed 60 points for the third time this season. Jackson threw

two scores each to Andre Walker II, Carter McCor mick, and Caleb Smith, while Brodrick Malone caught his fifth touch down of the season.

Scarborough dropped its fifth straight contest with a 60-0 loss to Kash mere on Saturday, drop ping to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in district play. Orion Harvey ran for 72 yards and threw for 83 more in the loss, while Camarrion Davis had 12 carries for 73 yards.

The Heights Bulldogs (3-3, 1-1) were off last week, and will return to action this Friday against

son he has rushed for multiple scores. Bryce McKeon threw for 206 yards and a touchdown, while Vincet Doucet (92 yards, touchdown) paced the Panthers’ receiving corps. Menton Lewis and Travis Pesek each had 15 tackles to lead SPX’s de fensive efforts.

St. Thomas continued its unbeaten streak, tak ing San Antonio Cen tral Catholic 35-18 last Friday, moving to 6-0 on the season. Running back Johann Cardenas eclipsed the 100-yard mark for a fourth con

LAST WEEK’S SCORES

Waltrip 45, Madison 0

Booker T. Washington 61, North Forest 0

St. Pius X 21, Concordia Lutheran 14

St. Thomas 35, Central Catholic 18

Kashmere 60, Scarborough 0

Brazos Christian 51, Lutheran North Acad emy 17

Westside at Delmar Sta dium.

Private school

The St. Pius X Panthers have had a bit of an un even season so far, but got district play off on the right foot last week end. SPX took down Concordia Lutheran 2114 last weekend, evening their record at 3-3 on the season.

Running back Josh Mitchell led the offensive attack for SPX (3-3, 1-0) with 137 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries. It is the third straight contest in which Mitchell has rushed for at least 100 yards, and the second time this sea

secutive game, going for a season-high 194 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Leading re ceiver Shaffer Hender son caught six passes for a season-high 147 yards and two scores, giving him a team-leading six touchdown catches.

Jackson Ward had 13 tackles and a fumble re covery to pace St. Thom as’ defense, and Caleb Davis nabbed his teamhigh fourth interception of the season.

Lutheran North Acad emy is 0-6 on the season following a 51-17 loss to Brazos Christian in their district opener last Fri day.

Man fatally shot outside Inwood apartment complex

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Police are searching for suspects in a fatal shoot ing of a man at a Greater Inwood apartment com plex last week, according to the Houston Police De partment.

The victim’s identity is still pending an autopsy from the Harris County medical examiner, accord

ing to the department.

Officers just after 7 p.m. last Thursday responded to a shooting call at an apartment complex in the 5600 block of Antoine Drive, according to po lice, to find the man un responsive outside a va cant apartment unit with multiple gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead at the scene, accord ing to HPD.

There are currently no known witnesses or suspects in the shooting, according to the depart ment.

Anyone with informa tion about the shooting is asked to call HPD’s Ho micide division at 713308-3600 or speak anony mously to Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

Contributed photo Leader editor Landan Kuhlmann, third from right, displays a plaque given to the newspaper for the “Our Veterans” book last weekend.

THE TV NEWS – “So, Mister Slackjaw, you were…” The interviewee holds up his hand. “Call me J.J. That’s what ev eryone calls me.” The TV reporter nods. “OK, Mis ter Jay Jay.” “No, it’s J.J. You were asking about my deadly, last-minute res cue from Hurricane Ian. It was a narrow thing. I hung onto my chimney – you don’t see many chimneys in Fort Myers Beach – un til the second helicopter came. The first one got caught in some palm trees and crashed. There were no survivors. Anyway, this guy comes down on a cable with a basket and took me up. I wish they’d store some beer in those planes.”

“But why were still in your house when there had been so many warn ings?” J.J. spits out some tobacco juice. “Those warnings were from the gubment. You can’t trust the gubment. Look what those FBI jackboots did to poor Trump. Charging in, firing guns, they kicked in his door and stole his private papers.” The re porter starts to leave, but has second thoughts. “You ignored the warnings and stayed in your house? Wasn’t that dangerous?” J.J. snorts. “What warn ings? Like an hour before the storm hit I got two sheriff’s deputies knock ing on my door telling me to leave. Well, actu ally three days before, the mayor ordered us to evacuate. Then the gubner issued a must-leave order. But I figured it was just another fake news. You guys are always lying. Like global swarming.”

At least 1,100 people were rescued in Florida after Hurricane Ian and that figure is just prelimi nary. We were constantly seeing TV shots of Coast Guard helicopters and Na tional Guard trucks rescu ing Floridians and hauling them to safety. Did none of them hear the warn ings? Did they not notice the animals at the zoo lining up two-by-two?

Ian is the deadliest hurri cane to hit the state since the 1935 Labor Day hurri cane. The fatality number is well over 150 as cadaver dogs still sniff around the mountains of debris look ing for more bodies.

There were different tales from those who ne glected the warnings. “I thought my boat would ride out the storm.” The fact that the boat was named Unsinkable III should be a hint. “I had to save my craft, so I just stayed there.” In a kayak? “I couldn’t leave Poochie.”

The most common expla nation was: “I didn’t think

Turkey from P. 1 turkey retired, but company administrators have been looking for a good replace ment ever since, she said. The search narrowed to Tom sev eral months ago, she said.

Unlike many turkeys that spend most of their time with only animals, Tom has been socialized alongside people and will be good around chil dren, she said.

This year, the main goal is all about reviving interest in the project, she said. And the

Lynn Ashby Columnist

more than half of Texas’s chemical plants, damaged 204,000 homes although three-fourths were out side of the 100-year flood plain, and it forced 39,000 people out of their homes and into shelters.

at least inconsiderate ness. Those brave Na tional Guard men and women were risking their lives to lift nonbelievers from rooftops and trailer camps. (Incidentally, the Cajun Navy also sped to the disaster.) When the National Hurricane Cen ter announces that Ian is a Category 4 storm packing 155 mile-an-hour winds accompanied by high tides and heavy rain, that is not crying wolf. I don’t want to be course, but all these rescuing efforts are cost ing the rest of us a fortune. What does it cost to run a helicopter with crew for a day? And I wonder if we will be paying higher in surance premiums? Presi dent Joe Biden, who never saw a program that didn’t need a few billion, toured the ravaged remains of those coastal towns and promised – one guess –money! At up to $100 bil lion, Ian could be one of the costliest storm in his tory. But only 42 percent of Floridians have flood insurance. The average flood insurance cost them $550 annually. However, if Uncle Sam is going to pay to rebuild your house, business or shanty, why pay for insurance?

Houstonians can sym pathize with those soggy Floridians. You remember Hurricane Harney. It was just five years ago. There are still lawsuits and fin ger-pointing pols around. Someday our grandchil dren will receive that FEMA check. I was lucky to be out of town – at a funeral, of all things – but my house was destroyed. Not by Harvey itself. The flood came when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the gates at the Addicks and Barker res ervoirs which were built to prevent flooding. Har vey was one of the most destructive hurricane ever to strike the U.S. It caused $190 billion in damage to infrastructure, more than Hurricane Katrina’s $160 billion price tag. That makes the $100 billion for Ian look relatively small. Harvey caused 103 di rect and indirect deaths. It closed 75 of HISD’s 275 schools and closed

hope is that Turkey Tom visits between five and six schools, she said.

Teachers might spend les sons before Tom’s visit dis cussing the science behind turkeys, or perhaps they could read stories to Turkey Tom, suggested Deborah Duty, an other employee at Wabash.

Teachers interested in hav ing Tom visit their classroom can reach out to the store di rectly, Heacker said.

There are some slight differences in Ian and Har vey. Yes, we knew Harvey was on its way, but our storm was not so much the storm itself but the record of more than 60 inches of rain that drenched us. No one predicted that. Yes, we had help from rescuers and funds are slowly com ing. But we live in a glass, but wet, house. In Harris County, where it floods some place or another about every two years, only 28 percent of us have flood insurance.

This story of the res cued Floridians leads us to Covid-19. With the latest figures available, which change by the hour, Co vid-19 has killed at least 1,062,359 people in the U.S. and infected about 96.6 million since January 2020. Of those, 90,983 were Texans and 11,316 were in Harris County. Now we come to an im portant point: 99.2 per cent of Covid-19 deaths were unvaccinated. In Texas, 99.5 percent of the dead weren’t vaccinated.

Again, not to be course, all those unnecessary Co vid-19 deaths cost the rest of us lots of tax dollars. They also filled our hos pital beds forcing those of us with terminal hang overs to wait on stretchers in the halls. They drained the health workers to ex haustion and generally messed up our lives. For what good reason? I won der if J.J. was vaccinated?

Ashby is course at ashby2@comcast.net

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members of the state’s board of education were opposed to charter schools generally.

“Their anti-charter mind set was contrary to the will of the state,” she said. “And that’s why so many of them have been replaced. The public has been made aware that the state board of education won’t aid the will of the state for charter schools.”

Texas charter schools, unlike public school dis tricts, does not raise fund ing through local taxes, but instead receives all funding from the state, according to the Texas Tribune article. That fact has raised oppo sition to the schools from some Texas residents, but on a whole, the state has grown to include more than 180 charter operators, ac cording to the article.

The decision not to give Heritage Classical Acad emy didn’t fall on strictly partisan lines, however, as the board including nine Republicans and six Demo

crats vetoed the decision on an 8-6 vote, according to the article. But several members of that board have since lost reelection bids, or declined to run again, according to Van Der Pol.

In order to register a charter school in Texas, interested parties must first apply with the Texas Education Agency and go through a review process, Van Der Pol explained.

Only with the agency’s approval does the matter come before the state board of education, she said.

Van Der Pol argued that while the Texas Educa tion Agency only reviews curriculum, the matter be comes political in front of the state board of educa tion.

Each previous time, the agency has given Heritage Classical Academy approv al to launch, it’s been the board that vetoes awarding the school a charter, she said.

Despite the setbacks,

school leaders are moving forward hoping this time might be different, she said.

School leaders are host ing a public meeting on Oct. 26 at White Oak Con ference Center to discuss the charter with interested families, Van Der Pol said.

The deadline to submit initial paperwork is Nov. 3, she said. That will begin the process anew for Heritage Classical Academy, whose leaders hope the school can open its doors the following school year, she said.

Because the state board hasn’t awarded the school a charter, school leaders haven’t settled on a final location for the school, Van Der Pol said. But it will pri marily serve the 77092 zip code, while hopefully draw ing interest from students living in surrounding zip codes, she said.

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weddings to dance classes, to renting out the building to organizations such as the De scendants of Olivewood. They even recently hosted a Nation al Night Out event at the lodge, which Hoge said was attended by dozens of community mem bers.

“It’s a place they can come together, be with other people, and feel comfortable,” Jennings said. “There’s an ongoing need for public places where people can gather – and we provide that.”

But that fellowship is not all that is unique about the lodge. In addition to its standing as a community resource, it’s part of a rare class of building. It is recognized by the Texas His torical Commission (THC) as a historical marker – which the lodge hopes will be placed by its 100th anniversary next year – and sits in the heart of what is now the Houston Heights East Historical District. The Heights East Historical District is part of the Houston Heights Multi ple Resource Area (MRA) des ignated by the National Park Service in 1983.

There are 156 sites – prop

erty and buildings – in the Houston region that are recog nized by the THC as historical markers, roughly 20 or so of which reside in the Heights, Northside, and Washington Av enue/Rice Military areas. Of those, seven are in the Heights historic districts, such as Lodge 225 as well the historic Heights Fire Station at 107 W. 12th St.

“I think it’s very unique and interesting that this building has continuously been occu pied for 100 years as an Odd Fellows Lodge,” Hoge said.

There are currently nearly 40 landmarks and 192 pro tected landmarks within the city of Houston, according to the city’s Historic Preservation website. In order to qualify, a structure must have been built at least 100 years before the ap plication is submitted, be listed individually or as a contributing structure in a historic district on the National Register of Histor ic Places, or recognized by the state of Texas as a Recorded State Historical Landmark.

To receive the designation, it must then also be approved by the city’s archaeological commission and Houston City

Council. The local landmark designation, does not neces sarily provide significant pro tection from demolition or an appropriate alteration, but the protected landmark moniker does, according to the city.

Nine of the 192 protected landmarks sit in the Heights or Washington Avenue areas, according to the city’s historic preservation registry.

And though the Odd Fellows Lodge 225 is not registered with the city and does not plan to, Hoge said it is granted the same protections by way of be ing a “contributing structure” to the historic Heights district.

“This lodge has managed to survive all this time, in this building as an active Odd Fel lows Lodge,” Hoge said. “You’d be lucky to find anything that has been employed continu ously for that sole purpose. We’re very proud of the build ing.”

That includes a time in the 1990s, Hoge said, when the lodge almost went under. There were not enough sur viving members for a business quorum, he said. That is, until a few members of the commu

nity came across the building. It piqued their interest, and they joined. So Lodge 225 lived on, despite being on the brink of extinction. Many lodges have folded since then, as Hoge said Lodge 225 is the lone remain ing active Odd Fellows lodge in the Houston-area. And its members plan to keep it going for many more years to come.

“We leave politics and re ligion, and all those other worldly things, right there at the door,” Hoge said. “…You don’t necessarily know what your members’ affiliations are, and that’s a very rare thing in this day and age… We just want to be a brotherhood, so to speak, of men and women.”

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Review: ORG Pizza Garden brings Italian countryside to diners

By Sonia Ramos For The Leader

I have always wanted to go to Rome for so many reasons, the history, the architecture and of course… the food! Way down Yale between Crosstimbers and 45 North, you can have a bite of Italy right here in Houston. ORG Pizza Garden is located on Yale and if you blink you might miss it.

Chef Andrea Dal Monte sets up his outdoor pizza oven every Sun day morning from 9 AM to 2 PM and dishes out some of the best pizza I have ever had. With a lim ited menu, he is able to provide quality food and at a reasonable price.

First of all, this place has a small dining room and picnic tables on the patio, and can get pretty busy. I’ve been here twice and have made sure to get here by 10 and have never had an is sue with parking or service. You may be thinking, do I really want to get up early and have pizza for breakfast? The answer, at least for me, is a resounding “yes.”

There are two different sized pizzas to choose from - an eightinch and regular sized with dif ferent toppings on both. I chose the regular sized one with bur rata pearls, cherry tomatoes and arugula. Straight from the oven, it was piping hot and drizzled with some fruity olive oil and just the

right amount of sea salt on top. That first bite is always my favor ite. The crunch of the crust while remaining doughy is like no other I have ever experienced, it is an enigma.

My friend opted for the eightinch mortadella, zucchini and mozzarella pizza. I must say I was quite envious when she lifted her first piece and the melty ribbons of mozzarella refused to come

unhinged from the rest of the pie. The combination of mortadella and thinly sliced zucchini is not one that I would have thought to put together but they worked to gether deliciously. I had leftovers,

which warmed up beautifully in the toaster oven. So, go ahead and over order, you will thank yourself later. There are also two flavors of frozen pizzas available to go as well, pepperoni and focaccia.

As for something sweet, if you get there early enough, you may also be lucky enough to snag a maritozzo, a dough based bun filled with cream and tasty fill ings. This trip I was able to bring one home and share with my hus band. Next time, I’ll make sure to get two. There is also ice cream available, and I went home with the peach, balsamic vinegar and honey roasted peanuts flavor, which I tried as soon as I walked in the house.

One day I hope to make it to Italy, but until then,Chef Andrea made me feel like I traveled to Rome without even leaving my hometown.

ORG Pizza Garden

Address: 5618 Yale St. Dining options: Dine-in, takeout Hours: Sunday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Entree prices: $6-12

Kid-friendly: Yes

Alcohol: No

Star of the show: All the pizza Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Nibbles and Sips: Central City Co-Op now open

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Central City Co-Op has officially opened the doors on a permanent lo cation. On Oct. 1, the coop held the grand opening for its new Heights loca tion at 2515 Harvard St., nearly five months after initially announcing its impending move.

The organic co-op has existed for nearly 25 years, serving as a place where co-op members as well as other members of the community can find farm-fresh produce and other food items.

For a time, it operated out of Ecclesia Houston just north of downtown, and then Grace Lutheran Church, which later be came Kindred church in the Hyde Park area.

It moved to the Heights in 2020 and operated out of a space at 420 E. 20th St. until its lease ended this past June.

“With the help of our community, dedicated

staff and crew - we moved our storefront to a new lo cation that will continue to serve and operate in The Heights,” the co-op said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Community members can shop in-store Wednes day through Friday from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and SaturdaySunday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Orders can also be placed online at the co-op’s web site, centralcityco-op. com.

California-Cajun fu sion restaurant to open

local location

There is a new fusion restaurant that will be making its way to the neighborhood later this year.

According to a report from Eater Houston, Los Angeles-based restaurant group Trap Kitchen will open a new concept, Cali, in December at the site of the old Brick House Tav ern + Tap at 12190 North west Freeway.

The restaurant plans to serve a combination of California and Texas Ca jun cuisine “with a show

case of Black culture,” according to the report, with options such as its loaded fries, signature pizzas, and loaded mac and cheese dishes, and more.

For more information, follow the restaurant group on Instagram @ trapkitchenofficial_.

Heights and Co. ex panding menu with brunch options

An already-popular Heights dining spot is expanding its menu. Ac cording to a news re lease from the restaurant, Heights and Co. (1343 Yale St.) is now offering a new brunch menu on Sat urdays and Sundays from noon-3 p.m.

The menu will feature French toast with rumcaramel, bruleed banan as, marcona almonds, brioche, coconut whipped cream and mint; Every thing Salmon Toast ($15) featuring salmon, apple, basil, mint, lemon olive oil, romaine, aioli, every

thing seasoning; Hash Cake ($15) with crispy hash-brown, bacon, ham, guacamole, fried egg, chipotle aioli & dill aioli, tomato and herb salad; and more according to the restaurant. It will also have drinks such as the Jala-Pina margarita with tequila, pineapple-guava, agave, lime, jalapeno tinc ture and more.

The new concept from

owner Brian Doke, who also owns Savoir across the street, opened in May.

“We have always set out for Heights & Co. to be a central gathering spot for Houstonians looking to come together over deli cious food and crafted cocktails, and we are thrilled to see the concept quickly embraced by the community,” Doke said.

Art Valet: The spirits of the season come alive at Casa Ramirez

The presence of Ma cario still lingers poignantly through a permanent ofrenda (traditional altar of remem brance) to him and through his spirit of altruism that the holidays reignite each fall at the gallery, which shares the traditions, foods and folkart items with the community.

I never considered this but Dias de los Muertos, aka Day of the Dead is over two days, November 1-2. The Days of the Dead at Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery in Houston’s Heights, encompass several weeks leading to the holidays and are full of opportunities for learning, celebrating and reflecting and we’re right in the middle of that now.

Through its founder, the late Macario Ramirez, the gallery at 241 W. 19th St. is credited with locally popular izing the traditional cultural celebration of departed an cestors. Three decades later and two years after his death, Dias de los Muertos at Casa Ramirez is going strong, un der the guidance of his wife, Chrissie Dickerson Ramirez.

All events are free and open to the public.

Already Casa Ramirez is offering Saturday classes on building ofrendas, with its wildly popular sugar skull decorating class set for Oct. 22.

A Dia de los Muertos open house will be held that same day featuring personal ofren das created by five families and individuals to honor departed loved ones. Along with a large community altar created by Judy Turner, fam ily altars honoring Macario Ramirez and the Ramirez es’ parents, and one from students at Post Oak High School, all will be displayed in the gallery from Oct. 21Nov. 11.

The signature event will

be a traditional procession held on Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. and led by Danza Aztecataxcaya lotl west along the 200 block of 19th Street to the gallery, where a brief spiritual cere mony will occur at the ofren das. Those attending will be able to honor a loved one at the community ofrenda.

Learn more about Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery workshops and events : www.casaramirez.com

SCHEDULE

All events at 241 W. 19th St. Houston TX 77008

Oct. 15, 1 p.m.

Dia de los Muertos Al tar Traditions

Taught by Chrissie Ramirez

Please reserve through the Casa Ramirez Folkart Gal lery Facebook page. Walkins will be admitted as space is available.

Oct. 22, 4 p.m.

Sugar Skull Decorating Lisa Peters and Jonathon Rodarte will help each par ticipant decorate a tradition

al sugar skull, while supplies last. No reservation required.

Oct. 22, 5-7 p.m.

Dia de los Muertos Al tar Open House

Tour the five personal ofrendas and specialty ofren das created for the commu nity and the gallery owners’ family while enjoying free traditional refreshments and live music.

Oct. 29, 5 p.m.

Procession + Altar Cer emonies

Participants will gather at the east end of 19th Street near Yale Street for a perfor mance by Danza Azteca Tax cayalotl, who will lead a pro cession to the Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery at 241 W. 19th St. The gallery will be open to see the altars, share in traditional refreshments and music.

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.

Mitch cohen Art Columnist

Photo by Charlotte Aguilar

to the memory of Macario Ramirez

Photo by Sonia Ramos

Every slice of pizza at ORG Pizza Garden lived up to expectations during a recent visit.

Staff file photo

The Central City Co-Op’s new home at 2515 Harvard St. opened to the community on Oct. 1.

Photo by CKO Digital

The Brunch Burger, pictured, is one of the new brunch items on the menu at Heights and Co.