Image: Julie Rhyne and Jeannine Holland; Credit: Jenny Antill
Tres Market
Owners: Julie Rhyne and Jeannine Holland.
What do you get when two bubbly blondes — one who dabbled in catering in Dallas (Julie Rhyne) and the other (Jeannine Holland) who once owned retail shops in Houston — join forces? A completely unique, grab-a-meal-and-go scenario called Tres Market. Rhyne met fellow-mom Holland at soccer practice and struck up a conversation. Soon the two were chattering nonstop about food. Meticulous plotting and planning didn’t prepare them, though, for the concept they’d eventually launch, or envision the clever hybrid it’s morphed into. “We thought the catering aspect would be the big draw,” Rhyne says. “We put out some prepackaged items in our merchandise displays, and immediately the concept changed directions.”
Launched as a casual catering company with an arm dedicated to prepackaged, prepared meals (for two and a half, five or ten), the pair soon realized the market demand in their suburban Memorial area dictated just the opposite. Their emphasis shifted, and now 85 percent of their sales consist of prepared meals to go, wonderful home-cooked creations from mac and cheese to chicken divan. At either location, you’ll find busy cooks readying meals in open kitchens bordered by rows of refrigeration packed with dozens of delicious meal options.
Rhyne explains that their aim was never to compete with restaurants (nor with the two behemoth chain supermarkets that sandwich their newest West U locale). “Everybody should eat at restaurants occasionally, but everybody should eat good food often,” she says. “And that’s what we offer.”
What’s on the menu?: Whether you’re grabbing dinner for the family or want a moveable feast good enough to plate on your fine china, pass these off as home-cooked: cheese wafers, green chili artichoke dip, asparagus wraps, sour cream rolls, baked eggplant, grilled pork tenderloin, pepper jack chicken, pot roast, tamale pie, spinach-and-ham braid and jambalaya.
Image: Jerrell “Rusty” Powers; Credit: Jenny Antill
Byrd's Market & Cafe
(420 Main St., 713.225.0100; byrdsmarket.com)
Owner: Jerrell “Rusty” Powers.
Big-city dweller Rusty Powers is a veteran of the downtown meal scene. This long-time restaurateur and caterer now owns the only market situated in the midst of downtown Houston. Primed for success, his small market is stocked with locally grown organic fruit and vegetables, plus all the staples that nearby loft dwellers can fetch in a pinch, as well as gourmet goodies including Trentino gelato, select olive oils, organic pastas and European grocery items that mingle with plebe faves such as organic milk, Greek yogurt and house-made granola. Byrd’s Market & Cafe perches in an Art Deco building at the corner of Prairie and Main in the former space of Byrd’s Department Store — hence the name. The two-story space is also home to a cafe whose wine and beer license allows you to drink your vino with sweet potato fries and a butternut-squash roasted-pork sandwich then take the remainder home along with your armful of groceries.
Powers is doing his best to make the smallest carbon footprint possible by supporting local purveyors and artisans such as Slow Dough Baking Company and Lola Savannah Coffee. “We’re not aiming to be Dean & Deluca. Rather, we make all the prepared food we sell in-house,” Powers says. “Our selections vary daily depending on the season and what our customers request, too.”What’s on the menu: Not sure what to try? Nibble your way through half-pints, pints or gallons of prepared salads and sides, such as orzo with orange and spinach, toasted chickpea salad, artichoke dip, roast chicken, sweet-and-sour vegetables and whole-wheat pasta in a spinach and shallot sauce.
Image: Chef Edelberto Goncalves and Cary Attar
Hubbell & Hudson
(24 Waterway Ave., The Woodlands, 281.203.5600; hubbellandhudson.com)
Owner: Cary Attar.
The first time we strolled into this gleaming space smack in the center of all that’s happening in the Woodlands, we were awed by the sheer variety of gourmet products, fresh meats, produce and prepared fare, all flawlessly merchandised. One part Dean & Deluca and one part Central Market, Hubbell & Hudson actually feels like a concept completely unto itself. But the inspiration did indeed come from those two prime examples of “How To Do a Gourmet Market Right”: Owner Cary Attar was once an employee of both. His spot-on branding (which includes more than 400 exceptional private-label products) allows the 1.5-year-old Hubbell & Hudson to hold its own in the competitive world of food procurement, where a culinary escape includes a market, bistro (more on that later), catering and cooking school encapsulated under one roof.
The 26,000-square-foot food market mecca has 15 departments ranging from seasonal produce of every variety imaginable to seafood flown in daily from points around the globe, a butcher shop with locally raised poultry, house dry-aged Angus beef, coffee beans roasted daily, aisles of candy (including the retro sort), bakery, organic spices, and sea salts and black peppers in bulk that you never dreamed you’d find. Did I mention the beer alley with 400 small-batch and craft brews chilled at a constant temp of 42 degrees? How about the 600 boutique-wine selection that would pair beautifully with the artisan cheeses and charcuterie H&H stocks at the ready? “For us to carry a product, our guests have to want it,” Attar says. “We prefer all natural and organic whenever possible. And there has to be a value to the product.”
Next door, chef Edelberto Goncalves mans the range at the Bistro at Hubbell & Hudson, a chic contemporary restaurant with American fare such as seven-spiced braised pork osso bucco, ginger-glazed sea bass and wood-grilled free-range chicken made with local, all-natural and organic foodstuffs procured at the market next door.
What’s on the menu: Whether you’re grabbing dinner for the brood at home or planning ahead for a dinner party, you’ll find offerings such as Maryland crab cakes, turkey meatloaf with apricot-ginger glaze, truffled polenta cakes, Israeli couscous salad, house-smoked salmon with all the fixings, sushi and vegetable antipasto.
Image: Jim Reid; Credit: Jenny Antill
Matthew's Market
(6303 Edloe, 713.592.6200)
Owner: Jim Reid.
Commercial real estate developer and West University resident Jim Reid, a former investor in the now-shuttered and much-beloved JMH Grocery, opened the new neighborhood haunt Little Matt’s restaurant and this next-door boutique market after neighbors pleaded with him to replicate a small grocery like JMH. Matthew’s Market is named for the former tenant, Matthew’s Motor Company, which relocated when Reid bought the building. The enterprising developer (who prefers to retool an existing space rather than start from the ground up) created the concept with partner Greg Jones “without spreadsheets. Instead it was built on faith and hope.”
Little Matt’s restaurant is clearly geared to children with its lavish candy counter, Icee drinks and game room chockablock with 15 Xboxes and video games designed to distract the kiddos for hours while mommy has a glass of Pinot and plays a few rounds of bunco. Outfitted with dark wood tables, cozy sofa and chairs, as well as picnic tables, and a dog water-and-treat bar outside, Little Matt’s feels the rush when the three o’clock school bell rings and children from West U Elementary pour in for comfort food and sweets charged on mummy’s and daddy’s house account.
Next door, Matthew’s Market is inspired by such produce prodigies as Oakville Grocery in Yountville, California; Monica’s Market in Seaside, Florida; and Austin’s Fresh Plus. At Matthew’s, you can find prepared meals to go and pantry fill-ins that run the gamut from Emeril’s Dijon mustard to Colman’s Mustard, Stubb’s barbecue sauces, Newman’s Own chunky salsa, tahini and ground coffee such as Café du Monde’s chicory-blended variety.
What’s on the menu: Besides stopping in for a gallon of milk, lettuce and bottled water, you can drop your children off in the next-door game room as you peruse the aisles for dinner. Prepared-fare options include pimiento cheese, King Ranch casserole, chicken soup, burritos, ham or spinach quiche and spaghetti with meat sauce.
For more pictures, click on 'launch slideshow' above.