Houston’s smashburger scene is getting juicier. After five years of hosting pop-ups, native Houstonian Joseph Boudreaux is expanding his popular Boo’s Burgers concept into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, set to open this Saturday, July 26 at 2510 Navigation Boulevard in the East End.
The new Boo’s Burgers on the Esplanade comes with a hefty side of nostalgia, with its design inspiration drawn for the roadside stands and ice cream parlors of times past. Boudreaux enlisted Brittany Vaughan of Garnish Design to lead the design, which includes a walk-up window, large open-air patio with fiberglass umbrellas, and interiors wrapped in walnut wood paneling and bedecked with vintage lighting.
The opening is a long time coming for the self-taught chef, who himself was raised on Houston’s East Side. Boudreaux soaked up his knowledge of cooking from the men in his family. After earning a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Houston, he worked a corporate gig as a project manager in banking for years until he was laid off in 2018. He made the fateful decision to pivot to the food industry, with his passion for cooking fueling the journey.
Boudreaux teamed up with David Rodriguez, the founder of Tipping Point Coffee, to partner in the innovative space that is part coffee shop, and part vintage retail shop. It was here that he began hosting pop-ups during the pandemic, giving locals the first taste of his breakfast sandwiches and burgers…