There’s one home in Houston’s First Ward that’s built like any other house … and if not for the sign out front, you might miss it entirely. But the two-story corner building is actually one of the most beloved burger joints in the city: Stanton’s City Bites.
For decades, the local restaurant has served as a staple spot in Houston’s food scene for handcrafted burgers and fresh-made sandwiches. That neighborhood nostalgia is on display throughout the dining room—from the street signs on the walls down to the original floors from when it used to be a grocery store.
The first Stanton’s opened in 1961, a corner grocery store that was run by a family who lived upstairs. Today, owner Theresa Fong counts the original family as her in-laws.
In 1980, 20-year-old Fong married her late-husband, Art, and immigrated from Hong Kong to Houston, immediately joining her in-laws at their market. Years later when the couple took over the business, their market took an unexpected shift.
At a time when their space was still shelved with groceries, Fong says a few regulars caught the aroma of her cooking spaghetti and asked if they could buy a plate. Having little culinary experience at the time, she and her husband started simple, sticking to a special home-cooked meal served once a week. But it wasn’t long before customers started calling every single day. The demand grew so fast that what began as a weekly treat changed the direction of the business, transforming the corner grocery into a full-time takeout restaurant…