In Houston, some of the best meals have always come from pop-ups, and diners line up in droves for them. Enduring Houston's heat and hours-long lines for a taste of a limited-edition dish has become a badge of honor. Snap a photo for the Gram, and it's official: You’re a certified H-Town foodie. These temporary food events—with wraparound lines, rave reviews, and menus that vanish overnight—are pushing the city’s culinary scene beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar. From ceremonial-grade matcha lattes to chef-led dinners, the humble pop-up is everywhere. But how did it all begin?

Spend just a few minutes online, and you’ll see the allure. Fleeting menus spark excitement, while chefs gain the freedom to test skills or revive cult favorites without costs of a permanent space. Today, they appear everywhere—at farmers markets, in ghost kitchens, and permanent spaces like Third Place, the café founded by Jun chef-owners Henry Lu and Evelyn Garcia. 

The trend always existed in some form, but “pop-ups were huge during COVID times,” says chef Nick Wong, who co-owns Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in the Heights. In 2021, restaurants like the now-Michelin-starred Tatemó gained momentum during the shutdown. Concepts such as ChòpnBlọk captivated audiences across the city, while Bun B’s Trill Burgers traveled the country, dishing out smashburgers at concerts across the nation. Cheeky dessert purveyors, like Underground Creamery and Pudgy’s Cookies, saw major success selling from apartment buildings. 

Chef Joseph Boudreaux, who now owns Boo’s Burgers, left his corporate job in 2018 to pursue his dream of running a food and beverage business, but he wasn’t quite sure how to start. Then, Boudreaux’s friend David Rodriguez, owner of the Tipping Point—a collective space and multilayered shop that featured a boutique, tattoo parlor, and sneaker shop in Downtown—added a coffee shop and recruited Boudreaux, who doled out breakfast sandwiches and coffee to the masses. 

The collaborative space was dynamic, allowing the owners to reflect their varying interests and friendship in one place, but more importantly, the model was financially savvy. “We’re sharing the rent. We’re sharing the utilities, and it allows us to…really just get our dreams out there,” Boudreaux explains.

As the duo focused on expanding Tipping Point’s coffee shop, they claimed that 2020 would be a pivotal year, a time to take it “to the next level,” Boudreaux says—little did they know just how pivotal it would be. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Houston, leaving most local restaurants in limbo for months. It forced Boudreaux and Rodriguez to brainstorm ways to attract customers while remaining in compliance with public health measures. That’s when Boudreaux thought of opening a burger pop-up to support hungry diners looking to social distance. And so, Boo’s Burgers was born, doling out smashburgers from Tipping Point’s communal space.

While some pop-ups were born out of survival and strategy, for others, the temporary model made for a playground of experimentation, ingenuity, and fun. Following stints in New York at Momofuku, Nick Wong came to Houston in 2018 to lead the now-closed UB Preserv under James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd. But after the acclaimed restaurant shuttered in 2021, Wong turned to pop-ups. He considered these early collaborations with chef friends his creative outlet and also a way to support the restaurant community during the pandemic. Then, as plans for his restaurant Agnes and Sherman began to take shape, Wong ramped up his pop-up game. The model isn’t necessarily typical for opening a restaurant, he says, but “normal” is a relative term. “I just think, if you’re planning to open a restaurant, it’s a smart idea to start just small, for proof of concept,” Wong says. Pop-ups can serve as a testing ground for research and menu development: Each pop-up became a way to trial-run menu items at “lower stakes” to help determine which were flops and which would become a part of a future menu.

During the pandemic, Wong’s pop-ups across the city featured collaborations with MasterChef Christine Ha’s Stuffed Belly burger joint; chef Willet Feng’s Anti-Burger Club dinners; and Aaron Bludorn’s tavern-inspired restaurant, Bar Bludorn. He also revived UB Preserv’s beloved crispy rice salad (highly praised by former Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook as a peppery, pungent, tart, and salty “showstopper”) during a stop at Leaf and Grain. Meanwhile, he tested completely new dishes, including the General Tso-Boy, a playful twist on a po’boy sandwich made with General Tso’s chicken, and his acclaimed scallion waffle. Both are now featured on Agnes and Sherman’s daily menu.

Other chefs say pop-ups have their financial benefits. In their temporary and sporadic nature, they’re often a cheaper, lower-commitment option. “Brick-and-mortars are costly to keep running,” says Willet Feng. The chef, who operates burger joint Burger-Chan and pop-up Borrowed Goods with his wife, Diane, points to infrastructure costs such as rent, equipment maintenance, and staffing. “As someone who is popping up at someone else’s venue, I don’t have to worry about any of those things.” 

Known for their award-winning burgers, the Fengs began branching out into pop-up dinners to give Willet a place to flex his creative muscles. The pair launched Anti-Burger Club (ABC) in 2022, kicking off a series of chef collaborations and pop-up dinners from Burger-Chan. ABC, an acronym that also plays on the term “American Born Chinese,” has now evolved into Borrowed Goods, a new Singaporean-inspired pop-up series that showcases Willet’s talents beyond the burger at different spaces in Houston, including Plume, Third Place, and Narwhal Jousting Club. The menus feature innovative, one-of-a-kind creations like beef rendang lasagna and Taiwanese popcorn chicken sets and allow the Fengs both unbridled creativity and a physical separation between concepts without the pressure of opening something permanent. “Typical pop-ups have a goal of generating buzz and revenue with the goal of opening a brick-and-mortar,” Feng explains. “Borrowed Goods is different because we don’t currently have any plans to pursue a brick-and-mortar.” 

And if our social media feeds are any indication, pop-ups are here to stay, with many evolving into entire restaurants of their own. Boo’s Burgers opened its first brick-and-mortar location in July 2025, earning a devoted fan base that includes Top Chef finalist Dawn Burrell. Agnes and Sherman debuted in the Heights after years of planning and testing, earning nods from publications around the country, and new pop-ups continue to emerge daily. Their popularity in Houston shouldn’t be surprising, especially in a city that loves and embraces its diverse cultures and cuisines. “Pop-ups are popular in Houston because we love trying new things!” Feng says.