Houston-based Whales Fish & Chicken is now open in Pearland, an employee with the business said.
The restaurant is currently in its soft opening phase, and will celebrate a grand opening event on Aug. 30, the employee said.
On the menu: The restaurant serves seafood, including catfish, tilapia, snapper and shrimp. Chicken products include wings, chicken tenders and chicken nuggets, according to the restaurant’s menu. Side dishes include cole slaw, hush puppies, okra, onion rings and corn nuggets, among other items.
Also of note: This is the restaurant’s fifth location to open in the Greater Houston area. Other locations include Fort Bend and Houston locations on Westheimer Road, Cullen Boulevard and Main Street, according to the restaurant’s website.
Alvin Community College is upgrading its two-mile jogging trail, according to a Aug. 21 news release from the college.
The overview: While construction is currently underway, portions of the trail will remain open with signage marking areas safe for use for students, staff and community members, the news release notes.
The details: Improvements include new covered resting areas and planters with instructions for various exercises, the news release notes.
Stay tuned: The newly renovated trail will be unveiled on Sept. 27, according to the news release.
'Where would the money come from?': Harris County commissioners weigh year-long hiring freeze across county departments
Harris County commissioners and department leaders are considering implementing a yearlong hiring freeze to save at least $25 million in costs to address a projected $200 million-plus shortfall in fiscal year 2025-26. Budget Director Daniel Ramos presented the personnel freeze proposal during the Aug. 26 commissioners court meeting, which stretched until 10 p.m. as nearly 200 residents signed up to address agenda items.
Explained: Ramos said three of the county’s bigger departments—the engineering office, information technology services and public health—would be the most affected. The freeze would exclude positions in several departments identified as critical by county officials, including law enforcement, elections, the county clerk and park maintenance offices.
Quote of note: “It's definitely inconvenient for the departments,” Ramos said, "but the crossroads that we're at ... is, do we want to go back and identify $25 million worth of departmental cuts at this point or do we want to do something more blanket, like a hiring freeze?"
FOODIE FRIDAY Check out these new restaurants and bars opening across the Houston area.
According to an Aug. 21 release, Local Public Eatery opened a new location at Market Street in The Woodlands, marking the concept’s first Houston location and second Texas location. The 5,140-square-foot space features curated artwork, vintage lighting and cozy area rugs, according to the release. The space also offers a screen at the bar for sports and a wrap-around patio with a retractable roof, intimate dining spaces and a central deck bar.
At the bar, customers can find a large selection of beer, wine and hand-crafted cocktails like the Spicy Guava Margarita. Local Public Eatery offers comfort food classics including fried chicken ramen, loaded potatoes and barbecue rice bowls.
🧇 The Waffle Bus now serving waffle sandwiches in Bridgeland (Read more)
😋 2 new restaurants coming to The Woodlands from chefs Austin Simmons and Aaron Bludorn (Read more)
🍖 Fire Craft BBQ brings Texas-style eats to Kingwood (Read more)
🆕 Amanecer Mexican Cafe to add authentic comfort meals to Heights palate (Read more)
The coastal eatery has two locations in Memorial City and River Oaks, with plans for a third restaurant to open in Rice Village this fall. Known for its raw bar selection and seafood, Liberty Kitchen recently announced the opening of its third location off Morningside Drive in an Aug. 6 social media post. A few customer favorites on the menu include the Chesapeake crab balls, buttermilk lobster bites and char-grilled Gulf oysters. The restaurant also offers sushi and sashimi cuts such as tuna poke, citrus chili salmon Scottish sashimi and black truffle hamachi.
