One of Houston’s most popular food trucks, Eatsie Boys, has officially gone brick-and-mortar. The much-anticipated, much-hyped Eatsie Boys Cafe opened its doors to Houston diners this morning. Eater Houston first broke the story. Owners Matt Marcus, Ryan Soroka, and Alex Vassilakidis have been working on the restaurant project since March, after taking over the former Kratsman Cafe space and announcing they were working on an eatery.

According to Eater, the cafe serves “a limited menu that mixes a few familiar favorites from the truck like Frank the Pretzel with breakfast items and [a number of] new dishes.” A few local products will be featured as well, such as ”coffee from Greenway Coffee & Tea, bagels from New York Bagel Shop, and products from Marcus’s father’s business The Grateful Bread.”

Next up from the Eatsie Boys is the 8th Wonder Brewery, which is reportedly getting closer and closer to opening.

Tagged: 8th Wonder Brewery, Alex Vassilakidis, Eatsie Boys, Eatsie Boys Cafe, Matt Marcus, Ryan Soroka

Houston is no stranger to food trucks- traditional Mexican, Central, and South American trucks have been here for decades, and their influence has worked its way well into the four-star restaurant scene.

The restaurant community in Houston has fought these trucks off for some time, but the advent of “chef-driven” and “gourmet” trucks have brought new light to the subject, and the restaurant stalwarts recently have changed their tune, thanks in part to local-driven efforts by JR Cohen’s “Stay Local, Grow Together” campaign, Houston’s mayor Annise Parker, and Laura Spanjian, Houston’s Sustainability Director.

There are no less than ten new food trucks opening their stainless-steel door flaps in Houston every single week. Some have held their ground, and many have failed. Most come from Austin, and have failed due to a misunderstanding of the dynamics of the City of Houston’s antiquated regulations, without knowledge of the recent progress made by pro-food truck groups in the city.

One group of crazed hip-hop fans jumped into Houston’s food truck craze right at its climax, and they’ve taken the city by storm.

Matt Marcus (a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America), Ryan Soroka (a business/hotel and restaurant UH grad) and Alex Vassilakidis have been friends since childhood, and they started the “Eatsie Boys” truck last year.  It was a huge hit, until the summer dragged on into brutality.  They could handle cooking in the truck, but the fact remained that it was just too hot outside to bring a big crowd out to eat outdoors.

So they decided to start an ice cream truck. The idea was simple: Use great ingredients, and name your flavors after Beastie Boys songs.

Since the Eatsie Boys ice cream truck turned loose in the late summer, it’s brought wild crowds from abound. Maybe it’s just ice cream in hot weather, but it probably has a lot to do with perfect timing, and a marketing campaign that Taco Bell would kill for. Legendary Houston rapper Bun-B  (of UGK fame), with over 305,000 Twitter followers,  has been a big proponent of the Eatsie Boys truck since trying them out at local music venue.

I talked to Matt and Ryan over a cold scoop of  “Makers Mark Some Noise” with Golden Grahams. (more…)

Tagged: Alex Vassilakidis, Allison Cook, Bun-B, Guns and Tacos, Houston, ice cream, Matt Marcus, Ryan Soroka, Trailer Thursday