Press

General stores may seem like a small-town, anachronistic artifact, long since wiped out by big-box competitors. But the centuries-old business model lives on in Houston’s Henderson & Kane General Store.

Maybe this piece should be called Burger Thursday, because that is the one day of the week on which Henderson & Kane grills up its Grindhouse Burgers. They use locally raised 44 Farms beef for the patties, a feature of the corner general store’s focused regional inventory.

Houston⁠—In the historic 6th ward of Houston, you’ll find this neighborhood store attracting all sorts of customers. That includes furry friends just looking for someone to throw them a bone.

The Old Sixth Ward just west of downtown may be Houston’s best-kept secret. This tiny pocket of mostly late-19th-century Victorian homes is easily missed by those of us zooming past on Memorial to the south and a raucous stretch of Washington to the north.

Henderson & Kane General Store is a hand-in-glove fit in Houston's Old Sixth Ward. A project from El Burro & the Bull barbecue owners John and Veronica Avila, it looks and behaves like an old neighborhood mercantile with nostalgic charms that echo the ward's Victorian homes.

For years John and Veronica Avila have shared a soft spot for Houston's old Sixth Ward. They admired the feel of the neighborhood with its Victorian homes, brick streets, and charming character tucked just off the Washington Corridor.

We took our time machine and landed at Henderson and Kane General Store. Look at this restaurant in Old Sixth Ward.

Four years ago, El Burro & the Bull slid into Houston’s Conservatory food hall and quickly became the downtown destination for barbecue. Headed by restauranteurs John and Veronica Avila, the small but mighty food stand was just what hungry downtown diners were looking for – a classic barbecue joint that tipped its (cowboy) hat to the flavors that make Texas. . . well. . . Texas.

At Henderson and Kane streets in Sixth Ward, just a few blocks off Washington Avenue, something old has become new again.

John and Veronica Avila, owners of El Burro & the Bull and the Henderson & Kane General Store, talk to us this week about opening their new stand alone brick and mortar restaurant.