Houston creative hangout Honey Art Cafe has gone through some big changes in the past two years, and I’d like to think (and pray) that the unique business has earned some kind of respite amidst all that upheaval. But alas, this city is one of flux and weird people on rooftops in the dead heat of summer.
Honey Art owner Huimiao “Amy” Lin told Chron she and her fellow business owners at 1306 North Loop have been knocked for a loop after some guy allegedly tore into an air-conditioning unit on Aug. 31. The shop has been temporarily closed through Sept. 10, which is when the landlord can apparently install a new unit.
In many random vandalism cases, nobody can ID the suspect, or they get away scot free. But this time, Lin said the police actually caught the suspect.
“I was out of town but one of the other neighbors called their repair guy to check it out. When the repair guy arrived, they saw a guy on the roof tearing wires out of an AC unit,” Lin said. “The repair man took a video, climbed back down, knocked over the ladder that the [suspect] was using and called the police.”
Lin said the same person may have also hit Pump & Crunch, a healthy food restaurant around the corner. Around the time Lin closed Honey Art Cafe, she said it was about 95 degrees inside.
A photograph of a kids’ art party at Honey Art Cafe’s old location. The coffee shop and arts studio has since moved to 1306 North Loop. (Honey Art Cafe)
Honey Art Cafe has been around since 2017. Lin and co-owner Xinlu “Lulu” Fang opened the first cafe at 3516 S. Shepherd Drive and have had success with their coffeeshop-meets-art studio concept. But it’s not been without difficulty. The Rice University grads have had to deal with COVID impacts, and in 2024, a competing coffee business in the same strip they were inhabiting.
In 2025, Lin announced some big changes on Instagram: Fang was “retiring” from the business, and Honey Art was moving to its new address along with a change in concept. The original cafe was largely a walk-in experience. The newer Honey Art has switched to a reservation model. Customers can book a two-hour “studio session” with their choice of art project, help from staff and unlimited coffee.
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This article originally published at Repairman snares alleged air-conditioner vandal above Houston business.