There’s one home in Houston’s First Ward that’s built like any other house … and if not for the sign out front, you might miss it entirely. But the two-story corner building is actually one of the most beloved burger joints in the city: Stanton’s City Bites.
For decades, the local restaurant has served as a staple spot in Houston’s food scene for handcrafted burgers and fresh-made sandwiches. That neighborhood nostalgia is on display throughout the dining room—from the street signs on the walls down to the original floors from when it used to be a grocery store.
The first Stanton’s opened in 1961, a corner grocery store that was run by a family who lived upstairs. Today, owner Theresa Fong counts the original family as her in-laws.
In 1980, 20-year-old Fong married her late-husband, Art, and immigrated from Hong Kong to Houston, immediately joining her in-laws at their market. Years later when the couple took over the business, their market took an unexpected shift.
At a time when their space was still shelved with groceries, Fong says a few regulars caught the aroma of her cooking spaghetti and asked if they could buy a plate. Having little culinary experience at the time, she and her husband started simple, sticking to a special home-cooked meal served once a week. But it wasn’t long before customers started calling every single day. The demand grew so fast that what began as a weekly treat changed the direction of the business, transforming the corner grocery into a full-time takeout restaurant.
“They are the ones that kind of put us [in a position] to start this business. That’s why I always feel grateful,” Fong told Chron.
Once they decided to pivot to food service, there was one particular item her husband was keen on perfecting: burgers.
“He said, ‘This is America. You need to make hamburgers.’ I told him I hate them but he said, ‘No you have to because everybody likes burgers here…so me and my husband got a recipe together.”
A recipe that they spent six months working on, creating what has since become the restaurant’s most iconic and popular menu item. Their burgers even eventually caught the attention of the national spotlight, landing Stanton’s a feature in a 2014 episode of George Motz’s Burger Land.
But aside from the “half-pound beauties” stacked with savory toppings, Stanton’s’ menu is also made up of just about every other classic American diner dish, hot dogs, specialty grilled cheeses, club sandwiches and loaded fries and tator tots.