By Betsy Denson [email protected]When Jacqueline Hicks and husband Jabarri were newly married they liked to go out to eat just like most young couples. Unlike most din- ers though, Jacqueline often found herself thinking about how she could duplicate the meal. “I found myself saying, ‘I can do that,” she said. Jacqueline cooked most days for husband Jabarri, who agreed her dishes matched up with any restaurant. “He’s in sales,” said Hicks. “He wanted to sell it.” Flash forward to the Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Cater- ing, 5400 Pinemont, Ste. 102, which is six months old. Jac- queline had previously been doing catering out of her home for more than a year before that. “We got on the vendor list for HISD,” said Hicks. “We did three lunches for about 300 people and everybody loved it.” “I love to cook and I love to share,” said Hicks, who grew up in a town of 300 in Liberty County. “I grew up learning to cook. It took 45 minutes to get anywhere.” The Cajun influence comes from her grandparents and great grandparents who had roots in Louisiana. The gum- bo, shrimp creole and bread pudding the cafe offers are all specialties. Cousin Josh Mosely is the specialty baker responsible for the cafe’s fresh bread and beignets. They make their own spices and seasonings and have gotten interest in packaging and sell- ing it. “We take a lot of pride in our food,” she said. 7-year-old daughter Madi- son is all about the hospital- ity. “People ask for her,” said Hicks. No one is a better marketer for the business than Jabarri, who grew up in Shepherd Park Terrace and attended Oak Forest Elementary, Black Middle School and Waltrip High School. “We don’t advertise be- cause he literally knows ev- eryone,” said Hicks. When Jabarri visited his sales customers, he’d often drop off some pralines, pies and bread pudding too, along with some menus. “I started getting a lot of orders for lunch that way,” said Hicks. Hicks said that they were also invited to join the Oak Forest Homeowners Associa- tion Facebook page and the support they’ve gotten from posters has been much ap- preciated. “It’s the best thing we’ve done,” said Hicks. “They re- ally show up.” Although the couple cur- rently lives in Jersey Village, the decision to locate the cafe on Pinemont came from a visit to relatives in the neigh- borhood. As the cafe and ca- tering business grows, Hicks said that they’ve been talk- ing about moving back to the area. The cafe can fit about 75 people, and is normally open six days a week and closed on Mondays. They’ve been closed on Sundays, too, re- cently as Hicks is two weeks away from the birth of the couple’s second child, a boy. Odds are, he will be a fan of Cajun cooking. For more information and to keep up with their hours of operation, please visit them on Facebook at Hicks House Cajun Catering. ntegrity F U N E R A L C A R E Direct Cremation $ 895 LIST with a Leader Saturday, January 3, 2014 • 1B • Restaurant owners channel Louisiana roots at local eatery • Dance Fit Studio opens doors following new renovations L-R: Amy Ritter – Bank Officer/Lender, Margaret Vandever – SVP/Lender, Scott Lester – Bank Office President, Cecilia Rodriguez – AVP/Office Manager, Justin Vickrey – VP/Lender Experienced community bankers providing value to Houston business owners. Please stop by - we want to visit with you and find out how we can help your business. Your Neighborhood Bankers MAKING A DIFFERENCE , TOGETHER. 281-517-8760 www.allegiancebanktexas.com 2222 North Durham Houston, TX 77008 Contributed Photos (Left) Jacqueline Hicks, center, and husband Jabarri Hicks embarked on their own business venture about six months ago after opening Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Catering on Pinemont. Jacqueline Hicks credits the Cajun influence for their dishes to her grandparents who have roots in Lousiana. (Right) Aside from staples like gumbo and shrimp creole, Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Catering offers bakery items, including fresh bread and beignets. BUSINESS BRIEFS Spotlight Think green with your Christmas tree disposal The holidays are over and sadly, it’s time to get rid of the tree. The Solid Waste Manage- ment Department (SWMD) is hoping you’ll do it responsi- bly, saving landfill space and disposal costs. Residents can recycle their trees by drop- ping them off at one of 17 free, drop-off recycling sites located throughout Houston. The program ends on Jan. 7. All facilities are closed Jan. 1. In addition to the drop-off lo- cations, residents with City of Houston collection may place their tree curbside on their scheduled tree waste day and it will be recycled. Trees that are collected for recycling will be ground into mulch that is available in bulk directly from Living Earth or available in bags at Houston retailers. The trees must have all decora- tions, ornaments, tinsel, lights and stands removed. Flocked trees cannot be recycled. The closest drop off for Leader readers is T.C. Jester Park - 4200 T.C. Jester West, open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dance Fit Studios open their doors Just in time to honor your new year’s resolutions for health and fitness, Dance Fit Studio, a dance and fitness stu- dio, will open its doors in Jan- uary. Classes cater to all ages and fitness levels and include Zumba, Salsa and Bachata and competition dance for youth and teens. The newly renovated stu- dio is located at the corner Photos by Betsy Denson The newly renovated Dance Fit Studio, located at the corner of W. Tidwell and Yale, will open its doors this month, according to its owners. The facility offers over 4,700 square feet of space for classes, and the studio will also offer special deals for its opening. A new year is a new start for local dance studio See Briefs, P. 2B Local family embraces Cajun flair HOPE Episcopal Church
When Jacqueline Hicks and husband Jabarri were newly married they liked to go out to eat just like most young couples. Unlike most din-ers though, Jacqueline often found herself thinking about how she could duplicate the meal.
“I found myself saying, ‘I can do that,” she said.
Jacqueline cooked most days for husband Jabarri, who agreed her dishes matched up with any restaurant.
“He’s in sales,” said Hicks. “He wanted to sell it.”
Flash forward to the Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Cater-ing, 5400 Pinemont, Ste. 102, which is six months old. Jac-queline had previously been doing catering out of her home for more than a year before that.
“We got on the vendor list for HISD,” said Hicks. “We did three lunches for about 300 people and everybody loved it.”
“I love to cook and I love to share,” said Hicks, who grew up in a town of 300 in Liberty County. “I grew up learning to cook. It took 45 minutes to get anywhere.”
The Cajun influence comes from her grandparents and great grandparents who had roots in Louisiana. The gum-bo, shrimp creole and bread pudding the cafe offers are all specialties. Cousin Josh Mosely is the specialty baker responsible for the cafe’s fresh bread and beignets. They make their own spices and seasonings and have gotten interest in packaging and sell-ing it.
“We take a lot of pride in our food,” she said.
7-year-old daughter Madi-son is all about the hospital-ity.
“People ask for her,” said Hicks.
No one is a better marketer for the business than Jabarri, who grew up in Shepherd Park Terrace and attended Oak Forest Elementary, Black
Middle School and Waltrip High School.
“We don’t advertise be-cause he literally knows ev-eryone,” said Hicks.
When Jabarri visited his sales customers, he’d often drop off some pralines, pies and bread pudding too, along with some menus.
“I started getting a lot of orders for lunch that way,”
said Hicks.Hicks said that they were
also invited to join the Oak Forest Homeowners Associa-tion Facebook page and the support they’ve gotten from posters has been much ap-preciated.
“It’s the best thing we’ve done,” said Hicks. “They re-ally show up.”
Although the couple cur-
rently lives in Jersey Village, the decision to locate the cafe on Pinemont came from a visit to relatives in the neigh-borhood. As the cafe and ca-tering business grows, Hicks said that they’ve been talk-ing about moving back to the area.
The cafe can fit about 75 people, and is normally open six days a week and closed
on Mondays. They’ve been closed on Sundays, too, re-cently as Hicks is two weeks away from the birth of the couple’s second child, a boy. Odds are, he will be a fan of Cajun cooking.
For more information and to keep up with their hours of operation, please visit them on Facebook at Hicks House Cajun Catering.
ntegrityF U N E R A L C A R E
ntegrityntegrityDirect Cremation
$895
LIST with a Leader
Saturday, January 3, 2014 • 1B
• Restaurant owners channel Louisiana roots at local eatery
• Dance Fit Studio opens doors following new renovations
L-R: Amy Ritter – Bank Offi cer/Lender, Margaret Vandever – SVP/Lender, Scott Lester – Bank Offi ce President, Cecilia Rodriguez – AVP/Offi ce Manager, Justin Vickrey – VP/Lender
Experienced community bankers providing value to Houston business owners.Please stop by - we want to visit with you and fi nd out how we can help your business.
Your Neighborhood Bankers
MAKING A DIFFERENCE, TOGE THER.281-517-8760
www.allegiancebanktexas.com
2222 North DurhamHouston, TX 77008
Contributed Photos(Left) Jacqueline Hicks, center, and husband Jabarri Hicks embarked on their own business venture about six months ago after opening Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Catering on Pinemont. Jacqueline Hicks credits the Cajun influence for their dishes to her grandparents who have roots in Lousiana. (Right) Aside from staples like gumbo and shrimp creole, Hicks House Cajun Cafe and Catering offers bakery items, including fresh bread and beignets.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
SpotlightThink green with your
Christmas tree disposalThe holidays are over and
sadly, it’s time to get rid of the tree. The Solid Waste Manage-ment Department (SWMD) is hoping you’ll do it responsi-bly, saving landfill space and disposal costs. Residents can recycle their trees by drop-ping them off at one of 17 free, drop-off recycling sites
located throughout Houston. The program ends on Jan. 7. All facilities are closed Jan. 1. In addition to the drop-off lo-cations, residents with City of Houston collection may place their tree curbside on their scheduled tree waste day and it will be recycled. Trees that are collected for recycling will be ground into mulch that is available in bulk directly from Living Earth or available in
bags at Houston retailers. The trees must have all decora-tions, ornaments, tinsel, lights and stands removed. Flocked trees cannot be recycled.
The closest drop off for Leader readers is T.C. Jester Park - 4200 T.C. Jester West, open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Dance Fit Studios open their doors
Just in time to honor your
new year’s resolutions for health and fitness, Dance Fit Studio, a dance and fitness stu-dio, will open its doors in Jan-uary. Classes cater to all ages and fitness levels and include Zumba, Salsa and Bachata and competition dance for youth and teens.
The newly renovated stu-dio is located at the corner
Photos by Betsy DensonThe newly renovated Dance Fit Studio, located at the corner of W. Tidwell and Yale, will open its doors this month, according to its owners. The facility offers over 4,700 square feet of space for classes, and the studio will also offer special deals for its opening.
A new year is a new start for local dance studio
See Briefs, P. 2B
Local family embraces Cajun flair
HOPEEpiscopal Church
Page 2B • Saturday, January 3, 2015
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of W. Tidwell and Yale, just one block off of I-45, and has 4,700 square feet of class space, “floating floors” that minimize the impact on body and joints, dressing rooms and ample parking.
“Dance and fitness have al-ways been my passion and we are excited to open this one of a kind venue in the Houston area, said owner Abner Pa-dora. “We pride ourselves in providing the best experience to our customers. At Dance Fit Studio we want you to have fun, learn, feel challenged, be inspired, feel important, be successful, unleash your pas-sions and simply be happy.”
Grand opening specials include $8 drop in Zumba classes. For more information and class schedules visit danc-
Auditions for the Dance Fit Houston Award Winning Com-petition Team will take place 9 a.m. on Jan. 10 at the studio for dancers ages 8-17. A free pre-audition workshop will be held Jan. 3 at noon. For more details on competition dance and the auditions please con-tact Lanessa, the Program Di-rector at 832-226-7391.
EventsThe Greater Heights Cham-
ber of Commerce will be hav-ing their January Breakfast Connection at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel, 3000 North Loop West, 6:45-8:30 a.m. on January 8. The speaker is TBA. Members are
$20 and non-members $25. Register online at heights-chamber.com.
Want to know how the Houston economy will fare in 2015 and beyond? Join the Heights Chamber of Com-merce at their annual Eco-nomic Forecast Luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on January 22 at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel, 3000 North Loop West. Dr. Bill Gilmer, Director at the Insti-tute for Regional Forecasting, C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, will be the featured speaker. Register online at heights-chamber.com.
Houston Heights Women’s Club celebrates wih Victorian Tea Party
For The Leader
When Mrs. Helen Cooley donated the lot at 1846 Har-vard St. to the Woman’s Club in 1911, she could not have anticipated the elaborate La-dies Tea over a hundred years later. On a sunny but crisp Sunday afternoon, 80 smart, professional women of this decade dressed in the attire of Mrs. Cooley’s time and en-joyed the savories and sweets of years gone by.
These teas have become a signature series of events and the major fund raisers that help preserve and maintain
the original character of the Houston Heights Woman’s Club historic clubhouse.
The Club’s 60 volunteers (almost half of its member-ship) are solely responsible for the event from food prepara-tion and service, invitations, decorations, registration, hos-pitality, photography, music, and publicity.
Each original tablescape is developed by the table host-ess, a club member. All the china, crystal, linens, center-pieces, serving pieces comes from the members’ home.
Every year two tea mistress-es prepare the finest blend of Darjeeling tea in hand sewn,
hand stitched silk tea bags. Tea is poured and savories and sweets are passed by some young women from St. Andrews youth group.
The special guest speaker for this tea was Jackie Puhl, Chairman of the Speakers Bureau for the Bayou Bend Docent Organization. Jackie shared stories and insights about the extraordinary phi-lanthropist, community leader and legendary collector Ima Hogg.
If you would like to become a part of this group, visit us at Houston Heights Womans-CLuv.com or see us on Face-book.
Celebrating with a bit of class
Contributed Photos by Melanie BarrettMembers of the Houston Heights Women’s Club celebrated with Victorian Tea at a special event, featuring Jackie Puhl, chairman of the Speakers Bureau for the Bayou Bend Docent Organization. (Left) From left to right - Ginnie McConn, Lizz Martin and Kelly Mathena. (Right) Linda Cannon, Cindy Rogers, Barbara Potter and Rosina Chevalier.
Contributed Photo by Melanie BarrettHouston Heighst Women’s Club members Teresa Matlock, Patty Mahlstedt and Barbara Mercer.
Saturday, January 3, 2015 • Page 3B
1801 HEIGHTS BLVD. 713.864.0888 WWW.GREENWOODKING.COMGREENWOOD KING
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GREAT NEW AREA LISTINGS
Rich Anhorn Lauren Baker Alex Berry Shirley Foreman Emily Brandenberger Jennifer Gangeri Karen Keplinger Stowers
Soo Kim Chris Larson Juli Moore Sasha Van Nes Brittany Zalman Felicia Zbranek
Amanda Anhorn Caroline Schlemmer Nancy Jane McMillan Brigette Larson
Photo by Michael SudhalterFormer St. Pius X standout
quarterback Gary Kubiak, the Houston Texans’ head coach
from 2006-13, returned to NRG Stadium on Dec. 21 as the of-
fensive coordinator for the Bal-timore Ravens. The Texans won the game, 27-13, but Baltimore
qualified for the playoffs and will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers
at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.Kubiak, who won three Super
Bowls as an NFL assistant coach, may not be an assistant for much longer. The New York
Jets have reportedly requested permission to interview Kubiak
for their vacant head coach position.
Photo by Michael Sudhalter St. Rose of Lima priest Father Clint Ressler, the Houston Texan’s team pastor, shares a lighthearted moment with mas-cot Toro during the team’s Dec. 28 game against the Jackson-ville Jaguars. Ressler has been the team’s pastor since 2002, attending practices, training camp and home games interact-ing with a variety of people in-side and outside of the Texan’s organization including doctors, reporters and photographers. According to a previous story in The Leader, when he returns from NRG Stadium to conduct mass at St. Rose of Lima, his parishioners often have a com-ment, question or joke about the game earlier that day.
Football: Familiar faces make their return to the fieldsPhoto by Michael Sudhalter
University of Texas senior tight end Greg Daniels (No. 81), a
St. Pius X graduate, played his final collegiate football game in
his hometown of Houston. The Longhorns lost to Arkansas, 31-7, on Monday night in the Texas
Bowl at NRG Stadium.Daniels’ former SPX team-
mate, Clemson redshirt junior linebacker Kellen Jones (not
pictured) registered a tackle in the Tigers’ 40-6 win over Okla-
homa in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Jones
finished with 21 tackles and a forced fumble this season.
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