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City Cast Houston

We ask local movers and shakers the essential questions.

Are you looking for a new place to get work done and be productive? 

, a brand new neighborhood work club, is opening soon in Montrose. Brandon Hinman, Creative Director of Switchyards, shares more details about the one-of-a-kind work club with City Cast Houston Host Raheel Ramzanali below.

“ Switchyards is the world's first neighborhood work club and we're bringing one to Houston. A work club is for us the best parts of a coffee shop. A college library and a boutique hotel lobby all put together in one space, opened up in residential neighborhoods where people actually live and wanna spend time. We keep it open 24/7, coffee's free, and folks join with a membership and they can come whenever they want.”

What can you expect to see when you walk in?

“ A very large, beautiful space. Bookable phone booths for those critical calls. Even bookable meeting rooms where you can take a board meeting or a huddle meeting. You're gonna see a cozy kitchen where you get that coffee that I was mentioning nonstop all the time. A lot of different seating, a lot of art. A lot of books, magazines, a lot of soul.”

“ The membership is $100 a month, no brainer price, and that gets access to the club and every other Switchyards club in the country 24/7. Those memberships will drop all in one morning, and that's on Sept. 25 at 10:00 a.m. Everyone who is 

 will be sent that link to buy a membership first."

Click here to find out more about Switchyards

, the world's first neighborhood work club, and how to become a member. They are hosting free sneak peak tours of the work club on Sept. 23 and 24. There is also a sneak peek party on Sept. 24.

Switchyards, a new neighborhood work club, is coming to Montrose. 

Three Questions with Brandon Hinman of Switchyards 

What Houston celebrities, public figures and key citizens have to say about living here.

3 Questions With Houston Public Figures

3 Questions With

Trevor Boyd, the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Holocaust Museum  Houston sat down with the Houston team to discuss their newest exhibition, Unveiled from the Vault.

Can you give us a sense of what this exhibit is about and how it came together?

It's personal, it's about what's been entrusted to us is the memories of survivors, of victims, and of families of the Holocaust and the Nazi era. Part of that trust is to tell these stories. And so I proposed this exhibition and started working on it, started going through the collections, and then also had the fortunate chance to meet with people from Rice University's South Texas Jewish archives. And so we will actually be incorporating some of their pieces as well.

When you started going through the collections, what was it like going through them? Did you find anything that really surprised you along the way?

There were surprises because even though I kind of knew the range of what I was looking for, this collection is more full than I thought. For example, we have some Western Union telegrams from a prisoner of war who we have the telegrams to his parents. So you get this whole kind of trajectory of a story.

How do you balance those goals of the personal stories and the historical record?

It's a balance that is essential, and especially to our mission. We are a museum that is about human history, but it's about the horrors and the beauty. It's both.

 to RSVP for tickets to the free opening of the exhibition Unveiled from the Vault on July 24th.

Three Questions With Trevor Boyd of the Holocaust Museum Houston

Nico Baizan de Aldecoa fell in love with the kitchen at his grandmother’s house, where he remembers more cooking equipment than any restaurant he’s worked in. Still, as a teen growing up in Houston, Aldecoa dreamed of playing professional soccer, so he moved to Spain. There, he began working as a dishwasher and discovered his passion for cooking. Since then, Aldecoa has worked at restaurants in New York and Chicago, but now he’s back in Houston as the chef behind 

How did you become a dishwasher in Spain?

“My goal in my life was to become a professional athlete, so I went overseas at a very young age and was overseas playing sports. I wasn’t making enough money. At the time, I was a high school dropout. The only way I could make ends meet was starting to wash dishes. That’s how I fell in love with kitchens. I always loved cooking, and being a dishwasher is the perfect way to start off.”

You describe yourself as a self-taught chef. How did that happen?

“ I don’t think culinary school makes or breaks your career. I was willing and always have been willing to work harder than the person next to me. I’ve had a lot of mentors that taught me techniques or certain ways to cook. I remember the first time I did a French omelette. It was more than just showing me how to properly hold a knife, how to do things a certain way. It was a work ethic that was instilled in me. I’ve always been someone who learned a lot by just watching. I think anyone can teach themselves. It comes with patience and it comes with time.”

What do you enjoy about working at MAVEN Coffee + Cocktails?

“I really had the opportunity to create something in a city that I turned my back towards. When I left Houston, I swore I was never coming back. But, it brought me back home. I’m eternally grateful to be in this city and to be part of a movement in the city. Houston is becoming the forefront of the country in a lot of ways. We’re all very Houston proud, and we want to see this city flourish.”

This conversation has been edited lightly for clarity.

New Houston restaurants to enjoy this month

Nico Baizan de Aldecoa's career has taken him from Spain, New York, Chicago, and now to Houston at Maven Coffee + Cocktails. 

The Houston Chef Behind MAVEN Coffee + Cocktails 

The Chef Behind MAVEN Coffee + Cocktails

Growing up in south Louisiana on a small rice and crawfish farm, Brittany Franklin explored the area’s festival pageant scene. Her mom got her started, and at a cattle festival, she won her first pageant and through that, began spending time with kids diagnosed with cancer. Inspired to help kids facing the disease, Franklin launched 

 at only 21 years old. Since 2007, the Houston non-profit has raised funds for groundbreaking cancer research and provides once-in-a-lifetime experiences to vulnerable children.

“I had never been in a pageant in my life. It was a big surprise that I won that title, and that’s what launched me into volunteering. It was such an eye-opening experience, and I fell in love with helping people. I was able to visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at 16 years old. When I visited St. Jude, we went into the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis, which only houses patients’ families from St. Jude’s Research Hospital. We cooked a gumbo, hosted a Mardi Gras parade, and I distinctly remember seeing so many kids of all ages that were fighting for their lives. I met a little boy named Dalton. He was 8 years old, very very sick from his chemotherapy treatments, and he hadn’t eaten in a while. He sat down with me and gobbled up an entire bowl of gumbo. His parents cried. The seed was planted. God said, ‘This is something you’re going to do in your life.’”

What challenges did you face starting this nonprofit at a young age?

“Although a challenge, it was kind of a blessing at the same time to be so naive and not know all of the details. I didn’t know what nonprofit meant. I didn’t know what a 501-c-3 was. I didn’t know any of this stuff. I grew up being taught to outwork our neighbor and to be very confident in whatever we set our mind to doing. I’ve always been somewhat fearless. Obviously, there were challenges from day one. As a woman, I was launched into working in a male-dominant industry. It was either sink or swim right out of the gates. The challenge was more on the side of not being taken seriously. I had to develop this persistence. I had to repeat, repeat, repeat until I was taken seriously, until the mission shined through me so passionately.”

Can you think of a specific kid who has benefitted from Sky High and stands out to you?

“Berra was diagnosed at 9 with brain cancer. I talked to Berra’s parents, and during her journey, which was chemo, radiation, they learned her brain tumor was inoperable. She loved arts and crafts. So, her dream was to have an art shed in her backyard. So, we gathered with some donors, and we were able to fund building her own art shed in her backyard. Berra wanted to 

create her own organization called ‘Let’s Beat Cancer Together.’

 She did that by making bracelets and selling the bracelets, and she wanted the money to go directly to brain cancer research. Our organization was able to give Berra something to look forward to every morning when she woke up. There were so many beautiful things that she did and said. She was determined to help other kids that were in her same situation.”

this Houstonian’s harrowing journey of surviving cancer

This conversation with Brittany Franklin was edited lightly for clarity.

Since 2007, Brittany Franklin has been in charge of Sky High for Kids, which helps kids suffering from cancer. 

Former Pageant Queen Starts Sky High to Help Kids with Cancer

Former Pageant Queen Starts Nonprofit to Help Kids with Cancer

new winter installation at Discovery Green

 on view starting today. Jen Lewin, an internationally recognized artist, found herself captivated by the mythological story of Atlas, who was condemned to hold up the heavens for all eternity. Lewin’s installation has the same name and features intricately decorated endangered moths. This fall, Lewin is also sharing her love of public art by mentoring two Houston-area artists through 

What is one of the first pieces of art that you created?

“I’ve been making art my whole life, even as a little kid. Whether it was learning how to sculpt weird forms out of paper mache, or building crazy forts. I think the first art piece that I had this a-ha moment with was in the 1990s, I made a laser harp. It was this sculpture made out of wood that had these laser beams on it, and if you passed your hands through the beams, it made music. It was the first time I had this amazing moment, I could make a piece of art that was playful and interactive, and brought people in and got them moving and making music. That planted a seed for me.”

What inspired your winter installation at Discovery Green?

“When I walked along the Brown promenade at Discovery Green and saw the beauty of those trees, I proposed a piece called “Atlas.” It’s 24 of these really large, ethereal moths that are going to hang from the promenade. Each moth is actually pulled from a North American moth species that is endangered right now. As you move underneath them, they will play sounds. They have this beautiful, ethereal quality but also remind us of the fragility of these beautiful creatures part of our environment.”

Why is public art important to have in cities like Houston?

“I’ve seen the power of public art all over the world. And how you can bring a piece in and really transform public space and engage an entire community in dialogue, in connecting with the space in different ways, and even in connecting together."

This conversation with Jen Lewin was edited lightly for clarity.

A new winter art installation "Atlas" is on view at Discovery Green until Feb. 16. 

New Winter Art Installation Opens at Discovery Green

When Jack Swanson was in high school, he was singing a line from “La Bohème,” a popular Italian opera, during a performance with the Minnesota Opera. And suddenly, even though it was only a small moment, he felt bit by the opera bug. Since then, opera has taken him from his hometown in Minnesota to Rice University, where he studied vocal performance. Now, he’s back in Houston to star as the prince in 

Houston Grand Opera’s “Cinderella,”

 opening today and running through Nov. 9.

“My parents are actually both great singers themselves, but never pursued it as a career path. Still, I was surrounded by music, enjoyed and dabbled in theater. We did family theater shows when I was growing up. The path to theater came through music. I was always involved in the choir in high school. My choir director said, “Why don’t you start studying voice with this person we’re going to hire?” I started working with this guy and he said, ‘I think you have a voice for opera.’ I started to dive into what that might actually mean. I got to sing in the chorus of ‘La Bohème’ with Minnesota Opera when I was 17 or 18 years old. I got to go out and sing a tiny little line. I totally got the bug and decided I was going to go to school to pursue vocal performance and opera.”

How did your training at Rice prepare you for your career?

“When most people think opera or classical music, they tend to think more East Coast, New York. Rice is a hidden gem of the music and performing arts, especially in the South. I went to the Shepherd Music School at Rice because there’s a voice teacher, Stephen King, that I worked with in programs before. He’s an incredible teacher and also teaches at the Houston Grand Opera’s young artists program. It’s an excellent training program. Just being in Houston and being so close to an opera house like the Houston Grand Opera was really important, because we got to not only go see those performances, but also some of the inner workings of the opera house.”

What’s different about Houston’s newest version of Cinderella?

“There’s no fairy godmother. There’s actually a man named Alidoro that somewhat serves that purpose. Some productions make him more of a fairy godmother, but he’s really more of an advisor and tutor to the prince. In this version, the prince actually dresses as his servant and wants to find the person he’s going to spend the rest of his life with. He wants his love interest to love him for who he is and not for his money. Also, there’s an angry stepfather as opposed to the stepmother. There’s a bracelet instead of a slipper. Overall, the overarching theme is still close.”

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity. 

Jack Swanson, a graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, stars as the Prince in Houston Grand Opera's "Cinderella." 

Rice Graduate Stars in Houston Grand Opera's 'Cinderella'

Christina Hartmann Jenkins saw her dreams of having her own business come true when she opened a small spa in Montrose. As the years passed, her original 

 expanded to the entire building, and she opened up another location in Tanglewood in 2018. But, everything changed when her Montrose spa caught fire last year. She spent the next 17 months picking up the pieces. In September, she opened a new location, boasting a menu of massage, wax, facial, and spray tan services in the Greenway/Upper Kirby neighborhood.

What sparked your interest in opening a spa business?

“I did go to college for a little bit, but I actually didn’t go to school. I wanted to work instead. My mom was like ‘You’re not going to waste money going to school if you’re not going to school. You need to figure out what you want to do.’ She was like, ‘Your cousin is an aesthetician. Why don’t you take a look at an esthetics program? My first day of school, I was like, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be.’ I freaking loved it. It didn’t ever feel like school. I completed school and then worked at one of Houston’s top Brazilian waxing places. From there, I decided I wanted to branch out on my own.”

Your Montrose spa caught on fire in 2023. What was that like?

“We woke up that morning to a bunch of alarms going off. The first thing that popped in my head was ‘We’re getting robbed.’ We don’t live that far from the Montrose spa. We get to the street, and I see all these fire trucks. And I’m like, ‘What’s happening?’ Then, we realize it’s our spa. At first, they thought it was a wax pot, but over months of investigating, we came to realize it was faulty wiring either from the house or a towel warmer [that caused the fire]. So, it has been a very long journey dealing with insurance and our landlord. It gave us the opportunity to take a look and see what else was out there. It made my husband and I realize, ‘You know what, why don’t we expand a little bit?’ Now we’ve added a massage, a really nice big spray tan room, and, of course, are doing waxing and facials, too. There was really no option of not rebuilding.”

What’s one of your favorite treatments that customers can get at your spa?

“My all-time favorite is the dermal infusion. It’s a diamond-tip wet dermabrasion that simultaneously infuses a serum into the skin, cleans out your pores, and then exfoliates. It leaves you with a beautiful glow. Our dermal infusion facial is to die for. You get the full facial, all the bells and whistles, massage, mask, and then, of course, that great exfoliation. It’s really good before any events, parties, holidays, or if you just want to feel better about yourself.”

Bare Necessities Spa in Houston just opened a new location after a fire at its Montrose location. 

This Houston Spa Survived a Fire 

As a teeanger, Cristina Benítez never imagined she would take over her parents’ Cuban restaurant, a haven for Houstonians since the early 1970s. Before becoming a restaurant in 1996, it served as a grocery store for Cuban families. After Benítez's stepfather passed away in 2006, she moved from California back to her hometown – eventually becoming owner of her parents’ restaurant, 

 a mainstay of Cuban food crafted from family recipes.

What’s remained the same about Café Piquet since it opened and what’s changed?

“For the most part, we’ve tried to maintain ourselves as a traditional Cuban restaurant. What has become very interesting is a lot of our recipes are from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and a lot has changed. The reality of Cuban flavor and what Cubans are accustomed to has changed a little bit. We’re needing to find some ways to have fun with the food. We’re trying to modernize it. The actual way people look at going to restaurants has changed too. Now, so much is vibrant and flashy. We aren’t one of those trendier restaurants. We’re trying to create a little bit of a flash, but not lose ourselves in the process.”

What is one of your favorite dishes you serve?

“It constantly changes. Interestingly enough, my favorite is one that we brought in just a few years ago, our sautéed coconut shrimp. We have it in a creamy sauce with red and green bell peppers. As far as a traditional item, that's our pork chops, and I like to put grilled onions on top of that.”

How would you describe the Cuban community in Houston?

“It’s evolving. Obviously, we have a lot of generations that are older. They've been bringing their families for a long time. That’s probably my favorite part about the restaurant is when people come in and say, ‘Hey, my grandmother used to bring me. My dad used to bring me. I remember growing up here.’ The newer part is just getting to know some of the newer community because they’re coming from Cuba now.”

Cristina Benítez, owner of Café Piquet, continues the legacy of her parents' restaurant. 

How Café Piquet Became a Houston Staple 

, is amazed every year at how the gift of a bicycle has transformed literacy in Houston. CYCLE, Changing Young Children’s Lives Through Education, partners with Houston-area students to award them a free bike as they improve their literacy skills throughout the year. Roberts, who started as a volunteer with the organization, hopes all children discover a love of reading through the program.

“It’s our 20th anniversary this year. Over the years, we’ve evolved from just giving bicycles away to children as a Christmas gift to using them as a tool to improve literacy. There is a huge gap in literacy in our students across Texas, and definitely in Houston. So, we partner with Title 1 schools. In a perfect world, every child would be entering each grade level at the correct [reading] level. But, we have second graders who still don’t know their alphabet. We have second graders who are reading at third grade level. It’s that big of a gap, and that is what we’re trying to close.”

Why are you passionate about literacy for children?

“For me, it’s the number one tool. If you can’t read, you can’t succeed. It’s as simple as that. It’s so sad that somebody can fall through the cracks, and not learn to read. I’m working right now with my grandson, who is in first grade. The joy on his face when he finishes a book. He is so excited to get to sit down with me and read. I see his vocabulary growing. I see his confidence growing.”

Do you have a memory that stands out with CYCLE?

“At the same school, there was one boy, he might’ve been a sophomore. A big kid. Very tall. Beautiful smile. Lovely laugh. But, he was that kid who always got caught. This [kid] comes in and walks over to this bright pink bicycle. He chose the bike and he said, ‘I did it for my sister. My dad has been deported. We don’t have anything.’ That was huge. To think that child was so motivated to help somebody else.”

A Houston charity gives free bikes to students who improve their reading skills throughout the year. 

Houston Charity Gives Free Bikes to Students 

Historian Elizabeth Pearce enjoys sharing the rich history of New Orleans through cocktails. She currently runs 

, where she takes travelers on an interactive tour of the city as they sip on famous drinks. She also shares her love of the city 

. Pearce recently made a pit stop in Houston for a special cocktail dinner at

, where she tied the history of New Orleans with the restaurant’s delicious dishes and cocktails.

What ignited your passion for cocktails and talking about New Orleans history?

“I helped create and open the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. I was the founding curator there. I learned how to make something out of nothing. The museum opened in early 2008, and that year ended in a great financial apocalypse. Funding dried up. Everybody got laid off. I needed a job. I took all the programming that I had been presenting at the museum, and I had a lot of friends who worked in the conventions and visitors meeting planner world. So, I entered this world not as a bartender, not as a chef, but as somebody who talked about food and drink for a living and told the history of New Orleans through that.”

If a Houstonian is visiting New Orleans, what’s a place that you like to go to that you never get sick of?

“That place is the Mississippi River. The thing that made New Orleans be New Orleans, be where it is and so much of its history is tied into the river. Because open container drinking is legal, what you should do is go get a drink. It can be somewhere fancy or not. The great thing about the French Quarter is whatever you want is available. So, go get a drink, look at the Mississippi River, and be awed by its magnificence, and think about what it was and what it is.”

What’s an easy cocktail someone can make at home?

“This is a drink that’s not invented in New Orleans, but it is a drink that is very popular there and it is a drink that evokes the vibe of the city and everybody likes it. You should 

. Most people make it with gin, but in New Orleans it’s very popular to serve it with cognac. If you can’t squeeze a lemon, go buy the fancy lemonade. Put on some really good music. No one can be grumpy drinking a French 75. I dare you!”

Elizabeth Pearce, a New Orleans historian, shares her passion for history and cocktails during a recent dinner at Brennan's. 