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With focus on family values and a local connection, a new restaurant recently opened in Houston: The Hungry Holler.
The establishment is owned and operated by Lee and Shannon Motzkus and is located on U.S. 63 in the southern end of town in the building formerly occupied by Little House Gifts and More. It opened on Nov. 20, and its menu features a variety of choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with fresh-baked goods and Swirly’s Ice Cream and frozen treats.
Lee and Shannon also own Solo Farms, a large beef cattle operation that also has meat and laying chickens, hogs, greenhouses and even its own farm store. The couple describes what’s offered at the Hungry Holler as “home cooking made from scratch.”
“Nothing is processed or from a package,” Shannon said. “It’s all like mom or grandma’s recipes.”
A good example is the pancake and waffle syrup, which originated with Lee’s great-grandmother.
“It goes back multiple generations,” Lee said.
Customers who dine at the Hungry Holler will certainly “eat local.”
“What really sets us apart from other places is that all the meat we use is from our farm or other local farmers.”
Choices with meat include burgers, meatloaf, lasagna, brats, sausage, pizza and more.
“We grow produce, too,” Shannon said, “so in season, all the produce we use will be from our farm or other local farms.”
Breads, cookies, pies, cakes and cobbler are on display in the restaurant’s bakery case.
The Hungry Holler has about 20 employees. The Motzkus’ daughter, Nicole Patton, helps run the restaurant, and her three daughters – Adley, Addison and Adlynn – enjoy pitching in (and even creating baked goods).
“I love it, and my girls love it,” Nicole said. “They love coming in here and the love the employees.”
The rustic, farm-like décor in the building features several table-and-chair sets similar to those you would see in a family dining room (including the marks and other characteristics gained from frequent use).
“People seem to like the homey atmosphere here,” Nicole said.
“We didn’t sand the tables or anything like that,” Shannon said. “We left them the way they were, and it seems to work in here.”
Over the past year or so, local citizens became familiar with the Solo Farms food trailer and its Swirly’s counterpart, which served customers from a former car dealership lot on U.S. 63. The Motzkuses plan to continue using the trailers at various community events, and maybe even have the Swirly’s unit serving people adjacent to the restaurant during warm months.
“We’re going to see how things go here,” Lee said, “but we’re going to keep them and use them.”
The transition to a brick-and-mortar location didn’t happen overnight.
“We started farming a while back,” Lee said, “and farming led to the farm store, then the farm store led to purchasing a food truck. Then there were some signs that showed us we were supposed to go inside.
“We actually looked at this building a year ago, but decided to go with the food trailers.”
“I said, ‘absolutely not; we’re not doing a restaurant’” Shannon said.
“A year later, here we are,” Lee said.
“This was all in God’s timing,” Shannon said. “Things just fell into place very easily, and we could see God opening doors in the right spots and times.”
So far, the public’s reaction has been nothing but positive.
“We’re very busy,” Shannon said.
The Hungry Holler offers a separate room where large groups can gather. There’s no charge for using it if food is ordered, but reservations are recommended.
Lee and Shannon are both Texas County natives, and members of their families have long been involved in numerous community activities and services.
“We asked people what they were wanting, and this is what we were asked to do in our community,” Shannon said. “We were both born and raised here, and we love doing things for our community.”
The Hungry Holler can be found on Facebook and Instagram, and is currently open seven days a week (6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday). The address is 1492 S. Sam Houston Blvd. in Houston, and the phone number is 417-260-5361.
My family and I ate there just a few weeks ago and we love there food and there service is great.
The food and service were excellent