Will "Hotline Burger 2" EVER Open?

Update, Jan.1, 2024: They're finally open!

Update 8/12/2023: Hotline Burger's new location at 8850 Bellaire Blvd is still not open for business. When I last wrote about this in April, they told me they'd open "in the summer." But now, in mid-August, they still haven't even removed all of the old signage from previous occupant Twistee Treat.  On August 12, Their Google Maps listing says they are "temporarily closed."  

Also see: Still Hope for Hotline Burger 2 in Sharpstown

Here is the original post from 4/11/2023:

Hotline Burger has a new location in Sharpstown on the cusp of Chinatown at 8880 Bellaire Blvd Suite P, Houston (map). That's a block west of Gessner. They're calling it "Hotline Burger 2." Their only other location is at 1585 Hwy 6, Houston.

Photo by Rebecca Wright,
My Table Magazine, 2017

Hotline Burger recently finished refurbishing the building that housed Twistee Treat ice cream palace, complete with a giant "ice cream cone" atop of it. While cute, it seemed out of place, looking  more like something you'd see on a desolate part of Route 66 than along Bellaire Boulevard. That eyesore is gone, giving the newly renovated structure a clean, aerodynamic look.

Hotline Burger's smash burger
photo from Instagram

The Hotline Burger on Highway 6 has indoor seating. It's not a certainy, but it seems very unlikely that Hotline Burger #2 will. The building is just too small. Like the Twistee Treat that was there before, the only "dining area" will probably be the outdoor picnic tables. Drive-thru service should be available, and there is ample parking in the adjacent shopping center's lot.

I'm eagerly anticipating their opening. Reviews from their first store are very good and the food photos look amazing.

There is precious little information about Hotline Burger to be found on the internet. What seems to be written by someone with the company, however, can be found at the Culinary Agents website:

Hotline Burger began in the Summer of 2019 as a nameless pop up serving SoCal style smash burgers at bars and breweries. We took the positive feedback and turned it into a food hall space in Downtown Houston in 2020. Once the pandemic broke out, we were no longer able to sustain our position through the next year and decided to not renew our stand. Fast forward to 2021, we found an opportunity to sign 2 new locations, with HWY 6 being our first brick and mortar. Hotline Burger 2 will be opening in Chinatown (Bellaire Blvd & Gessner Rd) later in 2022. [Emphasis mine]