A sushi restaurant in Spring Branch faces a setback after an illegal dumping incident disrupts its grand opening.
HOUSTON — A Houston-area restaurant’s grand opening plans were hit with an unexpected roadblock
Handies Douzo, a sushi restaurant set to open its third location in Spring Branch on August 8, was the target of an illegal dumping incident last week.
Surveillance video shows a white pickup truck hauling a large trailer breaking through a temporary barricade at the construction site near Witte and Westview. Two people are seen getting out, opening the trailer and dumping piles of used roofing materials before driving off — all in under three minutes.
“It took all of about two and a half minutes for them to unload and dump everything out on us,” said Martin Dennis, COO of Duckstashe Hospitality, which owns Handies Douzo. “One of our heads of construction said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem.’”
The mess left behind includes nails, broken glass, a saw blade and other hazardous debris — just feet away from where staff were preparing sushi stations and finalizing equipment installations.
“There’s a lot of glass in there as well,” Dennis said. “So yeah, very, very big challenge to kind of pick that up and in the cusp of also trying to open up the restaurant.”
Despite the frustration and financial burden, Dennis is more concerned about safety and making sure it doesn’t happen to another small business.
“If anybody recognizes them… call it in or help out on social media,” he said. “I’m happy to look past this. I would hate to have this happen to someone else.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Houston police.