No one was more surprised than Sean Wen, Andrew Ho and Andrew Samia when the trio was nominated for a James Beard semifinalist award for the Best Chef: Texas category in both 2023 and 2024.
“It was not on our radar!" Ho says. "We’re all self-taught. I didn’t even know about it until my wife told me.”
Now the friends, who have made a name for themselves with their Southeast Asian-Texas barbecue combinations, have another surprise. In an exclusive interview with the Scene, they reveal they’re opening an outpost of their Curry Boys BBQ restaurant in Riverside Village in Inglewood in early 2025.
From left: Andrew Ho, Sean Wen and Andrew Samia
Wen, Ho and Samia, all of whom also own other restaurant businesses in San Antonio, started making their fusion dishes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The meals were derived by combining their favorite dishes from their Texas roots and Southeast Asian traditions.
“We were sitting on our hands the whole time and thought, ‘What if we did a really crazy pop-up?'" Wen says. "'Somewhere people can come and get something new, fresh and exciting?' So we combined our restaurants, barbecue and curry. We did not know how it would be received, and it ended up being pretty well-received.”
The three met Nashville’s Adam Lathan (one of the owners of The Gumbo Bros in the Gulch) while cooking together at an event in New York pre-pandemic. They became fast friends, and they bounced their idea off of him and kept him updated as its success grew.
By February 2023, they moved from their original 2020 shack to a more permanent location across the street. In July 2024 they opened their second Curry Boys BBQ, also in San Antonio. All the while, they had been talking to their friend Lathan about figuring out a way to work together.
They like the Nashville food scene, regularly eating at Degthai, Noko, Redheaded Stranger, SS Gai and Fat Belly when they come to town to visit Lathan. They thought Nashville diners were more adventurous than San Antonio diners, so they started exploring possible restaurant locations. The restaurant in San Antonio's St. Mary’s neighborhood is in a freestanding house, and Wen wanted the same vibe in Nashville — all while Lathan was telling him that was a needle in a haystack.
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“The guys were super adamant,” Lathan says. “They said, ‘We need 1,500 square feet in a freestanding building, and it has to be in East Nashville, because this is an East Nashville concept, and it’s weird.’ We’d hang out whenever they were in town. And I would tell them, ‘There’s no such thing.’”
But then that very thing materialized. When Lou closed earlier this year, the freestanding house in Inglewood’s Riverside Village became available. The space is exactly what the four of them wanted: freestanding, yes, and also with a porch and space for a smoker. The surrounding neighborhood reminds Wen of St. Mary’s. It’s got a local-focus vibe, and the Curry Boys BBQ menu is different from other food available at the intersection (which is also home to sushi, pizza, a coffee shop, Mediterranean food, sandwiches, breakfast tacos and more.)
Future home of Curry Boys BBQ
When Wen, Ho and Samia opened their first Curry Boys BBQ location in their self-described “shack,” they needed a way to stand out in a crowd. They painted the building pink to be noticeable and also as a nod to the brightly colored buildings in Thailand, from which they draw culinary inspiration. The color has become a signature for their brand, and so — and this has been the topic of much chatter in the neighborhood — they are painting the McGavock Pike building pink. (It was white when occupied by Lou and blue when it was Fort Louise.) The bright facade is across the street from Sabell’s vibrant orange.
But more vibrant than the paint is the menu, which includes a brisket bowl with green curry, curry queso and chips, Thai salad and more. Smoked edamame is served with a sweet Thai sauce, and creamed corn comes with curry powder on top. Pricing for Nashville hasn’t been finalized yet, but most entrees are in the $13 to $15 range.
Curry Boys BBQ will be located at 1304 McGavock Pike.
