Bun B Expands Restaurant Empire With Rice University Opening

Bun B’s Trill Burgers opens at Rice University on August 17, bringing his award-winning smash burgers to campus where he teaches.

Bun B is bringing his award-winning smash burger empire straight back to where he’s been teaching for nearly two decades, and Rice University students are about to eat better than they ever have on campus.

Trill Burgers opens on August 17 at Rice Memorial Center, marking the fourth location for the Houston legend’s rapidly expanding restaurant concept, which began as pandemic pop-ups in 2021.

This isn’t just another franchise move for the UGK legend.

Bun B has been a distinguished lecturer at Rice since 2006, co-teaching Religion and Hip-Hop Culture with Professor Anthony Pinn, so bringing Trill Burgers to campus feels like a full-circle moment for the entrepreneur who’s built something real in Houston’s food scene.

The restaurant will operate Monday through Friday from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. throughout the fall and spring semesters, serving students, faculty, and the general public with the same smashed beef patties and vegan options that earned the OG Trill Burger the title of Best Burger in America from Good Morning America back in 2022.

The expansion shows how serious Bun B and co-founders Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield are about scaling the brand without losing what made it special.

Starting from nothing during COVID lockdowns, Trill Burgers went from pop-up events to their first brick-and-mortar location in Montrose in June 2023, then added spots in Spring and Missouri City.

According to the Houston Business Journal, the Rice location represents the brand’s continued momentum in the Houston market, with the restaurant already becoming a fixture at major music festivals including Coachella, Rolling Loud, and Rock the Bells.

What makes this Rice opening different is the context.

Trill Burgers has already proven it can compete at the highest level of the food game, and now it’s bringing that same energy to one of Houston’s most prestigious institutions.

The Rice University location opens during new student orientation week, giving incoming freshmen their first taste of what Bun B’s built, and that’s the real move here.

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