ChewTyme has launched in Houston and Atlanta to approach the fast-growing food delivery industry in a new way. Photo via Getty Images

While Ashley Loveless Cunningham has advised clients how to fix bad credit and build a healthy financial life for years, a look at her family’s own spending on food delivery came as a wake-up call.

Like a lot of busy households, they loved to order food through delivery apps, so much so that Cunningham realized it was time for a change. With the delivery charge and other fees that apps like DoorDash and GrubHub tack on, a food order can easily double in price. A $15 bowl from Chipotle that her son liked to order cost almost $40 by the time it got to the house — and that doesn’t even include a tip for the delivery driver.

“I thought, wait a minute. This is ridiculous,” she says.

She says she brainstormed, and began to look into ways to offer an alternative, not only for consumers, but for minority-owned restaurants that were struggling to keep their doors open.

So, Cunningham, whose business ventures include her financial literacy business New Credit Inc. and a perfume line, created her own app, ChewTyme.

The app launched in Houston and Atlanta last Friday, and has drawn over 3,000 consumer downloads, which Cunningham says is a “pretty good” start.

Cunningham, 40, a native of Mobile, Alabama, says she moved to Houston with her family ten months ago, drawn by the opportunity to grow their various businesses. And, the city’s vibrant food scene offered another avenue.

“Everybody moves here to open a restaurant,” she says of Houston.

Extra support on the side

Through restaurant owner clients of her credit counseling business, she learned that many were struggling to remain open. A lot of the business owners aren’t aware of the many options available to them, in business lines of credit, assuming their own personal financial credit is in good shape.

That’s where the business education side of the app comes in, where restaurateurs will gain access to “Business University,” financial guidance for their journey in the industry.

“I tell people, it’s not only about cash funding. There are other resources out there, things we need to thrive in the business space,” she says, adding that this includes mentorship and publicity services.

Many restaurant owners told her they partner with at least two or three food delivery apps already. But she thinks ChewTyme will stand out.

“A lot of people I’ve talked to, they just don’t know where to start,” she says. Her partnership with the restaurants would solve that issue, helping restaurateurs create a “full, state-of-the-art profile” that guides them every step of the way.

While she's yet to onboard her inaugural Houston restaurants, the app has begun to draw interest, Ashley says, especially from entrepreneurs who need a cheaper way to scale their business growth.

Cunningham says ChewTyme offers a competitive alternative to many third-party apps, which she says charge anywhere from a 20-22 percent commission on a restaurant’s delivery orders. The app will charge a 17 percent commission, with no monthly fee, and a flat $4.95 delivery rate to consumers, whom she plans to attract with discounts and promotions.

She hopes to initially sign up 25 restaurants in Houston and the same number in Atlanta, during the beta run of the app. As they work out the kinks, she feels confident in expansion.

Her biggest challenge moving forward is hiring quality drivers, she says.

“That really scares me. People who want to work, who have integrity. I’ve heard horror stories because people literally pick up their food and don’t deliver it,” she says.

ChewTyme is working with contracting partners who are conducting screening and background checks for potential drivers, and onboarding restaurant owners with follow-up. Interested restaurateurs or drivers can request more information on ChewTyme's website.

Tapping into a high-growth market

Third-party food delivery exploded in popularity during the pandemic, and a 2021 McKinsey report found that food delivery more than tripled since 2017. Post-pandemic, the on-demand services industry growth hasn't waned.

The Texas Restaurant Association fought for a law passed in 2021 to prevent third-party apps from adding restaurants to a delivery platform without a financial agreement or partnership, according to Christine Robbins, executive director of the association. But now that relationship seems to have settled into a profitable venture on both sides.

Taj Walker, of H-Town Restaurant Group, which owns Hugo’s, Xochi, and six other local restaurants, says the apps don’t typically charge a fee unless the restaurant takes part in an app’s ad promotion of their restaurant.

An app’s commission can range from 10 to 25 percent, he says, which their restaurants compensate for by charging 10 percent more on app orders than in-house food. The apps have become an important revenue stream for some H-Town’s more casual eateries, especially Urbe and Prego, which are popular among younger clientele, Walker says.

While Cunningham’s main goal is to uplift minority entrepreneurs and communities, the app will be available to any restaurateur who wants it.

Apps like Favor and Instacart can now apply for permits to deliver booze from stores and restaurants straight to your door. Photo courtesy of Favor

Houstonians have access to ordering liquor at their fingertips — thanks to a new Texas law

There's an app for that

It's about to be a lot easier to order your favorite handle of booze straight to your door, thanks to new legislation. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission just began accepting applications for permits enabling services like Favor and Instacart to bring alcohol to your home.

In June, Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation that widens the door for liquor delivery across the Lone Star State. Any third-party company seeking to launch the service can now obtain a so-called consumer delivery permit from TABC. Chris Porter, a TABC spokesman, tells CultureMap that the first permits should be issued during the third week of December — just in time for Christmas Day and New Year's Eve parties.

In a December 5 news release, TABC executive director Bentley Nettles says this law is "an important step forward for Texas consumers, as well as alcohol retailers. For years, Texans across the state have relied on third-party services to deliver everything from clothing to vehicles. Now, at long last, alcohol can be delivered as well."

Before enactment of the law, certain businesses like liquor stores could distribute beer, wine, and liquor in Texas to homes and businesses. But through this year's legislative update, third-party companies now will be permitted to pick up beer, wine, and liquor from a state-licensed retailer such as a bar, restaurant, or liquor store and then take it to customers — either as solo purchases or along with food orders.

"We primarily see this as appealing to third-party delivery services," Porter says. "There are laws on the books which became effective in September that allow restaurants with the proper permit to deliver alcohol along with food on their own. Of course, if these businesses opt instead to contract that delivery to a third party, then the third party would need the new consumer delivery permit."

The new law mandates that drivers and booze buyers be at least 21 years old, which is the legal age for alcohol consumption in Texas.

Among the businesses and organizations that backed the legislation are San Antonio grocery chain H-E-B, which owns the Austin-based Favor delivery app; Instacart; the Houston-based Landry's restaurant conglomerate; e-commerce giant Amazon; TechNet; the Texas Restaurant Association; Beer Alliance of Texas; Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas; and the California-based Wine Institute.

"This law will allow more businesses to take advantage of on-demand delivery apps that enable them to reach more customers, while ensuring deliveries of alcohol are carried out safely and responsibly," David Edmonson, TechNet's executive director for Texas and the Southeast, said in a June news release.

The Texas Restaurant Association applauds the law as a way for restaurants to better compete in the on-demand economy.

"With customers increasingly craving convenience, and hotels, grocery stores, and package stores already permitted to allow alcohol to be taken or delivered off the premises, this legislation [levels] the playing field for restaurants," the association says in a statement.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston medical institutions launch $6M kidney research incubator

NIH funding

Institutions within Houston’s Texas Medical Center have launched the Houston Area Incubator for Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Research Training (HAI-KUH) program. The incubator will be backed by $6.25 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health and aims to create a training pipeline for researchers.

HAI-KUH will include 58 investigators from Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Houston, Houston Methodist Research Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University and Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology. The program will fund six predoctoral students and six postdoctoral associates. Trainees will receive support in scientific research, professional development and networking.

According to the organizations, Houston has a high burden of kidney diseases, hypertension, sickle cell disease and other nonmalignant hematologic conditions. HAI-KUH will work to improve the health of patients by building a strong scientific workforce that leverages the team's biomedical research resources to develop research skills of students and trainees and prepare them for sustained and impactful careers. The funding comes through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The principal investigators of the project include Dr. Alison Bertuch, professor of pediatric oncology and molecular and human genetics at BCM; Peter Doris, professor and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine Center for Human Genetics at UT Health; and Margaret Goodell, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor.

“This new award provides unique collaborative training experiences that extend beyond the outstanding kidney, urology, and hematology research going on in the Texas Medical Center,” Doris said in a news release. “In conceiving this award, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases envisioned trainee development across the full spectrum of skills required for professional success.”

Jeffrey Rimer, a professor of Chemical Engineering, is a core investigator on the project and program director at UH. Rimer is known for his breakthroughs in using innovative methods in control crystals to help treat malaria and kidney stones. Other co-investigators include Dr. Wolfgang Winkelmeyer (Baylor), Oleh Pochynyuk (UTHealth), Dr. Rose Khavari (Houston Methodist) and Pamela Wenzel (UT Health).

“This new NIH-sponsored training program will enable us to recruit talented students and postdocs to work on these challenging areas of research,” Rimer added in a release.

6 Houston health tech startups making major advancements right now

meet the finalists

Home to leading hospitals, universities and health-focused incubators, Houston is a breeding ground for innovative medical technology and breakthroughs that can improve outcomes and lead to a better quality of life for patients.

The Health Tech Business category in our 2025 Houston Innovation Awards will honor an innovative startup within the health and medical technology sectors.

Six forward-thinking businesses have been named finalists for the 2025 award. They range from an end-of-life care company to others developing devices and systems for heart monitoring, sleep apnea, hearing loss and more.

Read more about these businesses, their innovative founders, and how they're shaping the future of health care below. Then join us at the Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled at our live awards ceremony.

Tickets are now on sale for this exclusive event celebrating all things Houston Innovation.

Bairitone Health

Bairitone Health is bringing anatomy imaging for sleep apnea to the home environment. The company's platform maps users' anatomy during natural sleep using a facial patch to determine the root cause of airway obstruction. It then offers effective therapies for each patient. The system is currently in the research and development phase and is being used in clinical trials and studies.

The company was founded in 2022 in the Texas Medical Center's Biodesign program by CEO Meagan Pitcher, CTO Onur Kilic and chief medical officer Britt Cross. It was a member of Activate Houston's inaugural cohort and has participated in numerous accelerators and incubators. It raised a pre-seed round last year of $435,000.

Corveus Medical

Corveus Medical has developed a novel catheter device that allows cardiologists to perform a splanchnic nerve ablation, restoring the pressure balance in patients with moderate heart failure. Its pre-FDA-approved, minimally invasive solution deactivates a nerve that has been demonstrated to be a root cause behind heart failure progression, which allows physicians to treat patients who have traditionally had few options.

The company, formerly known as Caridian Medical, was founded in 2021 by CEO Tyler Melton and CMO Ishan Kamat. It has participated in incubators such as TMC Biodesign, Y Combinator, MedTech Innovator and Fogarty Innovation and was named one of the 10 most promising life science companies at Texas Life Science Forum in 2022. The company says it will move toward validation and verification testing for its device in Q4 of this year.

FibroBiologics

Regenerative medicine company FibroBioligics uses fibroblasts, the body’s most common type of cell, rather than stem cells, to help grow new cells to repair tissue and modulate the immune system. The cell therapies offer treatments for chronic conditions such as degenerative disc disease, multiple sclerosis and non-healing wounds.

The publicly traded company was founded in 2021 by CEO Pete O'Heeron. It opened a new 10,000-square-foot Houston lab earlier this year to scale up research efforts and pave the way for in-house manufacturing. The company says it plans to launch its first clinical trial for diabetic foot ulcers soon, representing the transition of its fibroblast technology to the clinic setting.

Koda Health

Koda Health has developed an advance care planning platform (ACP) that allows users to document and share their care preferences, goals and advance directives for health systems. The web-based platform guides patients through values-based decisions with interactive tools and generates state-specific, legally compliant documents that integrate seamlessly with electronic health record systems. The company also added kidney action planning to its suite of services for patients with serious illnesses last year.

Koda Health was founded out of the TMC's Biodesign Fellowship in 2020 by CEO Tatiana Fofanova, chief medical officer Dr. Desh Mohan, and chief technology officer Katelin Cherry. The company raised a $7 million series A earlier this year, and also announced major partnerships and integrations with Epic, Guidehealth, Medical Home Network, Privia Health and others.

NanoEar

NanoEar has miniaturized hearing aid technology so that it can be implanted across the eardrum, allowing adults with age-related hearing loss to enjoy better sound quality than they would with behind-the-ear hearing aids.

Dr. Ron Moses, an ENT specialist and surgeon at Houston Methodist, developed the technology, and the company was founded in 2016 with CFO Willem Vermaat and COO Michael Moore. The company participated in the TMC Innovation Institute in 2016. It has issued nine U.S. patents and performed successful human cadaver and animal proof-of-concept experiments. Its next step is developing a prototype.

Wellysis USA

Wellysis USA Inc. works to detect heart rhythm disorders with its continuous ECG/EKG monitor with AI reporting. Its S-Patch cardiac monitor is designed for extended testing periods of up to 14 days on a single battery charge. The device weighs only 9 grams, is waterproof and designed to be comfortable to wear, and is considered to have a high detection rate for arrhythmias. It is ideally suited for patient-centric clinical trials to help physicians make diagnoses faster, cheaper and more conveniently.

It was established in Houston in 2023 and participated in the JLABS SFF Program the same year. It closed a $12 million series B last year. It was founded by CEO Young Juhn, CTO Rick Kim, CFO JungSoo Kim and chief strategy officer JoongWoo Kim.

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Houston university is at the top of the class in new college ranking

Top of the Class

Rice University is maintaining its reputation as one of the top colleges in the U.S., according to a new batch of rankings from WalletHub.

Rice topped WalletHub's 2026 lists comparing the best colleges and universities in Texas and the best universities in the South. The private institution also ranked as the 9th best university in the country, three spots lower than its 2024 ranking.

The personal finance website's experts analyzed nearly 800 colleges and universities in the U.S. using 30 key metrics, including factors like student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, campus safety, and many more.

Rice was ranked across seven major categories in the report and scored highly for its faculty resources (No. 10), student educational outcomes (No. 12), student selectivity (No. 16), student career outcomes (No. 26), and campus experience (No. 46).

The only two categories Rice lagged behind in were campus safety (No. 576) and cost and financing (No. 700). U.S. News & World Report says tuition and fees at Rice can add up to more than $65,000 per year for in-state students, with the total cost soaring to nearly $84,000 when factoring in the price for housing, food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses.

In addition to topping WalletHub's rankings, Rice has also claimed top spots in other prestigious lists by U.S. News, Forbes, The Princeton Review, and more. Rice's revered graduate schools – including the MBA program at the Jones Graduate School of Business and Brown School of Engineering and Computing – are also among the best in the country, according to U.S. News and The Princeton Review.

Locally, University of Houston also ranked among the statewide top 10 and ranked as the 268th best university in the U.S. for 2026. In the regional rankings of best universities in the South, UH ranked 52nd on the list

The 10 best colleges and universities in Texas for 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
  • No. 2 – The University of Texas at Austin
  • No. 3 – Trinity University, San Antonio
  • No. 4 – Texas A&M University-College Station
  • No. 5 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
  • No. 6 – Austin College, Sherman
  • No. 7 – Southwestern University, Georgetown
  • No. 8 – University of Dallas
  • No. 9 – The University of Texas at Dallas
  • No. 10 – University of Houston
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.