New potato bar near Lake Conroe puts fresh spin on the spud with fun toppings, dessert

The potato is no longer “Plain Jane.”

On Black Friday, Spuds Potato Bar opened as a new restaurant concept for the Lake Conroe area in Waterpoint Center which also houses Fajita Jacks, Hunger Crush Cafe and Crust Pizza Co. 

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Patrons start with the base of a baked potato, baked sweet potato, sweet potato fries, French fries, tater tots or a spring mix. From there, Spuds Potato Bar allows for 40 different unlimited toppings where the combinations and creations are only limited by the customer’s imagination.

Spuds Potato Bar General Manager Alexia Guerra and Executive Chef Gabriella Pitts are often intrigued by the combinations customers come up with. 

“Ninety percent of the time, I’m walking potatoes out to the table thinking ‘This looks really good, I would try this,'” Pitts said. 

The idea for a potato bar was born of Guerra and Pitts’ desire to bring something different to the lake area. They also grew up around food and love sampling the local tastes in Montgomery County.

Spuds Potato Bar is in the former location of Which Wich Superior Sandwich. At first, Guerra was asked about opening a new sandwich shop there, but she wanted to try something new that fit the demographics of the area. 

Pitts grew up in Bandera in a large family where she began cooking with her family at a young age. This is her sixth restaurant to start up and previously she was the chef for Darrel’s Catering in Conroe. 

Guerra was born in Conroe but grew up in Mexico and has culinary experience there. 

Churros was one of her favorite foods from growing up in Mexico.

“Churros were very popular, especially during December. You order hot chocolate with them and they are a big staple in Mexico,” she said. Thus, one of the dessert items is a potato churro, a fluffy and crunchy fried delicacy rolled in cinnamon and sugar. 

They wanted to bring a lot of fusion from their heritage as well as authentic Texas flavors to the potato toppings. 

After selecting a base, there are five different types of butter to choose from. Boneless wings, pot roast, corned beef, chorizo a highly seasoned pork sausage used in Mexican dishes, birria — a flavorful Mexican-style pot roast, barbacoa — a shredded meat popular in Hispanic cultures and gyro meat from Greek culture are some of the more unique proteins. There’s also standards like chopped brisket, fajita, sausage and pepperoni.

In case there are too many options, they also have a series of signature spuds.

“When I go to a place that has too many options, I get overwhelmed,” Guerra said. “We added these signature spuds and we hope they’ll catch on.” 

Signature spuds include The Grand Prix with butter, cheddar cheese, beef fajita, corn, black beans, pico de gallo, sour cream and Frito corn chips. The G-Force features mac and cheese, buffalo boneless chicken, bread crumbs, chives and Ranch dressing. 

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The Circuit has Italian butter, mozzarella, Alfredo sauce, ham, grilled onions and chives. The Podium is Greek themed with gyro meat and black olives. 

The Paddock has garlic butter, Swiss cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. Pitts said they go through anywhere from 600 to 800 potatoes a week. 

Each name reflects a racing theme. The decor of the restaurant is in red, white and gray not unlike a racetrack. 

“If you’re making a baked potato at home, it’s going to be in the oven at least an hour or hour and a half,” Guerra said. “With our casual fast food restaurant, you get the experience of sitting down and eating something fresh, but it won’t take longer than 5 to 10 minutes at the most to get a fully cooked baked potato with all the unlimited toppings.”

Another of their signature items is the dessert Sweet Potato Blondie with melted marshmallows and a caramel drizzle. 

Guerra said most people associate sweet potatoes with the holidays. It’s their hope with this sweet creation, they can make sweet potatoes a craving all year long. 

Spuds Potato Bar is at 15260 Texas 105, Suite 136. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 

See Spuds Potato Bar website for more.