Upon seeing an opportunity to expand business to Tomball, Alban Bulliqi and Ekrem Hyseni opened a second location of Adriatic Cafe & Italian Grill in April 2017 in the Northpointe area. The duo opened their first restaurant in Jersey Village in 2012. “We had a lot of customers and guests that had been coming [to Jersey Village]from Tomball, so we were looking in the area, and we saw the opportunity. There’s no Italian restaurant, so we decided to open [one],” Bulliqi said.

Bulliqi and Hyseni—brothers-in-law—came to the U.S. as Albanian refugees in 1999 and 2001, respectively, settling in Houston. Bulliqi said he later worked in pizza shops around Houston while Hyseni had worked in Italy, learning the art of the saute. Combining that experience, the two started Adriatic Cafe, where they work as chefs, offering a mix of pastas, pizzas and calzones as well as veal, chicken, steak and seafood entrees. Gluten-free dishes are available.