On Thursday, June 1, friends and family of Bun B and Trill Burgers flocked to the corner of Shepherd Drive and Richmond Avenue to get an exclusive first look inside Trill Burgers’ debut brick-and-mortar location at 3607 S Shepherd Dr.

Guests included Houston rap royalty Slim Thug, Lil’ Keke, Willie D of the Geto Boys, and Le$. Luminaries from the sports world included Houston Texans legend Andre Johnson, Texans quarterbacks coach and former NFL signal-caller Jerrod Johnson, ex-Texans linebacker Daryl Sharpton, Houston Rockets legend Mario Elie, former Texans general manager Rick Smith and NFL agent Kennard McGuire.

Influential Houston restaurateur Johnny Carrabba was in attendance, along with chef Ryan Lachaine of Riel, who brought Bun B a bottle of champagne to welcome him to the Montrose neighborhood. Other notables included vocalist and activist Kam Franklin of The Suffers, country singer Rich O’Toole, media personality Courtney Zavala, street artist Donkeeboy, sports radio pundit Lance Zierlein and attorney and radio host Charles “Big Angry” Adams.

“It was nice to invite some friends over to the new space and cut on the equipment for the first time,” Bun B said. “We learned a lot last night and realized we are a lot closer than we thought. Stay tuned, Houston, we might be open soon.”

Bun B’s wife Queenie Freeman, her mother and sisters, and the rap legend’s nieces, nephew and cousins also were among the special guests, along with Trill Burgers partners Nick Scurfield, Mike Pham and Fernando Valladares.