Stories Related to Tamale King Will Open In Lumberton Next Month

For years, Kalan Martinez' grandmother, mother and aunts sat around the kitchen table in the days leading up to Christmas making the family's traditional holiday tamales. [...] he tweaked the original recipe here and there until his father – owner of the popular Mid-County joint – took a bite, finished the tamale and grabbed another one. Seven years after the family opened shop in Nederland, they are preparing to open their second eatery in Lumberton next month. Though the younger Martinez grew up eating tamales around the holidays, he quickly learned that Southeast Texans crave the popular item even when it's 100 degrees in the shade.