Owners Matthew and Thy Mitchell of Traveler’s Cart and Traveler’s Table. (Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer)

Houston restaurateur Thy Mitchell, who co-owned the globally inspired restaurants Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart, died with her two children on Monday, Mitchell’s sister confirmed in a Tuesday Facebook post.

The night before, the Houston Police Department found two adults and two children dead in a suspected murder suicide at a River Oaks-area home owned by Mitchell and her husband and business partner, Matthew Mitchell. Authorities have not confirmed the identities of the four people who died. Thy Mitchell’s sister, Ly Mai, did not mention Matthew Mitchell or the circumstances of the deaths in her post.

“We are heartbroken to share that my sister, Thy, and her beloved children, Maya and Max, passed away last night,” Mai wrote on Facebook. “Our family is grieving deeply and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”

The Mitchells’ restaurants did not immediately return a request for comment, and the investigation is ongoing. Here’s what we know.

What happened?

According to the Houston Police Department, a babysitter alerted the police Monday, concerned that they hadn’t heard from a family in the River Oaks area. Around 5:30 p.m., officers arrived in the 2100 block of Kingston Street. They reported finding two adults and two children, ages 4 and 8, dead inside a home in the Glendower Court neighborhood.

Police said the four people are all family members, and that they believe it was a murder suicide. The homicide division is investigating, they said.

Harris Central Appraisal District records show that the Mitchells own the home. The Houston Fire Department confirmed the address.

Who was Thy Mitchell?

Thy Mitchell was born in Chicago but grew up in Houston.

A first generation Vietnamese-American, Thy helped at her family’s Vietnamese restaurant on the weekends. Later on, she worked in the restaurant industry while studying at the University of Houston, and then went on to become an HR manager in hospitality and retail.

In 2019, she made a return to restaurants when she launched Traveler’s Table with Matthew. In 2023, they started Foreign Fare, a travel-focused clothing line. And in 2024, they debuted their second restaurant, Traveler’s Cart.

Together, Thy and Matthew visited countries from Morocco to France, feeding their ideas for the restaurants.

“We didn’t always speak the language of places we traveled to,” Thy told the Houston Chronicle in 2024. “But we always had food in common.”

She and Matthew established themselves in Houston’s restaurant community, participating in annual events like Houston Restaurant Weeks. Thy served on the board of the Texas Restaurant Association’s Houston chapter. Last week, she hosted the quarterly Board of Directors meeting at Traveler’s Table.

According to posts on Thy’s Instagram page, the couple’s daughter, Maya, was born in 2018, and their son, Max, in 2021.

Who is Matthew Mitchell?

Matthew Mitchell initially focused on his career as a journalist  and then worked in the pharmaceutical industry.

He studied at Emory University and went on to live in France, Italy, England, Paris and New York. He worked as a writer as he traveled, developing some of the interest in foreign countries that would later inspire his restaurants. Upon his return to Houston, he went into pharmaceutics and became the CEO of the Texas Center for Drug Development.

More than 10 years later, he made an abrupt change in jobs. He enrolled in culinary school at the Art Institute of Houston and got a degree in culinary arts before launching Traveler’s Table, Traveler’s Cart and Foreign Fare with Thy.

What are Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart?

Located on 520 Westheimer Rd., Traveler’s Table aims to take diners on a tour around the world by way of a menu that stops in Australia, Japan, Korea, Nigeria and many more countries. Dishes include Thai duck pad see ew, Indian butter chicken, Nigerian suya skewers and mini New England lobster rolls.

Five years after Traveler’s Table debuted, the Mitchells expanded to fast-casual sister restaurant Traveler’s Cart at 1401 Montrose Blvd. This time, they focused on global street food, with signs and videos paying tribute to street markets around the world.

“This is street food made by humble, hardworking cooks from around the world, like Thy’s Vietnamese grandmother, who are keeping our food traditions alive,” declared a sign out front.

Both restaurants will be open for business Tuesday, said Brittany Meisner, a publicist who represents Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart.