Thy and Matthew Mitchell’s restaurant Traveler’s Cart held a vigil for the Mitchell family Monday afternoon.

Police found the couple and their two children — Maya, 8, and Max, 4 — dead in their home the evening of May 4 in a suspected triple murder-suicide. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed their deaths. The institute said Thy, Maya and Max were shot and killed in a homicide, while Matthew died by suicide.

The couple had been well-known in Houston’s restaurant world. Together, they started two globally-inspired restaurants, Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart.

Candles are lit in memory of Thy Mitchell and her children during a memorial gathering in the parking lot of Traveler’s Cart in Houston on Monday, May 11, 2026.

Candles are lit in memory of Thy Mitchell and her children during a memorial gathering in the parking lot of Traveler’s Cart in Houston on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

Amid an outpouring of shock after their deaths, Traveler’s Cart invited employees, friends and supporters to pay their respect outside. Toward the back of the parking lot, mourners paid their respects to a photo of Thy Mitchell and her children. They filled tables with flower bouquets, and a Mother’s Day balloon bobbed in the air nearby.

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People talked quietly with one another, embracing. No one gave speeches; the vigil focused on offering those who knew Thy Mitchell and her children a place to reflect and reminisce.

Amber Ferrell-Steele, the founder of Timeless Spirits and Drinks, recalled a time when Mitchell organized a gift card swap among members of a group for women business owners. Each person gave away gift cards to the others, who shared them with their employees for the holidays. It was “sweet,” she said.

“She was always thinking about other people,” Alli Jarrett, who also participated, said of Thy. “There are just no words.”

“Always ready to help. Very giving,” said Ty Adams, sitting nearby. She knew Mitchell through her work with the Texas Restaurant Association’s greater Houston chapter.

Nikki Tran, the chef of the now-shuttered Viet-Cajun restaurant Kau Ba, said she’d only met Mitchell last year but had been so impressed with Mitchell’s love for the food business. They had planned for Tran to pop up at Traveler’s Cart next week.

Houston chef Nikki Tran hugs Ryan Browne, director of operations for Traveler’s Cart and Traveler’s Table, during a vigil for owner Thy Mitchell and her children in Houston on Monday, May 11, 2026.

Houston chef Nikki Tran hugs Ryan Browne, director of operations for Traveler’s Cart and Traveler’s Table, during a vigil for owner Thy Mitchell and her children in Houston on Monday, May 11, 2026.

Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

Few restaurateurs would offer a blank slate to a pop-up chef, Tran said, but Mitchell did. Mitchell had commented about missing a broken rice dish Tran used to cook called the Saigon Sunrise, and Tran was looking forward to making it for Mitchell again.

“She makes you feel welcome. I’ve never met a person that makes me feel that she’s so passionate about the F&B business,” Tran said, using an abbreviation for the food and beverage industry.

“She made me feel like I’m valued.”