The team behind popular restaurants The Union Kitchen and Jax Grill are building on their success in Cypress by opening a new concept. Gr8 Plate Hospitality will open Passerella at The Boardwalk Towne Lake in Cypress this spring.

Located next to the Union Kitchen's Cypress location, Passerella will serve a menu centered around Italian-inspired seafood dishes. Expect pizzas, pastas, and bread — all made in house — paired with an extensive wine list created by sommelier Matt Stevenson.

Formerly home to a wine bar, the approximately 3,300-square-foot space will seat 100 people inside and another 60 on an outdoor patio that overlooks the lake. Overall, the restaurant aims to offer a more elevated dining experience than is typically found in the area.

“We’ve had the pleasure of serving the Cypress area for the past three years, and are thrilled to continue doing so at Passerella,” Gr8 Plate Hospitality owner Paul Miller said in a statement. “We’ve put a lot of work into making sure that the unique seafood-centric menu celebrates the wide range of ingredients found in Italian cuisine. We want to bring something to the Cypress community that’s never been done before.”

To bring the project to fruition, Miller and his wife Doris have tapped chef Edward Roberts to lead the kitchen. The Houston-area restaurant veteran brings a diverse set of experiences to his role, including stints at Tony's, Masraff's, Beaver's, and Galveston's Saltwater Grill. General manager Audra Gottlieb's resume includes Vic & Anthony's and legendary Galveston restaurant Rudy & Paco's.

Passerella joins six locations of The Union Kitchen (Memorial, Cypress, Katy, Kingwood, Washington Avenue, and Garden Oaks/Oak Forest) and three locations of Jax Grill (Bellaire, Shepherd Dr., and Katy) in the Gr8 Plate family.