boh grows
Downtown food hall's pizza star spins off hot new Heights-area slice concept
Another Bravery Chef Hall success story is expanding. The downtown food hall’s Italian concept, BOH Pasta & Pizza, will launch a fast-casual sister concept called BOH Slice and a new partner who can fuel its growth, chef-owner Ben McPherson tells CultureMap.
BOH Slice will put the spotlight on the Roman-style pizza al taglio served at BOH’s Bravery location. As its name implies, the restaurant will serve pizza by-the-slice along with larger, shareable pizzas and salads. Diners will have the option of either ordering a preset mix of toppings or building their own from a wide selection of toppings, including pepperoni, mushrooms, Parmesan Reggiano, and Prosciutto di Parma.
“What I’ve found with the dough is it’s an amazing vessel. It carries ingredients really well,” McPherson says. Later, he adds, “I think people like to have that control and be the chef themselves. We have the basic recipes, and we’ll bring in the high quality ingredients.”
The first BOH Slice will open this summer in Railway Heights, the new food hall, market, beer garden, and more project from Bravery Chef Hall partners Anh Mai, Lian Pham, and Shepard Ross. It will be the only pizza option in the food hall.
To power that growth, McPherson has recruited chef Chris Zettlemoyer to be his partner. A veteran of Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen and Whiskey Cake, Zettlemoyer brings multi-unit experience that will allow BOH Slice to grow across the Houston area and beyond.
“I’ve known Chris for seven years,” McPherson says. “We’re not only amazing friends, but I admire everything he does. We click when it comes to how restaurants work.”
“BOH is just built to expand in fast casual with the flow of the pizza,” Zettlemoyer adds. “Like Ben said, we met on a farm looking at tomatoes and have been trying to find a way to work together ever since. It’s the right time in my life, and the right time in BOH’s life to grow it.”
As for the Bravery location, it will continue to serve both pizza and pasta. McPherson also plans to continue growing his wholesale pasta business that sells to restaurants across the city. He recently purchased a machine that allows him to produce 350 pounds per day.
Those who visit Bravery beginning April 20 will find a new pizza on the menu. McPherson collaborated with Craft Pita owner Rafael Nasr on a chicken shawarma pizza that uses the Lebanese restaurant’s signature aioli and zatar spice. “It came out fucking good,” McPherson says.
Proceeds from the collaboration will benefit Ty Grossie, the BOH cook who’s currently being treated for cancer. In future months, McPherson will roll out pizzas developed by Degust chef Brandon Silva and Riel chef Ryan Lachaine.
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