berg heats up
Red-hot Houston restaurateur reveals 2 new concepts for buzzy Buffalo Bayou development
Ben Berg's status as one of Houston's top restaurant operators continues to grow.
As he prepares to open his rustic Italian restaurant Trattoria Sofia in The Heights this week, the high-flying restaurateur has revealed his company Berg Hospitality will open two restaurants next spring at in the Autry Park mixed-use development: Annabelle's and Turner's Cut.
Annabelle's will be an all-day brasserie that's open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It will take advantage of Autry Park's location at Shepherd Drive and Allen Parkway to offer views of Buffalo Bayou.
Turner's Cut will be a steakhouse in the mold of Turner's, Berg's luxurious, Galleria-area supper club. The restaurant will feature an "opulent interior" along with "the most exquisite and rare cuts of meat from Japan and the Americas," according to a release. A representative for Berg Hospitality notes it will be significantly larger than Turner's and offer a private dining room.
“We’re incredibly excited to expand our empire into Autry Park through the opening of two new restaurant concepts that we know Houstonians of all stripes will love,” Berg said in a statement. “Autry Park promises to become a key dining destination in Houston, and we knew we couldn’t pass up the chance to team up with the next-generation development, which will offer one of the best dining, shopping and lifestyle experiences Houston has to offer.”
The new establishments are just two of four new restaurants Berg's company Berg Hospitality has in the works. In addition to Annabelle's and Turner's Cut, the company is working on a still-unnamed, wood-fired steakhouse for the Docks at Timbergrove mixed-use development and a new home for B.B. Italia, the company's family-friendly, Italian-American concept that closed in the Energy Corridor earlier this year. They will join the company's other holdings that include two locations of B&B Butchers in Houston and Fort Worth, B.B. Lemon, The Annie Café & Bar, Turner’s, NoPo Café and Trattoria Sofia.
Developed by local real estate firms Lionstone Investments and Hanover Company, Autry Park occupies 14-acres on the western edge of Buffalo Bayou Park. The project's three-phase masterplan includes five towers encompassing 1,450 residential units, 350,000 square-feet of Class A office space, and 100,000 square-feet of retail, according to a press release.
“Our mission from Autry Park’s inception was to create a dining destination that was truly unique to Houston and showcased the wonderful depth of our local dining culture,” Matt Ragan of Rebees, Hanover’s retail partner in the project, added. “Autry Park was designed from day one to bring together our city’s best and most established restauranteurs alongside the most exciting up and coming talent in Houston. In that effort, we could not be more excited to announce Ben Berg’s soon-to-come arrival.”
Autry Park is only one of the new projects currently under development near Allen Parkway. Regent Square, currently under construction at the corner of Dunlavy and West Dallas, will feature two new restaurants from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd, including an all-new version of his Georgia James steakhouse. Sambrooks Management Company, the company behind The Pit Room, Candente, and 1751 Sea & Bar, will open Andiron, a live fire steakhouse, in the the historic Star Engraving Company at 3201 Allen Pkwy.
