on the block

Houston chef wins $20,000 at prestigious restaurant pitch competition

Ope Amosu poses with his $20,000 check

Photo by Eric Kleinberg

A high-flying Houston restaurant is once again basking in the national spotlight. Chef Ope Amosu of West African restaurant ChòpnBlọk won $20,000 at Utility, a “progressive, community-first hospitality trade show” that took place last weekend in Chicago.

The event’s Restaurant Pitch Competition provides financial support and increased visibility for independent restaurant concepts. ChòpnBlọk plans to use the money to grow “the concept's footprint and bring this cuisine to a national platform,” according to press materials. More than 100 restaurants submitted pitches to win the prize, which is sponsored by Chase.

Amosu impressed a panel of celebrity judges and hospitality experts that included TV host Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award winner Alon Shaya, Top Chef season 15 winner Joe Flamm, Arjav Ezekiel, a James Beard Award-winning sommelier and co-owner of Austin’s acclaimed restaurant Birdie’s, and June Rodil, CEO of Houston's Goodnight Hospitality.

Of course, neither Amosu nor ChòpnBlọk are strangers to national attention. Recently named Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, ChòpnBlọk has been named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants, received a two-star review in the New York Times, earned a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide, and a 2026 James Beard Award finalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas.

Founded in 2024, Utility is a two-day conference that draws more than 1,500 attendees from across the country. In addition to the Restaurant Pitch Competition, it hosts panels created by the Independent Restaurant Coalition and the Houston-based Southern Smoke Foundation, chef throwdowns, a pastry showcase, and more. Attendees can also browse wares from more than 30 vendor selling everything from cookware, to technology, to footwear.

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temporarily closed

Car accident damages Michelin-recommended Houston sushi restaurant

Courtesy of Hidden Omakase

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One of Houston’s only Michelin-recommended sushi restaurants will be temporarily closed after a car drove into its dining room. The accident dealt extensive damage to Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area tasting menu restaurant that serves more than a dozen courses.

Owner Tuan Tran tells CultureMap in an email that the car drove into the restaurant after being involved in a car accident on West Alabama St. Thankfully, no one was in the restaurant at the time, and both of the drivers involved in the accident only sustain minor injuries.

The restaurant posted a video to social media showing the car in the dining room. In the video, Hidden Omakase’s signature facade of Japanese comic books has been obliterated, and the entire seating area has been smashed.

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“At this time, the restaurant has sustained significant damage impacting the plumbing, electrical, and dining areas,” Tran writes in an email “The space will require extensive repairs and city inspections before reopening. A reopening timeline has not yet been determined.”

Plans for the restaurant’s employees are still being finalized. They could work temporarily at one of Tran’s other restaurants in the Hidden Group, which include both Sushi by Hidden, an expedited omakase-style restaurant in Rice Village, and Norigami, a sushi hand roll concept in West University Place. The group will soon open Kori, a sushi restaurant in the Heights.

Open since December 2020, Hidden Omakase is a 14-seat Japanese restaurant that serves two seatings per night. Since 2024, it has been led by executive chef Marcus Juarez.

In 2024, the Michelin Guide awarded it Recommended status, the only sushi restaurant in Houston to earn the prestigious designation. In 2025, the guide added Neo, another omakase concept, but that restaurant remains closed for renovations.

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