Montrose residents will soon have the opportunity to get on the block. Acclaimed West African restaurant ChópnBlọk will open its first brick and mortar location on lower Westheimer.
Work has begun to transform the former Seafood Connection/Roots Bistro space at 507 Westheimer into ChópnBlọk. Founder Ope Amosu tells CultureMap he expects to be serving signature dishes like the Trad bowl and Greens and Tings to diners later this summer.
Currently a stand at The Post food hall downtown, Amosu started ChópnBlọk as a pop-up. Known for its West African flavors, the restaurant has attracted some substantial media attention, including an appearance on celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson’s PBS series No Passport Required, an appearance on the Top Chef’s Houston-based season, and a segment on Padma Lakshmi’s Hulu series Taste the Nation.
Rendering by Gin Design Group
The new restaurant will feature West African textiles throughout its interior.
As Amosu explains, he began looking for a brick and mortar location shortly after opening at the Post. He considered a number of inner loop neighborhoods before deciding on Montrose.
“I looked at it from a few different perspectives. Who have we seen gravitate to our concept at the Post? We also wanted it to be close enough to support each location,” he says.
“The neighborhoods we listed out, those are early adopters. Places where people are familiar with us to an extent and willing to come check us out. They really latch onto spaces they believe in.”
With over 3,000-square-feet, the Westheimer location will be far larger than ChópnBlọk’s stand at The Post, although it will still operate with the elevated style of counter service that Amosu compares to restaurants like Loro and Local Foods. Other than more seating, having more room will allow Amosu to expand the restaurant’s offerings. For the first time, ChópnBlọk will be able to serve cocktails. Specific examples include using a Liberian rum and putting a spin on the Chapman, a gin cocktail that’s popular in Nigeria.
“Being able to share the story of that beverage, it’s something that’s going to be different,” Amosu says. “There are so many different ways we can go with it that are unique and add to the neighborhood.”
On the food side, expect a dedicated brunch menu that builds on the pop-ups ChópnBlọk held prior to opening at The Post. Amosu also plans to add more soups and stews.
“You can do them with fufu like a swallow or with rice,” he says. “We’re very rice heavy with our concept. Being able to have something that can go both ways, I think we can make more of those.”
Amosu has enlisted a number of collaborators to bring ChópnBlọk to life, including interiors by Gin Design Group (Jun, The Lymbar, etc.), design consultation by AMAO Creative, and construction by Pruitt Structures. The design will preserve the eclectic, market them of The Post location but on a grander scale.
“I feel like a big part of what people notice of is our creation of storylines with cookbooks and the merchandise we have. The team at AMAO, it’s more experiential. People get their food and sift through all of these things,” Amosu says. “Now that we have a bigger canvas, let’s feature more of the artists of the diaspora and the work they’re doing on our walls. Let’s take the fabrication of the textiles and make sure it’s prominent in the design of our space.”
Opening a brick and mortar restaurant has been Amosu’s goal since he started hosting pop ups in 2018. Back then, diners could get a refund if they were unhappy with the meal. Now that local acclaim and national attention have made the restaurant a sensation, Amosu is dreaming big about what the future might hold.
“Even in 2018, my aspirations for this have been further than where we’re at now,” he says. “My vision is multiple locations in multiple cities across the country, but one step at a time. We’ve got to get Post right before we can go on to the next time. I already know there’s going to be so much shit that hits us left and right. We’ve only mastered so much of it.”
