A veteran Houston restaurateur has claimed a prime Montrose location for two new establishments. Brasserie 19 owner Charles Clark will expand his portfolio with two Italian restaurants, a fast casual eatery, called Carlo, and a fine dining concept called Casa Carlo.
Clark has leased the former Paulie’s and Camerata space at 1834 Westheimer and 1830 Westheimer, respectively, to bring Carlo and Casa Carlo to life. If all goes to plan, the restaurants will open in May, with casual Carlo open for lunch and dinner daily and Casa Carlo serving dinner — with lunch to follow once it’s settled in.
Clark is partnering with two chefs he’s worked with and mentored for many years. Former Coppa executive chef Davide De Angelis will serve as executive chef for both Carlo and Casa Carlo, while Brasserie 19 executive chef Michael Hoffman will serve as a culinary director, with responsibilities at all three restaurants. Clark tells CultureMap he’d been looking for three years or so to find the right opportunity to partner with the two chefs.
“Let’s have a restaurant where they can both have ownership without having to put up any money. It’s harder to open a restaurant than it was 15 years ago. It’s just expensive. It’s $1,000 a foot to build one. It used to be $400,” Clark says.
“These guys are super talented. Davide is an immigrant from Naples, Italy. He started washing dishes in New Braunfels. Worked his way up to line cook. I brought him in as a line cook at Coppa. He became executive chef, running 5-600 covers a night.”
“I still can’t believe that Charles believed in me and was so generous in giving me this incredible opportunity,” De Angelis tells CultureMap. “Without him, I wouldn’t be in this position — after all these years working for him, since he brought me into the company in 2017.”
Similarly, Hoffman worked alongside Clark at Ibiza, his Spanish-inspired restaurant that closed in early 2020 after an almost 20-year run. Since then, Hoffman has led the kitchen at Brasserie 19, allowing Clark, 64, to step into a restaurateur role of overseeing the River Oaks staple’s lively dining room.
Carlo and Casa Carlo
Turning to the restaurants, Clark explains that Carlo will be a lot like Paulie’s, a fast casual, neighborhood-oriented Italian restaurant serving classics such as chicken parmesan, freshly made pasta, and pizza. Critically, he expects to keep the pricing similar to the famously affordable Paulie’s, which closed in December after 27 years.
“I don’t want to alienate the Montrose crowd. I’m not going to double the prices and make it somewhere they don’t feel comfortable,” Clark says. “Hopefully, when they read about it and see the chefs are guys who’ve worked their way up, they’ll accept it more. It’s not going to be me. I’m going to be here [at Brasserie 19].”
With a full-time chef in the kitchen, Clark says he expects the plating at Carlo to be a little more elevated. “Paulie’s was good, but I’m going to make it more chef-driven, where you can see the pastas are put together well,” he explains.
“With Carlo we see it as an all-day restaurant where you can walk up and order from an array of classic pastas, sandwiches, and salads,” Hoffman adds. “Definitely see it as a place to serve the neighborhood, where you can get a quality, comforting meal without breaking the bank.”
In addition to keeping Paulie’s moderate prices, Clark says he intends to preserve the restaurant’s open kitchen. Like Paulie’s, Carlo will serve cookies and other baked goods for dessert.
Casa Carlo will be a more elevated, white tablecloth restaurant in the model of acclaimed New York establishments such as Cipriani, Carbone, Torrisi, and Don Angie, with a menu that takes inspiration from both De Angelis’ and Hoffman’s Italian heritage. That same standard will also apply to the service in the form of tableside preparations and a lengthy wine list.
“We’d also like to include some seafood dishes inspired by Naples, where I was born, and dishes my mom used to make for me when I was a kid — like peperoni arrostiti stuffed with sausage and beef served with bagna cauda,” De Angelis says.
“The recent field trip to New York was great to see the different avenues a modern Italian restaurant can be,” Hoffman adds.
In terms of design, Clark says he’s inspired by restaurants such as The Polo Bar in New York. Plans call for an elegant bar and leather banquettes.
Both restaurants will offer the same kind of customer-first service that’s the standard at Brasserie 19.
“I think with both places we have to recognize what got us here,” Hoffman says. “Charles has always set the example of what happens when you create a space where the customer is welcomed and at ease and then receives a quality product.”
B19 Update
It’s been about four years since Clark and Grant Cooper ended their partnership in Clark Cooper Concepts. Clark became the owner of Brasserie 19, while Cooper created the Big Vibe Group that owns Flora Mexican Kitchen and Coppa Osteria.
The River Oaks restaurant is flying higher than ever. Last year, Clark says he upgraded the restrooms and spent about $250,000 on Brasserie 19’s new patio. This year, he plans to invest in new dining room chairs and more comfortable banquettes.
“We’re having record months. I had the busiest December I’ve ever had. I did $1.2 million in sales,” Clark says. Later, he adds, “I want to make it a classic restaurant like Galatoire’s in New Orleans where it’s kind of an institution.”
