Is there a grocery store worth driving three hours for? Absolutely, and it’s worth staying a day or two to fully understand it.

I’ve known the crew at Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group for a while now — chef Kevin Fink, his wife Ali Fink, and pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph are the ones I talk to the most — and every time they open something new, I’m blown away. It’s not just the concepts; it’s how they treat their team and the energy they bring as human beings. They’re just good people doing things the right way.

So when my wife Lindsey and I planned a quick trip to San Antonio, we made it a point to check out their latest project: Pullman Market at the historic Pearl Brewery. I’ve known about this thing for a few years now, but let me be real — when they first told me about it, I didn’t get it. These are the folks behind some of Austin’s best restaurants — Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Canje, Ezov — so when they mentioned expanding to San Antonio, I thought, "Cool, another restaurant." Then Kevin walked me up to this massive, empty building — 40,000 square feet — and said, “This is going to be Pullman Market.” And he gave me that look, you know the one: the long stare where he’s clearly seeing the future, and I’m standing there like, “You’ve officially lost your mind.”

But here’s the thing — Kevin and the team had a plan. I didn’t need to know the whole vision; I just knew it’d be good.

Fast forward three years, and boom — Pullman Market finally opened in April 2024. I intentionally stayed away from any press or previews because I love a good grocery store (you can often find me aimlessly wandering H-E-B or Central Market), and I wanted to experience this one fresh.

We met up with Kevin, Ali, and their son Hudson outside the market. From the moment I walked in, I knew this wasn’t just a grocery store. First stop: produce. My jaw hit the floor. Almost everything is from Texas — peaches, melons, heirloom tomatoes, a rainbow of peppers. It’s a love letter to Texas farms.

Then we hit the ice cream bar, and things got wild. They use milk from Oro Blanco, a local cow’s milk dairy, which gives the ice cream this rich, velvety texture. I tried a salted cream flavor that tasted like cream cheese with just a whisper of salt. Then came chocolate. Then came a chicken and waffle ice cream — yes, made with chicken stock. Then a lime leaf one that was bright and punchy. And we’d barely made it 10 feet inside.

Past the coffee bar and the rotisserie — where chickens spin over trays of potatoes soaking up every last drop of drippings — you hit the bakery. Breads, cookies, pastries made all day, every day. Then across the way are, and I don’t say this lightly, some of the best flour tortillas in Texas. Made from locally grown Sonoran wheat and the rendered lard from local Berkshire pork and Tallow from Texas beef from the butcher shop. Grab a few dozen. Thank me later.

The seafood and meat departments are top-tier. The seafood is pristine. The ceviche bar proves that in one bite. Then, there's the butcher counter, where everything’s whole-animal and dry-aged in-house. I’ve worked with whole animals before — this place is the real deal. Wagyu, Angus, pork, lamb, chicken, dry-aged steaks, house-cured meats. It’s a playground. You can even grab a burger or bratwurst right next door at Burgers by the Butcher.

Pantry goods? Thoughtful. From housemade pastas to chips, canned goods, and a wine room that’ll make your inner wine geek do cartwheels.

The situation gets even better when you consider the restaurants at Pullman. Having all that produce, meat, seafood, and bread under one roof means they can rotate ingredients through every concept. Whole animal butchery just makes sense here. You see it in action.

We ate at Mezquite, which highlights Sonoran-style Mexican cuisine. The menu pulls straight from the market — crudos, squash dishes riffing on queso, tacos, and something called a caramelo that’s basically the best quesadilla you’ve ever had. The tortillas are stars. Corn for chips and tostadas, and that incredible flour version for everything else. I went back the next day to stock up.

Next up was Fife & Farro — pizza and pasta. The mozzarella’s made in-house from water buffalo milk and served just warm enough to hold together. Paired with pesto and sungold tomatoes? Unreal. When the cheese firms up, it goes on their wood-fired pizzas with perfectly fermented dough. Pasta’s made steps away in the pasta shop. Whether you buy some to take home or post up at the bar for a plate of alla vodka with penne and Calabrian chile, it’s all fire.

Then, we made a choice. The best kind of choice. Dinner was a double header: Nicosi, the 20-seat, dessert tasting bar, and Isidore, their live fire, steakhouse-style concept.

At Nicosi, they cover your phone with a sticker and ask you to just be present. No pics, no texts. Just be here. The tasting explores sweet, savory, bitter, acidic — it’s not just chocolate and sugar. Tavel’s mind is wild, and the team brings it to life in a way that makes you pause. I’m not spoiling the menu. You’ve got to walk that path yourself.

Then on to Isidore. The smell of wood smoke greets you before you sit down. The kitchen’s fueled by whatever’s freshest from the market. One day it’s tomatoes, the next it’s lamb. Meat gets butchered steps away. It’s this beautiful loop — everything feeds into everything else, and it works.

Pullman Market isn’t just a market. It’s not just restaurants. It’s a living, breathing ecosystem run by people who actually know what they’re doing. It’s disciplined, it’s thoughtful, and it’s damn inspiring. Kevin, Tavel, and the entire team — what they’ve built is like nothing I’ve seen before.

I hope one day Houston gets a Pullman Market. Until then, I’ll pack a cooler, head to San Antonio, and load up on tortillas, meats, butter, and pasta. I’ll stay at Hotel Emma, because I’ll definitely need another meal — or three — before I head home.

Congratulations on a very successful first year of Pullman Market!

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Looking for more San Antonio recommendations? Ask Chris for his favorites via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

  

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

Find Pullman Market in the Pearl Brewery complex.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $11 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2.