CONSTRUCTION WOES

Healthy San Antonio restaurant presses pause 6 months after opening

Bellagreen is temporarily closed to wait out repairs at 1900 Broadway.

Photo courtesy of Bellagreen

The seemingly endless repairs at the Pearl District's 1900 Broadway building have caused a Dallas restaurant group to press pause on San Antonio. After only six months in business, Bellagreen has temporarily closed to ride out business disruptions caused by scaffolding on the facade.

The location quietly announced the move via social media, saying it could not wait for the project to be completed to serve local customers again. Bellagreen Brand President Beth Collins echoed the sentiment without giving a timeline.

"We temporarily closed our San Antonio location until repairs are made on the building," Collins shared in an emailed statement. "We look forward to reopening and welcoming guests again when building repairs are complete. We will keep you posted when we have a firm date to share."

The facade work has been ongoing since summer 2024, when a manufacturing error caused masonry debris to fall from the building. Due to safety concerns, a tangle of scaffolding was erected around Jefferson Bank's headquarters so workers could begin painstakingly replacing the stone.

Small fast-casual chain Bellagreen debuted its first San Antonio location in November 2024 while construction was well underway. With a menu heavily leaning on bistro fare packed with lean proteins and vegetables and an enviable location, it was a potential lunchtime hit among downtown workers starved for fresher options.

However, its brand presence was tempered by the building's supports. Although vinyl banners were hung to tout the building's restaurants, the scaffolding veiled proper signage. It was surely not an ideal look for a restaurant that relies on a sunny, fresh vibe.

For now, the building's other restaurant tenants, Nineteen Hyaku and The Newstand, have not announced any disruptions to service. CultureMap will update readers when Bellagreen reopens.

chains fast casual healthy bistro salads broadway downtown pearl closings

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Chef Jason Dady revives much-missed Umai Mi at San Antonio's Pearl

Photo by Katie James

A coconut curry at Umai Mi.

Call 2025 the year of the culinary comeback. San Antonio chef Jason Dady is reviving his short-lived pan-Asian concept Umai Mi on December 10 at Pearl’s Bottling Department food hall at 312 Pearl Pkwy., Bldg 6 #107.

The prolific Alamo City chef first opened Umai Mi at 555 W. Bitters in January 2014 after closing tapas bar Bin 555 a mere 17 days earlier. The menu’s tagline, “so not authentic, it’s absurd,” aptly described the fusion focus, a mishmash of Asian flavors Dady enjoyed tinkering with at home.

Since he retired the restaurant in January 2015, he has explored Mediterranean, Mexican, and Italian concepts. Still, he has not returned to the “countless bowls, broths, herbs, and sauces” of his beloved modern Asian cuisine until now.

This time, Umai Mi has a sharper focus — bánh mì. The sandwiches will be made with Pullman Market crackling demibaguettes, delicate herbs, crunchy vegetables, and a choice of proteins such as lemongrass chicken, ginger soy beef, or shrimp. Guests can also order the sandwich Saigon-Style with a housemade pâté.

Umai Mi Bánh mì is the centerpiece of the menu.Photo by Katie James.

Beyond the sandwiches, Umai Mi will serve a bún bowl built with vermicelli noodles, fresh vegetables, peanuts, and a protein, finished with the house nuóc chãm. Diners can also dive into curries made with slow-simmered blends of coconut milk, aromatics, and Thai basil, available in red, Panang, or green.

The small plates and starters bring back some of Uma Mi’s heavy-hitters, including Japanese-inspired deviled eggs, crispy shrimp rolls, summer rolls, sweet and spicy wings, and a crispy rice salad. Although the kiosk — which replaces Chilaquil — doesn’t have “authentically absurd” cocktails of the original, it does offer playful choices like taro bubble tea, mango milk tea, and strawberry matcha.

The Umai Mi revival comes during a year of restaurant nostalgia. Earlier in the year, restaurateur Chad Carey staged a five-day series of pop-ups supporting Hill Country flood relief that featured the menus of now-shuttered concepts Cookhouse, Sandbar, The Monterey, Gwendolyn, and Feast. Feast is also undergoing a month-long resurrection at Battalion throughout December.

But the Jason Dady Restaurant Group is mostly looking toward the future. This year, the chef has opened Ice Ice Dady and Lil’ Bros BBQ Shack at The Rock at La Cantera and Tre Pizzeria at the San Antonio International Airport. Mexico Ceaty, a reimagining of mall food courts, is slated to debut in early 2026 at the Shops at Rivercenter downtown.

“We’re thrilled to bring Umai Mi to the Food Hall at Pearl, a place that celebrates culinary creativity and community,” says Dady in a statement. “The bánh mì represents what I love about cooking, balancing textures, fresh herbs, and layering flavors in a way that makes every bite exciting. At Umai Mi, it’s not just a menu item; it’s a dish that defines who we are.

Once opened, Umai Mi’s hours will be 11 am-9 pm Monday through Thursday, 10 am-10 pm Friday and Saturday, and 10 am-9 pm Sunday.

pearl food halls pan asian banh mi jason dady chefs openings