CHICKEN RUN

Southerleigh Haute South flies the coop for new San Antonio home

The Make ready Market menu will include fried chicken sandwiches.

Photo courtesy of Southerleigh Haute South

One of The Rim’s most popular restaurants is coming home to roost. Southerleigh Haute South, the little sibling of the flagship Pearl restaurant, will close its location at the Northwest Side shopping center on November 15, with plans to reopen in downtown’s Make Ready Market (203 8th St.) by early December.

“We're excited about what this next chapter represents," explained cofounder Jeff Balfour in the release. "This move gives us an opportunity to bring the best of Haute South to a more approachable, fast-casual setting while staying true to our Texas Gulf Coast roots."

Southerleigh debuted Haute South in September 2020, basing its menu on some of its Pearl bestsellers: fried chicken and seafood. The restaurant first announced the concept as Bird & Biscuit, but the menu grew to incorporate Southern classics like deviled eggs, gumbo, po’boys and fried apple and peach hand pies.

Gulf Oysters will make the trip downtown.Photo courtesy of Southerleigh Haute South

In the subsequent years, Southerleigh made a big investment at Pearl. In October 2020, the group said bonjour to Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, a French concept helmed by former Signature chef Laurent Réa. In June 2025, it took the keys to Boiler House, one of the oldest restaurants in the district.

The release did not share the full menu of the new Haute South, but said popular dishes such as chicken sandwiches, pimento queso, Gulf oysters, and shrimp baskets would make the move downtown. And the restaurant will reintroduce a full bar to Make Ready, which has been zero-proof since Garaje Cantina shuttered in June 2025.

Jenine Cournoyer, the general manager of Make Ready Market, called the cocktails a “welcome addition.”

Haute South is the latest departure from The Rim, which has seen a string of dining upheavals in the past two years. The Rustic, the live music venue partially owned by Pat Green, closed in 2024. Tiago’s, The General Public, Bowl & Barrel, Mash’d, and Salsita all left in 2025. And Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen was locked out in late October.

openings the rim downtown food halls southern food seafood fried chicken closings

DEEP CUTS

Food Network champ brings Chicago deep dish to San Antonio comedy club

Photo courtesy of Chicago Deep Dish

Food Network camp Mick Brown will launch Pizza & Punchlines on November 12.

Tell us if you’ve heard this one before: A Food Network champ walks into a bar. For chef Mick Brown, the payoff is Pizza & Punchlines, a new stand-up series bringing Chicago-style pizza to San Antonio’s Upstage Comedy Lounge (4441 Walzem Rd.) on November 12.

Brown spent the last decade flirting with celebrity. In 2015, he became the first chef to win the Grill Master title, winning with a burger. He also had a brush with the Bravoverse, catering Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz’s engagement before Kristen Doute ruined everyone’s appetites.

Now, he has relocated to San Antonio, where he owns a catering company, Chicago Deep Dish. The business is a homecoming of sorts. The chef grew up in the Windy City, but had family in Texas. His great-grandfather was the first Black man to open a barbecue stand in Ennis.

Although his catering outfit is called Deep Dish, Brown pays tribute to both of Chicago’s famous styles. Along with the hefty headline grabber most people associate with the city, he also serves tavern-style pies — the cracker-thin pizzas that predate deep dish by about a decade.

The comedy connection goes beyond alliteration. Chicago’s revered Comedy Bar serves pizza above Gino’s East. And West is a dabbler in the comedic arts, having recently completed an intensive stand-up workshop.

Pizza & Punchlines will be locals' first opportunity to taste West’s pizzas, in this case a smoked barbecue chicken pie with grilled peppers, and a classic spinach pie loaded with mushrooms. But guests are in for more than a tasting. Hill Kane will host a lineup that includes the Toxic Pickle Improv team and regional comics Brendan Picard, Dani W/An Aye, and Clifton Simmons.

Admission at the door is $20, or $35 for two, but there's a better deal for self-starters. Guests who pre-order pizza by noon on Wednesday, November 11, get free admission. In today’s economy, that math is no funny business.

pizza chicago comedy openings

CHICKEN RUN

Southerleigh Haute South flies the coop for new San Antonio home

DEEP CUTS

Food Network champ brings Chicago deep dish to San Antonio comedy club

San Antonio’s beloved holiday market unwraps new downtown home

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