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Photo courtesy of Carpenter Carpenter Hospitality

For many business owners, January is a time to regroup before the busy year. For Houston and Emily Carpenter, it’s a chance to go full steam ahead. With the New Year’s haze still lingering in the air, the hospitality dynamos will soon add another concept to their budding restaurant empire.

Go Fish Market will open on January 12 in an unassuming warehouse space at 125 W. Grayson St. According to Houston, the eatery will be Carpenter Carpenter Hospitality’s take on the neighborhood fish market, melding a retail counter with a full dining room and a wine bar offering more than 60 bottles.

“As you can imagine,” Houston tells CultureMap, “the menu will be seafood — from fried medai and calamari [to] a kingfish burger, a variety of fish on in-house sourdough, and of course the on-ice favorites including oysters on the half shell, snow crab legs, and caviar.”

Helming the kitchen will be Ruben Pantaleon. An alum of acclaimed restaurant chains such as Nobu and Roka Akor, Pantaleon has been running the sushi bar at sibling restaurant Up Scale for the last year. Dina Simoneaux, most recently at Allora, will be charged with the front of house as general manager.

Go Fish Market

Photo courtesy of Carpenter Carpenter Hospitality

Go Fish will open in a warehouse near the Pearl on January 12.

As usual, the group put as much stock into the ambiance as restaurant operations. Go Fish has a more casual vibe than its cousins Little Em’s Oyster Bar and the recently opened Restaurant Claudine. The original building’s warm brick offsets a cool color scheme of mint, baby blue, and crisp white.

Now that Go Fish is up to snuff, Houston shares that the group will turn its attention to Nineteen Hyaku, a sleek sushi concept coming to the new Jefferson Tower in October. But before the ribbon is cut, locals shouldn’t be surprised to learn there is yet another restaurant on the horizon.

Houston spilled the beans on Mailroom Cafe, set to open in the summer in the same building as Go Fish.

“This will be a bakery and cafe offering your favorite pastries, gourmet sandwiches, and a coffee program geared towards the crowd that wants to come in for a meeting or sit at their laptop,” Houston elaborates on what will be the sixth concept for the group.

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CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Nola breaks new ground and a Hill Country eatery heads to City Hall in San Antonio food news

NEWS YOU CAN EAT

Editor's note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of San Antonio's restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our weekly roundup of essential food news.

Openings

The long lines at Nola Brunch & Beignets may soon double. According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Records, the brunch behemoth is opening a location at 1101 Broadway. The restaurant did not return a request for comment by publication time, but Nola executive chef Melissa Villanueva is listed as the tenant. It's unclear if this is a relocation or a second outpost, but the project is set to wrap up in March 2024. CultureMap will update as we hear more information.

New Braunfels will have a new dining destination when an ambitious redevelopment is completed. According to state filings, Wiggins Hospitality Group — the folks behind McAdoo's Seafood Co. — will renovate the town's former City Hall into a mixed-use building incorporating offices on the ground floor. New Braunfels Historic Landmark Commission records give more details about the unnamed eatery, including plans for a bar and courtyard. Construction is set to wrap up in May 2024.

Other news and notes

San Antonio standout The Jerk Shack will be featured in a new book from national food site Eater. The restaurant — an Eater darling since being named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Hillary Dixler Canavan in 2029 — appropriately contributed a chicken dish.

Favor gave some insight into San Antonio's ordering habits via its first-ever dining report, released September 19. Alamo City requested more orders for barbecue than any other city in the state but surprisingly fell behind Austin in overall taco orders. The delivery app also shared a few tidbits about how San Antonians customize their meals. Locals favor lean brisket, flour tortillas, chorizo, and — controversially — chili with beans. Read all the findings at favordelivery.com.

Not content at only being a Food Network personality, chef Braunda Smith is now set to break the internet. The owner of Lucy Copper's Ice House will soon be featured on the popular web series America's Best Restaurants. The restaurant confirmed the filming via a Facebook post but did not share when the segment will be aired.

Here are the top 7 things to do in San Antonio this weekend

Weekend Event Guide

Entertainment is the name of the game for the days ahead, and this list of happenings is proof. Catch Becky G or Alejandro Fernández live in concert, or sample some of the best beers around at Flying Saucer’s inaugural BeerFest. Check out the top seven things to do in San Antonio this weekend. For a complete list of events, please visit our calendar.

Friday, September 29

San Antonio Parks Foundation presents the 40th Annual Jazz’SAlive
Jazz’SAlive, San Antonio’s official jazz festival and one of the largest festivals of its kind in the country, is back for another year of music at Civic Park at Hemisfair. The two-day event will feature a lineup of jazz talent including Kirk Whalum, Jackie Venson, Dirty River Jazz Band, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, and the Aaron Prado Sextet featuring Azul Barrientos across two stages. For a schedule of events and more details, go to saparks.org.

Majestic Theatre presents Becky G in concert
Latin music sensation Becky G comes to San Antonio for a live concert. The California-based artist is best known for hit songs such as "Mamiii" and "Bubalu" performs at Majestic Theatre in support of her 2022 album, Esquemas. Get more details on Ticketmaster.

13th Floor Haunted House
Test your mettle at this year’s 13th Floor Haunted House San Antonio experience. Guests can choose between two separate haunted attractions — The Deadlands and the Rot Shop — to explore. Cocktails will be available onsite at the Copper Tavern for guests who prefer a frighteningly good drink. Check out 13thfloorsanantonio.com for more information. The haunted house is open through November 4.

Saturday, September 30

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents BeerFeast
The first-ever BeerFeast at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium invites guests to celebrate all things brewed for one day only. Tickets include samples from a curated selection of 80 local, national, and international breweries in commemorative BeerFeast taster cups for attendees to take home. Special tasting cards will also be available as souvenir swag. To purchase tickets, learn about VIP experience offerings, and more, go to beerknurd.com.

Tobin Center presents OktobinFest
Local entertainment takes the stage at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in homage to the rich cultural background of Texas. Festival programming includes several live performances from Grupo TanTan, Conjunto Heritage Taller, El Tallercito de Ballet Folklorico, and others. This event is suitable for guests of all ages. Go to tobincenter.org for more information.

AT&T Center presents Alejandro Fernández in concert
Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández brings his Amor y Patria U.S. Tour to San Antonio’s AT&T Center for a live show. The multi-Grammy-winning artist, widely known as “El Potrillo,” is the voice behind songs such as “Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti” and “Caballero.” Find more information on Ticketmaster.

Sunday, October 1

Majestic Theatre presents "Russell Peters: Act Your Age World Tour"
Comedian Russell Peters performs live as part of his Act Your Age world tour at Majestic Theatre. He’s been recognized by Rolling Stone among the magazin'e's "50 Best Comics of All Time" and for his specials on Showtime and Comedy Central. Guests can expect a humorous evening of Peters’ musings and takes on the current state of the world fully uncensored. Get ticket details on majesticempire.com.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents BeerFeast
Photo by Andrews Cope

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents BeerFeast on September 30.

Hot San Antonio hotel brings back popular live fire dinner series for fall

Straight fire

Fall is finally upon us, and while we welcome the end of 100 degree days, we're all for the heat at Ambler Texas Kitchen + Cocktails, which is bringing back its popular live fire series.

The downtown restaurant, located inside the Hotel Contessa, is reprising a summer series, this time for the fall season. Led by executive chef Michael Collins, the Ambler live fire dinners are a fun, interactive dining experience out on the hotel patio. If you're looking for a way to eat well and stay warm as temperatures (hopefully) cool, the live fire dinner is a guaranteed way to get the best of both worlds.

Chef Collins and his team are essentially hosting a hotel cookout where every item on the plate is grilled. It kicks off with a complimentary welcome cocktail, alongside buttermilk biscuits made with Shiner Bock beer and honey, plus a romaine salad for starters.

Guests will then choose between starters like mesquite-smoked and grilled Texas Akaushi ribeye, cast iron-blackened Gulf mahi-mahi, or mesquite-smoked beer can chicken. These entrees have more than a touch of Texas in the tasty mesquite smoke — and the 22-ounce ribeye and the half-chicken are seriously big portions.

Ambler invited CultureMap to a previous live fire dinner, where the sides were a surprising star. The cast iron-griddled potatoes also caught some smoke from being on the grill, and each dish is only lightly seasoned, to enhance the natural flavors rather than create a new taste.

Reservations for the fall live fire series ($79-$129 per person depending on entree, beverages at additional cost) are available on OpenTable. The fall live fire dinners kick off on September 30, and occur every Saturday all the way through November.