Briza, the new restaurant at Crosstown Concourse, is set to open on Saturday, Nov. 8. A soft opening begins the day before at lunch.

Darrell Horn is the owner. Horn is also one of the owners of Tops Bar-B-Q and a partner in Lucchesi's Worldwide, the food distribution arm of the brand. Back in December 2024, Horn sought to take over the Houston's site, after that restaurant closed.

"We've been working on a concept like Briza for a while, and when the Houston's situation happened and they closed, I thought, 'Well, this would be a great place to kick start that effort.' But, it just didn't work out," he said.

It was through Horn's work to secure Houston's that he met Moisés Hernandez and his wife Maggie Murphy-Hernandez. Moisés had been a chef at Houston's and worked for the Houston's ownership group, Hillstone Restaurant Group. Maggie also worked at Hillstone.

Moisés will serve as executive chef and general manager, while Maggie will serve as hospitality manager.

Once the Houston's deal fell through and Horn had met up with Moisés and Maggie, he decided to go forward with the Briza concept. All he needed now was a site.

Horn is friends with Scott Morris, the founder of Church Health, which is located at Crosstown Concourse. It was Morris who suggested that Horn check out the restaurant space that was once Pizzeria Trasimeno. Pizzeria Trasimeno closed in 2022.

Horn had been to Crosstown. But, he admitted, he didn't really grasp the dynamics of the space. The more he learned, the more he was interested.

Horn signed the lease in May. Brown Gill with Gill Properties represented Briza. Carson Kane and Reid Lanigan of Jones Aur Commercial Real Estate represented Crosstown on the deal and worked with Matt Prince, the COO of Crosstown Redevelopment Cooperative, to get the deal finalized.

Work to transform the space was done by Grinder Taber Grinder.

Horn said it was a challenging project. They had to figure out some work-arounds in the concrete space. They added new equipment, redid the bar, added a lot of cabinetry.

There was also a paint job. Green waves cover the walls, suggesting a seaside.

"Moisés grew up in El Salvador and spent a lot of time on the water with his family," Horn said. "Briza means gentle ocean breeze."

The restaurant will make use of the two 7,000-pound, wood-fired clay ovens already in the space.

"We're cooking everything from steak to fish to pork chops in those ovens," Horn said. "They've been testing them for the last two weeks. They're really good."

Fare includes seafood, sushi, and steak, with a nod to the coast.

Briza will be upscale. It's not a T-shirt and flip-flops sort of place. Neither is it intimidating, Horn said.

"We call it approachable fine dining."