Much-lauded Savannah chef Mashama Bailey is opening two restaurants in Austin this year, based on her acclaimed Georgia restaurant the Grey. The restaurants in question — the Grey Diner Bar and the Grey Market — will be located within forthcoming downtown hotel the Thompson on 506 San Jacinto Boulevard, with everything aiming to open this summer.
The two restaurants are based on co-owners Bailey and business partner John O. Morisano’s award-winning restaurant the Grey. Bailey first shared the Austin restaurant details on Cherry Bombe’s podcast in late January; Bailey and Morisano confirmed their plans with Eater.
In the podcast, Bailey describes the Grey Diner Bar coming to Austin as a “larger version” of the original diner bar in Georgia (which was previously an all-hours diner space). “We created a little bit of a cocktail bar-slash-snack thing,” she explains on the podcast, aiming to serve items such as sandwiches and charcuterie, as well as dishes found from the Grey’s earlier menus.