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 G