Details Emerge on Downtown Concept From Pub Fiction Bunch

The Salt N Pepper Group confirms their move into downtown, leaving the frat boy image behind at their established Midtown bars. Known for shaping Midtown's bar and club scene through such bars as Pub Fiction, Shot Bar, Celtic Gardens through their company KCH Entertainment along with 3rd Floor, the group continues to focus less on party venues and more on casual and upscale dining establishments.

Fidan Baca, a partner with The Salt N Pepper Group, corroborates earlier reports of Blini Hoxha recently purchasing the 1000 Prairie Street property on the ground floor of the McCrory Building. Hoxha, who's over the restaurant and bar group, plans to open a Southern restaurant and bar concept next door to Prohibition Supperclub & Bar, according to CultureMap. Renderings show a wood motif with the increasingly overused log walls (Woodbar, 60 Degrees MasterCrafted) and intimate dining area.

As previously reported, the upcoming project will be named The Moonshiners. Straying from their casual menu at Beer Market Co., the new concept will be chef-oriented. "We are in developing stages of it," shared Baca when Eater Houston first reported on the group's move to downtown, but tells CultureMap plans for the restaurant may change.

In 2012, Salt N Pepper took its first leap into a restaurant-focused project with the opening of Crisp in the Heights, an Italian eatery serving wine and craft. Last year, the group followed up with its first beer garden and casual restaurant. The concepts are growing with expansions for Crisp in The Woodlands and Beer Market Co. in Midtown, both projected to open this year.

Perhaps seeing Houston's nightlife instability (Richmond Strip and Washington Avenue) pushed the group to turn its focus on more mature projects, thereby assuring its longevity should Midtown's booming bar scene goes bust. One thing is for sure, with their new restaurant and bar in the works for downtown, Salt N Pepper is growing up — recapturing the attention of their past patrons who have outgrown the college-aimed bar scene of Midtown.