Downtown’s Forthcoming Lyric Market Is Going To Be Seriously Awesome

Back in December, Eater reported the arrival of Lyric Market, Houston’s newest food hall. Planned for the city’s Theatre District, early signs indicate that it’s going to be seriously awesome.

The project, a brainchild of real estate developer Jonathan Enav, is set to arrive at 411 Smith Street later this year. According to a press release, Lyric Center Market will occupy a massive 31,000 square feet, complete with an underground speakeasy, open-air terrace, and private dining rooms. Clark Cooper Concepts, the restaurant group behind eateries like Ibiza Food and Wine Bar, Brasserie 19, and Punk’s Simple Southern Food, has been tapped to help Enav curate a selection of diverse and exciting tenants inside the Market.

Clark Cooper Concepts’ Grant Cooper tells Eater that Lyric Market will be home to somewhere between 18 and 24 tenants. The group itself will only operate one or two of its own concepts, including a cocktail bar that will serve up personal-sized portions of paella and Spanish tapas. “We’ve always been connected to Spanish culture with Ibiza being our first restaurant, and we want to go back to our roots,” Cooper says. “The atmosphere of the market is conducive to that. Along with our wine program, the bar will be the hub that infuses the energy throughout the market.”

As for the other vendors, Cooper and his team are looking at restaurants in Houston and beyond to bring diversity to the Market. “We want local representation, but we also want to bring in people from outside of Houston, from around the world, so people can try different types of restaurants,” he says. “We’re diverse in our culture in Houston, and we have that in our restaurants. We are talking to quite a few people behind the scenes, in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Tel Aviv, London. We are exploring options that we think are great, and will also fit the Houston market.”

Cooper wasn’t willing to divulge which specific restaurants are in the works just yet, but expect for those announcements to come trickling in as the market prepares to open. When it does arrive, Lyric Market could be the fourth food hall in or near Downtown Houston. Conservatory is already open, and the forthcoming Bravery Chef Hall will soon arrive at Aris Market Square. Finn Hall, which will open at The Jones on Main, is expected to make its debut in the neighborhood sometime early this year.

At present, Lyric Market is expected to kick open the doors in Downtown in Fall 2018. Stay tuned for more details.

• It Looks Like Downtown Houston Is Getting Yet Another Food Hall [EHOU]