Shocking Restaurant News: B-19’s Cooper and Clark ‘Part Ways,’ Divvy Up Famous Eateries

Shocking Restaurant News: B-19’s Cooper and Clark ‘Part Ways,’ Divvy Up Famous Eateries

Grant Cooper and Charles Clark at the late great Ibiza in Midtown.

THE FORMER PARTNERS of the noted Clark Cooper Concepts restaurant company — whose eateries have included the River Oaks shopping strip’s Brasserie 19 and the Rice Village’s similarly scene-y Gratify — issued separate press releases this morning announcing that founding chef Charles Clark and founding restaurateur Grant Cooper have split.


Per a rep for Clark: “Charles Clark and Grant Cooper have decided to part ways after 20 years as business partners. Charles Clark will take the reins and become the face of Brasserie 19. The decision comes as Charles wanted to maintain one to two simple concepts and Grant desired to grow in a different direction.”

“There is no bad blood between me and Grant,” said Clark in a statement. “We just wanted different things. Grant wants to expand and do different concepts, and I want to grow in a different way. I want to do a lounge and continue the legacy and tradition of Brasserie 19.”

The brightly white-marble-washed brasserie is widely known to the in-crowd that has long patronized it as B-19. The see-and-be scene was the follow-up to Clark Cooper Concepts’ first huge hit, the late great Ibiza in Midtown, which highlighted the affable Clark’s aplomb with Mediterranean fare and seafood — and Cooper’s room-working charm.

Clark added of the recent news, “Why should we be locked to each other? We have worked well together for over 20 years and have built many successful restaurants. I value the partnership and success Grant and I have both seen over the years. This separation gives us both the opportunity to do what we want.”

Camp Cooper positioned the breakup this way: Cooper and Clark “will no longer operate under the Clark Cooper Concepts umbrella. They part as friends, looking forward to continuing to serve the community of loyal patrons that have become like family to them.”

Cooper — the ever-cool, gray-bearded, hipster-hat-wearing man about the dining room — will rebrand as Good Vibe Hospitality, he says, and maintain full ownership of former duo’s Coppa Osteria, which is the popular Italian restaurant next door to Gratify, and the upcoming Flora, set to open next month in the beautiful, twinkling space formerly called The Dunlavy on Allen Parkway.

Cooper’s rep added that the restaurateur “feels lucky to embark on this upcoming journey.”

The now closed Ibiza

The kitchen at Ibiza

The wine wall at Ibiza

The lounge at Gratify

Gratify Oysters on the Half Shell

Entrees at Gratify

Food
Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

Keep Reading Show less

Lady Stephanie Kimbrell, Cory McGee, and Butler Studio artists, Ani Kushyan, Alissa Goretsky and Elizabeth Hanje (photo by Michelle Watson)

ALL OF THE top performing arts organizations in Houston have now officially opened their 2024-2015 seasons, now that Houston Grand Opera has bowed with a stirring performance of Verdi’s Il trovatore at The Wortham followed by a lavish al fresco dinner in a tent on the plaza out front.The Houston Ballet and the Houston Symphony held their own grand opening night festivities earlier in the fall.

Keep Reading Show less
Art+Culture

Photo by Lynn Lane

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA’S second fall repertoire production is Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella. The colorful, commedia dell'arte-inspired production opens Friday, Oct. 25, and stars Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard — a breathtaking brunette beauty, even when doused in soot — in bel canto role of Angelina, known to her mean step-sisters as “Cenerentola.”

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment