Chef Adam Brick Is Opening an All-Day Austin Restaurant

Former Apis chef Adam Brick is already in the midst of working on his first solo restaurant after he left Hyde Park wine restaurant Vino Vino last year. While there is no location as of this moment, Marinas will become an all-day restaurant serving up wood-fired dishes like pizza (similar to his previous restaurant Pizzeria Sorellina), as well as Cuban sandwiches and coffee. It’s pegged to open later this year.

The name is in honor of Brick’s grandmother, Marina. She immigrated from Cuba to Miami in the late 1950s, and she served as a big impact on his culinary outlook. The concept is one he’s played around with before. During his time at Spicewood restaurant, Apis, he debuted a tasting menu of the same name in 2015, featuring dishes like wagyu ropa vieja and guava pastelitos.

“I’m happy to have a tiny budget and force myself to focus on the simplicity of the ingredients,” Brick told Eater. “I want this restaurant to be independent of this new foreign Austin,” he continued, referring to the number of out-of-town chains and chefs coming into the city.

Courtesy of Adam Brick

Brick is also thinking about adding a convection and steam-injected deck oven for a bakery component, ideally run with or by a local baker. He teases potential future pop-ups too.

Brick and advanced sommelier/former Parkside Projects beverage director Paul Ozbirn took over Vino Vino in November partnering up with founding co-owner Kelly Bell (other original co-owner Jeff Courington left the restaurant early last year). He left suddenly less than a month later. He knew he was working on Marinas when he left Vino Vino but had said at the time that he “legally cannot disclose the location or details.”

Before that, Brick was the chef de cuisine of Eater 38 Spicewood restaurant Apis with chef/owner Taylor Hall. He has also worked in the kitchens of Daniel, Momofuku Ssam Bar, and Aureole.

All-day cafes seem to be the rage in Austin this year. There’s Bryce Gilmore’s Sour Duck Market coming to East Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Wright Bros Brew & Brew’s West 5th Street cafe Better Half, and Henri’s Cheese owners’ new Windsor Park restaurant Hank’s, all set to open this winter.