The Emmer & Rye Team Is Opening a New Mediterranean-Israeli-Texan Restaurant in East Austin

The Austin restaurant group behind Emmer & Rye and TLV is opening a new Mediterranean restaurant, Ezov, in the former Pitchfork Pretty space in the Holly neighborhood. The new restaurant will open at 2708 East Cesar Chavez Street in spring 2023.

The executive chef of Ezov is Israeli native Berty Richter, who is also the executive chef of Fareground stall TLV and San Antonio’s Ladino, which opened in September. In a press release, Richter said that Ezov will serve “seasonal Israeli cuisine,” drawing specific influence from the Galilee region, which is known for olives, pomegranates, and wine. Ezov will also serve cocktails. The name Ezov is the Hebrew name for hyssop, which is one of the main ingredients in the spice blend za’atar.

This also means that critically adored Texas fare restaurant Pitchfork Pretty is no more, despite announcing plans to reopen last summer. Eater has reached out for details on this and will update when those become available. Pitchfork Pretty opened in 2017 and closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the meantime, its chef Max Snyder opened new food trailer Rogue Radish.

Pitchfork Pretty owner Seth Baas owned the restaurant’s property, but it looks like it was recently for sale. The listing also reveals Pitchfork Pretty turned roughly $2.5M in its last year of operation.

Emmer & Rye opened on Rainey Street in 2015 and has since expanded to seven restaurants, including Eater Austin’s 2022 Best New Restaurant winner, Caribbean spot Canje.

Once open, Ezov will serve dinner only.