Chef Jason Dady is betting big on sandwiches at Pearl, bringing Umai Mi back to the Bottling Department food hall as a tight, bánh mì-focused stall opening Dec. 10. Instead of a sprawling menu, the revived concept zeroes in on Vietnamese sandwiches, plus a short roster of bowls, curries and snacks built to grab, go and wander the park with. The idea is to keep Dady’s layered, herb-heavy flavors intact while making them a lot more portable for shoppers and Pearl Park regulars.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Umai Mi will stack its bánh mì on Crackling Demibaguettes supplied by neighboring Pullman Market, with fillings like ginger-soy beef, lemongrass chicken, shrimp and a Saigon-style version built around house-made pâté. The food-hall lineup will also include bún bowls with peanuts and nuóc chấm, Thai-style coconut curries, crispy shrimp rolls, sweet-and-spicy wings, a Japanese-inspired deviled egg twist, plus bubble teas and Thai iced tea. The Express-News notes the stall will operate at 312 Pearl Parkway, Building 6, Unit 107, with hours kicking off Dec. 10.
Where The Bread And The Food Hall Meet
Pullman Market, a large culinary hub at Pearl that combines a bakery with specialty vendors, is set up to feed Umai Mi a steady stream of those demibaguettes, as Axios reported when the market rolled out. The Bottling Department has served as Pearl’s compact food hall since opening and will park Umai Mi alongside other quick-service stands, KSAT notes. With the bakery next door and built-in foot traffic on the lawn out front, Dady gets both a bread partner and a hungry audience without having to build a standalone restaurant.
A Return And A Rethink
Umai Mi first appeared in 2014 as a full-service restaurant before closing the following year. This round is intentionally leaner and more focused. "The Bánh Mì represents what I love about cooking, balancing textures, fresh herbs and layering flavors in a way that makes every bite exciting," Dady said in a media release, as quoted by the San Antonio Express-News. By shifting to a counter-service format, the team can play with flavors and dishes without carrying the cost and complexity of a full dining room.
How Umai Mi Fits Into Dady’s Growing Footprint
Umai Mi’s comeback slots into a busy stretch for Dady’s restaurant group. He recently rolled out Ice Ice Dady and a Lil’ Bros BBQ pop-up, as CultureMap reported, and has a Tre Pizzeria concept proposed for the San Antonio airport, according to the San Antonio Report. He is also involved in a broader overhaul at the Shops at Rivercenter that aims to turn traditional mall dining into a multi-vendor experience. Umai Mi’s compact, food-hall footprint fits neatly with those experiments in translating full-service ideas into fast-casual settings.
Umai Mi is scheduled to open at the Bottling Department on Dec. 10 with a streamlined menu and hours built around shoppers and park visitors, with initial coverage detailing the full lineup and schedule. Between Pullman Market’s bakery supply and the constant churn of the food hall, the relaunch is designed to make a classic bánh mì a quick, consistent stop in Pearl’s dining circuit. Expect sandwiches, bowls and plenty of tea when the stall debuts next month.
