East Austin’s dining scene is bracing for another power move, as award-winning restaurateur Sam Hellman-Mass, the force behind Suerte and Este, teams up with partners on a new Middle Eastern restaurant. The project would extend the group’s growing East Side footprint and bring a cuisine that is still relatively rare among the city’s splashier debuts. Regulars of the group’s spots will be watching to see how a team known for ingredient-forward cooking and polished hospitality approaches a new region of flavors.
The concept and partners
According to the Austin Business Journal, the project is structured under a partnership called Karaz Partners and has been in the works since 2024. The report names Celia Pellegrini, Chef Fermín Núñez, Sam Hellman-Mass, and Alejandra Kuri as principals, with a menu described in broad strokes as Middle Eastern. At the time of that reporting, the partners had not announced a final site or opening timeline, which leaves plenty of room for speculation but no hard details just yet.
Where it could land on the East Side
Hellman-Mass has already been busy along East Sixth Street and Manor Road. He recently finalized the purchase of a commercial strip at 2002 Manor Road and is planning a taquería for the eastern edge of that property, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. That coverage framed the acquisition as part of a broader push into neighborhood-focused dining and also noted the retirement of a long-running tenant at the site. The new Middle Eastern concept is described as a separate effort from the planned Manor Road taquería, so the team appears to be juggling multiple East Side builds at once.
From Suerte and Este to a new cuisine
Hellman-Mass and chef Fermín Núñez first made their mark with Suerte in 2018, then followed in 2022 with Este, a coastal Mexican seafood restaurant. Eater Austin has chronicled the origins of both projects and their menus, while Resy later highlighted Este on national lists of top new restaurants. That track record, along with the involvement of front-of-house and sommelier talent, suggests the partners are aiming to position the Middle Eastern venture as a carefully considered, polished addition to East Austin rather than a quick one-off.
Initial reporting did not include a confirmed address, menu details, or an opening date, and the partners have not shared more information beyond the partnership announcement. More specifics are expected to surface as design plans and permit applications appear with the city, which should give neighbors and diners a clearer sense of the scale and style of the project. For now, the news adds another storyline to the East Austin restaurant boom as operators continue to diversify what is on offer in the neighborhood.
