Buttermilk Baby, the latest concept from restaurant powerhouse Berg Hospitality Group, opened its doors on Sept. 4 with a week’s worth of deals and promotions. Bringing happiness to ice cream fans everywhere, the family-friendly restaurant – a modern homage to vintage soda fountain ambiance and retro, southern fare – will mark a first-of-its-kind experience with Carvel, the soft serve innovator that revolutionized how Americans enjoy ice cream and frozen novelties.
Nostalgia runs high at Buttermilk Baby, 600 N. Shepherd Dr. at M-K-T Heights, where Carvel treats are paired with a menu of buttermilk biscuits, chicken sandwiches and burgers. Buttermilk Baby represents a new path for Berg Hospitality Group – an all-day family-friendly hangout invested with equal parts sentimental Americana and modern dining know-how.
“Buttermilk Baby is a fusion of our traditional fine-dining with fast casual to create a new concept of dining I like to call ‘cool casual’. It’s a place where kids of all ages can get home-cooked comfort food made from top-notch ingredients and just enjoy being a kid again,” says Benjamin Berg, Founder and CEO of Berg Hospitality Group in a statement.
Buttermilk Baby is the Texas debut of Carvel, the cult classic ice cream brand founded in 1934. As the country’s first retail ice cream company, Carvel is best known for creating The Original Soft Serve, as well as for its ice cream cakes and signature novelties. Buttermilk Baby will offer Carvel’s exclusive ice cream cakes, including the Fudgie the Whale character cake, along with ten flavors of The Original Soft Serve and the brand’s fan-favorite Flying Saucer ice cream sandwiches.
“We are so excited to bring Carvel’s incredible soft serve treats to Texas with Buttermilk Baby,” said Marissa Sharpless, Vice President of Marketing at Carvel. “Both longtime fans and newcomers alike will love what we have in store for them with both classic favorites and new products that aren’t available anywhere else.”
Carvel’s soft serve ice cream will also be incorporated into the menu through the concept’s “boozy shakes,” which will be available in a variety of adults-only flavors including Espresso Shaketini, Bailey’s Oreo Cookie, and Piña Colada.
Berg Hospitality Group tapped Regional Director of Operations, Fabian Alba, to oversee the concept’s design and execution. Alba offers extensive experience in fast-casual growth, with involvement in the expansion of household-name chains, including Chuy’s, Raising Cane’s, and Cold Stone Creamery.
To create a menu with quintessential Southern comfort food and one-of-a-kind ice cream creations, Alba utilized Berg Hospitality Group’s VP of Culinary, Brian Sutton. Sutton has over 25 years of experience, alongside some of the most notable chefs in the country, including Daniel Boulud and Günter Seeger. Ice cream creations were dreamt up with the help of Berg Hospitality Group’s Corporate Pastry Chef, Ruchit Harneja.
From breakfast staples through dinner favorites, Buttermilk Baby ladles on honest, homey classics for comfort food cravings. The day starts with cinnamon rolls, buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, buttermilk pancakes and biscuit sandwiches filled with eggs, honey ham and buttermilk-brined fried chicken. The menu will also feature Ben Berg’s favorite breakfast: an everything bagel with cream cheese and bacon, coined “Ben’s Biscuit”.
Lunch and dinner signatures include diner-style smashburgers, patty melt, chicken finger basket, and a variety of chicken sandwiches (buttermilk, southern fried, grilled and mushroom/Swiss). And in true Berg Hospitality style, smashburgers, hot dogs and corn dogs are made with 100% Texas wagyu beef. Additionally, beverages including frozen frappes, a high-end coffee bar and a limited selection of beer and wine will be served.
To bring this unique vision to fruition, Berg Hospitality sought the best in creative and innovative talents including New York-based design firm, ICRAVE, and longtime Berg collaborator, Gail McCleese of sensitori. The duo teamed up to produce a dining wonderland where guests are greeted by pink cloud shaped swings floating from a rainbow-colored arch at the entrance. The 3,100-square-foot interior is decorated with a life-size carousel horse, a giant ice cream sundae statue (complete with rotating cherry on top), neon signage, and a pastel color palette running through the 50-seat dining room. There’s even a river of sprinkles running through the middle of a kid-friendly ice cream bar with seating for 10. Even for younger generations who aren’t as acquainted with the American drug store soda fountain, the design’s iconography will feel familiar.
Buttermilk Baby is located at 600 N Shepherd Dr Suite B-250, Houston, TX 77007 in the M-K-T Heights development. Hours of operation are Sunday-Thursday 8am-10pm and Friday-Saturday 8am-11pm.
