Pearl & Horn will be closing its Garden location this Sunday. Why, and what's next

This weekend will be your last weekend to indulge in Pearl & Horn’s famed lobster smash burgers or seafood fries. At least for now.

The fast-casual restaurant based on offering the best of “land and sea” will be relocating from its original spot inside downtown Pensacola’s food court, The Garden, in the process of relocating to a larger space at 1504 W. Intendencia St. this holiday season.

Owners George and Luba Lazi, who also own popular Pensacola restaurant George Bistro, are in the renovation process of transforming the former Alice’s Restaurant into their largest concept to date, seating about 300 people at a time. This will include a full bar, a freshly shucked oyster bar visible from the dining room, an outdoor dining area and an indoor, private dining room available to be rented out for special events.

In the meantime, they announced in a social media statement Tuesday afternoon that they would be holding their last service at The Garden this weekend.

“The last two years have been incredible. We're so grateful to The Garden for welcoming us into this community,” the statement read. “Follow us on our journey - we'll be posting updates!”

What will the new Pearl & Horn location entail?

The expansive space allows for the couple to not only serve more guests, but to expand its menu. This includes branching out to offer whole fish selections, seafood towers, daily ceviche and crudo offerings, a diverse oyster program and colorful caviar for the seafood portion of the menu, coupled with wild meats for the land, such as elk and bison.

“We have already built an amazing boutique oyster program that we support locals here and on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, all the way from Alabama to Apalachicola. We have pretty much covered and have tried to taste all the beautiful oysters,” George Lazi said. “We work with East Coast (oysters) as well, which I love them because they are cold water oysters which have a different brine, taste and different flavors.”

The menu will still include items fit for a fast lunch, such as the seafood fries and smash burgers.

The two will be expanding the former Alice’s kitchen and hiring about 100 employees to execute a daily lunch and dinner service, in addition a weekend brunch.

The location is extra special to the pair, as it is only a few blocks from where the two first opened George eight years ago.

How did Pearl & Horn get started?

Pearl & Horn made its debut in the popular outdoor food hall at The Garden at Palafox + Main in late-2021, nestled behind the row of outdoor vendors neighboring the Perennial Patio Bar, offering dine-in or carryout service.

The "gourmet fast-casual" restaurant envisioned by the Lazis has been years in the making, and highlights flavors inspired by the best of both the land and sea.

"When you think of a pearl, you think beautiful, classy, elegant ... and then it comes in this not-so-perfect shell. It's made with so many layers of grit and hard work. But it also represents all the seafood. We love seafood, we love oysters," Luba Lazi said of the company's name in a 2021 interview.

The second half of the company's name — the horn — represents a traditional drinking vessel from the Republic of Georgia, embodying the beliefs of hospitality embodied in his culture, George Lazi said.

As a part of the drinking culture synonymous with celebration came the passing of the toast. The host of the evening raises a horn-shaped drinking vessel, or "kantsi," to say a few words before passing the horn to the next guest to make their own toast and drink.

"Even if it's four, six, eight people around a table, there's always a person that becomes the orchestrator of the event. That person then is labeled as 'tamada,' ... a person who starts the first toast," George Lazi said. "It's very common that when you have a birthday that you get a horn as a birthday present. It's passed down to generations."

Toasting was more than a tradition. It also was a sacred form of hospitality and a blessing to the people in one's company, according to George Lazi. That's a sentiment he wanted to share with everyone who walked through his new restaurant's doors: an automatic warm welcome and an extended invitation into the family.

In the current restaurant, you will find physical reminders of that culture throughout, from antler-shaped chandeliers to horns engraved in the wooden tables. If you’re lucky, you might even see the gigantic drinking horns that held the wine from the couple's wedding day, gifted from George's father.

Follow Pearl & Horn on social media for more real-time updates and information.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pearl & Horn closing at The Garden Sunday, reopening in Alice's spot