It’s been a year since chef Wes Whitsell departed from Hatchet Hall in Culver City, the celebrated Southern restaurant that was awarded a Michelin star under his culinary direction. Since then, he’s consulted on the opening menus for the duo of restaurants inside West Hollywood’s Pleasure Med and signed on as the culinary director of Local LA, the restaurant group founded by Jake Matthews, Andy Vaughn, and Cory McGuire that is behind Winston House and the Waterfront in Venice. Now, Whitsell is introducing his Texas-meets-California sensibility to both venues and making plans to take over the 16,000-square-foot Enterprise Fish Co. building in Santa Monica with an all-new restaurant.

At the Waterfront, a sprawling indoor-outdoor restaurant that opened in 2018 on the Venice boardwalk, Whitsell is keeping the approachable all-day menu but infusing it with Tex-Mex touches. “What it was and what it is is pretty much still the same thing: A big, open party spot,” says Whitsell. “But anything I [cook] is gonna have the Southern, Texas vibe, it’s also going to represent California farms and local produce.” Menu highlights include a slate of tacos served on handmade corn tortillas from Kernel of Truth masa or flour tortillas using Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project Sonora wheat. The blackened fish taco recipe comes from Whitsell’s mother, while the double-decker cheeseburger is made with wagyu beef and pimiento cheese. “There’s a lot of integrity in what we’re doing, but it’s very simple, straightforward, just beachy-type food but with Tex-Mex influence,” Whitsell says.

Meanwhile, at Winston House, the moody supper club and live music venue that opened in 2021, Whitsell continues to draw from his Texas upbringing with a new concept called Mama’s Boy. “It’s a small menu, but it’s pretty focused and speaks to ‘Eye-talian’ — what we call it in Texas,” says Whitsell. The red sauce menu includes wafer-thin pizzas just like what Whitsell’s father used to prepare, and manicotti filled with cottage and ricotta cheeses and then topped with venison ragu, a dish Whitsell’s mom made during his childhood. Pimento cheese arancini, cornmeal fried oysters, and pasta, like a smoked brisket agnolotti, round out the food offerings. Both venues sell wines, beers, non-alcoholic beverages, and cocktails by barman Dave Purcell, the restaurant group’s beverage director.

“[Whitsell’s] Texan roots and family culinary heritage align perfectly with our vision of making Winston and Waterfront feel like home,” McGuire tells Eater.

Looking toward 2025, Whitsell says he is excited to be taking over the massive former Enterprise Fish Co. space, which seats up to 250 diners. “It’s my baby,” Whitsell says. The summers the chef spent in Louisiana as a child inform the seafood-centric menu which will include biscuits, “lots of vegetables,” and Creole classics like etouffee. The kitchen is being built to Whitsell’s specifications with a wood-fired grill and smoker.

While the name of the restaurant is still under wraps, demolition is underway and the interior design has been finalized. Whitsell tells Eater that the dining room’s focal point is a grand piano with seating surrounding it. “It’s very much a restaurant but there’s gonna be performances happening that aren’t scheduled,” he says. “It’s gonna be like classic jazzy vibes, a place for a more grown-up crowd.” Given the restaurant’s large footprint, Local LA plans to link up with an existing vinyl record bar on “a little speakeasy bar in the back,” says Whitsell.

“I’ve been a part of such serious stuff for so long,” says Whitsell. “This is an opportunity to have some fun, and I’m having a blast.”