The Future Of Houston's Historic Inner Loop

Born in New York City, Berg has been in the restaurant business for over 17 years working for upscale steakhouses in key markets including Las Vegas, Mexico City and his hometown. He began his career as an in-house butcher with a proud family heritage rooted in the restaurant business. His great-grandfather was a kosher butcher in Chicago, his grandfather owned the iconic Orange Julius juice stand in Los Angeles and his brother is a well-known chef who has an impressive resume working for restaurateurs such as Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini.  In June 2015, Benjamin Berg opened his first concept, B&B Butchers & Restaurant, an upscale steakhouse and traditional butcher shop on Washington Avenue, to rave reviews from critics, celebrities and Houstonians. In December 2017, he purchased Carmelo’s Ristorante Italiano, a traditional, family-owned and operated restaurant located in Houston’s Energy Corridor since 1981. Now named Carmelo’s Cucina Italiana, Berg along with his brother and Executive Chef, Daniel Berg, are serving fresh, rustic Italian-American food in an approachable, neighborhood setting with first-class service. After successfully opening a second location of B&B Butchers & Restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas in January 2018, he formed Berg Hospitality Group, which conceives, launches and operates restaurants in Texas with a commitment to giving back to the local communities. The budding culinary group is also responsible for creating B.B. Lemon, an elevated eatery and bar serving classic, straightforward food and cocktails, which opened in November 2018 across the street from B&B Butchers & Restaurant in Houston, and Benjamin, his namesake restaurant set to open in late 2019 inside a luxury apartment building in downtown Houston, along with more concepts to come. With a true passion for the hospitality industry, all of Berg’s restaurants focus on offering excellent service, unique atmospheres and unparalleled experiences for their guests. Prior to his career in restaurants, Berg worked for The Point, a luxury hotel company voted the #1 small hotel in the country at the time. He began as a bellman and worked his way up, learning every detail of the different facets of the hospitality business. He brings this same, service-oriented mindset to his restaurants. Berg received a Master of Hospitality Management from Cornell University and a B.A. in Art History from Tulane University. Highlights of the awards and honors Berg has received include: o Named “Honorable Mention” in the Houston Business Journal 2016 40 Under 40 Awards o Recipient of the Preservation Houston 2016 Good Brick Award for the rehabilitation of the former Dittman Bakery Building into B&B Butchers & Restaurant o Recipient of the Houston Business Journal 2018 40 Under 40 Awards o Named a “Hurricane Hero” by Houston CityBook, KPRC-NBC 2, Houston Chronicle and PaperCity Houston for his charitable efforts after Hurricane Harvey o Named a “Leader and Legend” in 2018 by Houston CityBook

Prolific interior design practice specializes in developing originative and fully integrated designs for F+B & hospitality concepts.

Founding Partner Todd Mason has more than 36 years of real estate experience as a principal and a consultant with an extensive background in land and investment sales, property acquisition, asset management, and brokerage. Mr. Mason has been in involved in more than $3.0 billion in transactions during his career. In December of 2012 he sold his brokerage operation, Mason Partners to Avison Young, but maintained separate ownership in MLB Capital Partners, LLC to continue investing as a Principal and General Partner in commercial real estate projects and in June 2020 he left Avison Young to concentrate full time on the investment and development business of MLB Capital Partners. Prior to forming Mason Partners in December 2010, Mr. Mason was a shareholder of McDade, Smith, Gould, Johnston, Mason + Company where he served as their CFO for 8 years. He served as Senior Director – Brokerage Services Group with Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) of Texas 1990-2002 and prior to his tenure with C&W Mr. Mason spent two years as an associate at the Horne Company. During his tenure at C&W,he won C&W’s coveted National Service Excellence award two times. In 1997, he was named the Commercial Broker of the Year by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). He also received the Commercial Professional of the Year for 1998 from the Association of Commercial Real Estate Professionals (ACRP), the 1998 Industrial Broker of the Year from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), the 1999 Industrial Co-broker of the Year from NAIOP, and won CCIM’s 2002 Real Estate Forecast competition. In 2004 METRO contracted with Mr. Mason to serve as their Vice President of Real Estate and Joint Development where he successfully managed the largest Right of Way acquisition plan in their history as well as structuring their first public / private partnerships for development around park and rides and train stations. In 2015, Real Estate Forum named him one of the top 20 Investment Brokers in the nation, and in 2018 he was recognized by SIOR for Top Industrial Transactions Worldwide. Education and Affiliation Mr. Mason is a Past Chairman of the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) and is currently active in the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has previously held such titles as President of Brae Burn Country Club, President of the Exchange Club of Houston, President of the Stella Link Redevelopment Association (SLRA) and Chairman of the Board for the 16,000-member Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). He also served as Chairman of the Association of Commercial Real Estate Professionals (ACRP), the Downtown Historic District, and the Development Board of the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston. Mr. Mason has served as a Board Member of the Houston Architectural Foundation, Braes Bayou Little League, Boulevard Oaks Civic Association (BOCA) and Braeswood Place Homeowners Association and has been manager of numerousWest University Little League teams. Mr. Mason is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in petroleum geology.

Sarah Starry is the Director of Leasing for Radom Capital, where she maintains up-to-date knowledge of retail trends, develops and executes creative leasing strategies, and cultivates new relationships with prospective tenants and members of the brokerage community. In addition to canvasing and targeting local and first-to-market fashion, food, fitness and beauty concepts, she also actively participates in the site planning, design processes, and marketing materials. Sarah was previously with Streetwise Retail Advisors where she gained experience representing tenants, landlords, and transacting on behalf of buyers and sellers of commercial property. Here she uncovered her passion for urban mixed-use development, particularly those that push the envelope, and a desire to make relationships with tenants seeking spaces of that type. A resident of the Heights since graduating from Texas A&M University, Sarah is a Vice Chair on the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Parade Committee, sits on the Young Professionals Board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, and is the founder and designer of the recognized “bed. no breakfast”, Starry’s Studio, in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas.

Matt Shafiezadeh is the founder of Urban Genesis, a real estate investment and development company with acute strategies tied to advancing affordability across multiple product classes. Since its founding in 2013, Matt has grown Urban Genesis to $1.4 billion of AUM. Prior to Urban Genesis, Matt was a senior investment officer at Lionstone Investments where he sourced over $2.0 billion of commercial real estate assets across the country. Matt also spent time at both Highland Capital Management and Lazard Freres & Co on Distressed Investments and M&A/Restructuring. He graduated in finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.

As President and co-founder of Clark Condon, a Houston-based landscape architectural design firm, Sheila oversees design and general operations for the firm. Her depth of experience, from recreational and commercial facilities to public sector projects, gives her a broad-based knowledge that assures accuracy and client satisfaction. Sheila remains engaged and collaborative within the firm and serves as a mentor sharing her more than three decades of expertise. Moreover, her leadership directs and supports a team disciplined in how to respond to the growing value of environmental stewardship. Sheila earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture at Rutgers in 1981 and co-founded Clark Condon four years later. She was also the past recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University. In 2006, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Kim was born in Flushing, New York and come from many generations of New Yorkers. It was a culture shock when she first moved to Houston, Texas in the late 70's but can now say Y'all with the best of them. Kim graduated from the University of Houston with a BBA in Marketing and has worked in media her entire life. Kim played and coached soccer for many years and even spent a summer in England playing in tournaments. The oldest of three girls, she now has two sons (the first born Texans in her family), a husband and three male rescue dogs.