BY: VICTORIA GRAHAM
HOLLEY Chef Mark
When you are a chef your dream is to own and operate your own restaurant. Being a true restaurateur is always the goal...
If you didn’t take the time to understand who Mark Holley was, you would make the mistake of thinking his story started and stopped with the successful opening and sudden closure of Holley’s Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar. Instead, Holley’s was the culmination of over 25 years of culinary excellence in some of Houston’s most respected restaurants. Mark began his culinary career as a sous chef in the famed Brennan’s of Houston. Brennan’s was Mark’s first professional introduction to upscale dining; a concept he would embrace throughout his entire career. While Brennan’s gave Mark his start, it was his time at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and more recently, Pesce, which allowed Mark to rise to local celebrity chef status. Rising to one of city’s only Black Executive Chefs (Pesce) was no small
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feat, and would prove instrumental in Mark opening up a restaurant of his own. “When you are a chef your dream is to own and operate your own restaurant. Being a true restaurateur is always the goal,” Mark said as he reflected on his decade’s long love affair with food. This dream became a reality when Holley’s opened in 2014. The upscale seafood spot opened to rave reviews, Afro-fusion seafood creations, and a diverse Midtown location that mirrored the patrons filling Holley’s formal dining room and bar. While it is clear Holley’s was a testament to years of hard work, vision-setting, and execution by Mark and his team, it was also a statement to other Black restaurateurs: follow your personal culinary passion, wherever that may lead you. Mark wants young chefs and restaurateurs
