Former Cochon Chef Launching Pop-up Residency at Brieux Carré

Bret Macris is striking out on his own after years of working in prominent restaurants across the US.
Photo: Official

After stints as a chef in prominent restaurants in Los Angeles, New York City and New Orleans, Bret Macris is now striking out on his own with Shift, a pop-up residency at the Brieux Carre Brewing Company, located just off Frenchmen Street in the Marigny at 2115 Decatur St.

Sign up now to get our Daily Breaking News Alerts

Opt out at anytime

After moving to New Orleans in 2017, Macris worked as chef de cuisine at Cochon and recently helped to open the high-profile Wild South in the Lower Garden District. He told What Now New Orleans that change has been a constant theme throughout his culinary career, and he’s making it the central theme of his new pop-up.

“At every restaurant I’ve worked in, the menu has changed; daily or seasonally,” he said. “That’s been a big part of what I do. It’s how I keep things sustainable and interesting.”

Currently, the menu at Shift has an Octoberfest theme. There’s a lion’s man schnitzel po-boy, potato pancake with trout roe, and flounder-on-a-stick with a lager aioli. Macris said to expect the menu to shift themes in the coming weeks.

“We are going to do a little bit of everything,” he said. “We’re going to have sandwiches, but we’re also going to have oysters. We might be featuring a seared tuna dish, and if someone comes in at 8 o’clock and wants a grilled cheese they can get a grilled cheese.

Mostly, we’ll be focused on what we can pair with the amazing beers that the brewery is offering, even if we’re not doing a beer dinner, so to speak,” he added.

Macris said he collected several job offers after leaving Wild South, but a personal connection with Brieux Carre owner Robert Bostick led Macris to launch his first pop-up with the help of his wife Becky Brooks Macris, who serves as co-owner and co-chef. Macris said the pop-up will start offering service at the brewery five days a week, Wednesday to Sunday, from noon to 8 p.m.

“We’ve had people ask us if we wanted to do a pop-up elsewhere,” he noted. “For now, we’re not doing that, but those doors are open. That’s the beauty of this pop-up model: We can be fluid and be able to change what we need to change.”

Brett Llenos Smith

Brett Llenos Smith

Brett Llenos Smith is a freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and more than a decade of experience writing about restaurants, farms and food production. As someone with a multi-ethnic background, he has a passion for highlighting folks from underrepresented communities.
Brett Llenos Smith

Brett Llenos Smith

Brett Llenos Smith is a freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and more than a decade of experience writing about restaurants, farms and food production. As someone with a multi-ethnic background, he has a passion for highlighting folks from underrepresented communities.
Search