The restaurant business is not for the faint of heart. It’s a business that requires passion and love, with a pursuit of excellence that has no end. Sustainability means meeting the challenge every single day.

COVID-19 impacted the restaurant industry like no other. Many projects were placed on hold. Staffing issues became much more difficult. Supply chain issues, restrictions, and a myriad of obstacles decimated the dining industry. Four years later, they are still recovering.

Fairhope lost a local favorite when the Camellia Cafe closed its doors during the pandemic. When I heard murmurs that a new establishment was opening in the space they once occupied, it caught my attention, and I contacted Harry Johnson. He first mentioned that a group out of Texas was working on a concept new to the area. Then I met Zach Winter, who knew the owner and put us in touch. 

Brian Culwell and I spoke briefly and decided to get together once Plane+Level opened. I found Brian to be engaging and thoughtful over the phone, even though I knew he was busy managing his many business enterprises between Texas and Alabama. I soon learned this is not your typical restaurant story.

I met with Brian’s wife and business partner, Amelia Culwell along with Thomas Perez, Sommelier, and Orlando Amaro, the Culinary Director. It is a fascinating tale that made me excited to welcome such passionate, experienced partners who are bringing their collective Spanish heritage to the forefront of the food scene in Fairhope.

Amelia, a Houston Native who severs as Vice-Persident of KATFU Restaurant Group, and Brian have been splitting time between Ono Island in Orange Beach and Houston for several years. She describes Brian as a serial entrepreneur and “the hardest working man I know” with many businesses outside the restaurant industry. Two major events changed all of their lives.

In 2023, Culwell's home on Ono Island was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. “We had been coming to Fairhope to dine, shop, and play with our kids and loved it. We moved to Fairhope when we lost our home in Orange Beach.” Covid was the other major event that brought the new partners together.

Thomas Perez is a humble man who is well-regarded in the world of fine wine and food and holds a Masters Degree in wine. As a Sommelier, he specializes in discovering and experiencing small wine producers, often purchasing entire allotments to offer exclusively to his guests. Thomas, who immigrated from El Salvador with his family, was working as the Sommelier at Dos Brisas, the only Forbes Travel Guide 5-star designated restaurant in Texas when the pandemic hit. 

With the restaurant closed and restrictions in place, he soon found himself at home with his two sons, now 12 and 14. Recalling his heritage recipes, he began making empanadas with a chimichurri sauce in his kitchen and paired them with a bottle of either red or white wine from 46 cases of a 2012 Cotes du Rhone varietal he had purchased a while back. 

With his sons’ help, he began selling these fresh dinner packages to neighbors. The reputation quickly spread to other neighborhoods, then to Houston, and he would meet customers halfway, delivering their orders in parking lots. After making and delivering 400 empanadas one day, Thomas realized this was not a sustainable business model. He called Brian.  

Thomas and Brian first met in 2018 when Thomas was helping turn around a defunct restaurant in Old Town Tomball, Texas.  While cleaning up, he came across Brian’s name on a list from a wine-pairing dinner and decided to give him a call. 

The two met and formed an immediate relationship. Brian and Amelia love good wine, and Thomas, a self-trained chef, became a good friend. Thomas met with Brian and Amelia at their home in Houston and they discussed a restaurant concept to enable him to continue preparing his recipes.

“This was a passion project,” says Amelia. “Thomas is an experienced chef and has been running the wine program at two of the most iconic restaurants in Houston. From that meeting in the kitchen, we decided to open a tapas studio restaurant and call it Plane+Level in Old Town Spring, Texas.” She tells me, “We were not restaurant-experienced people, but Brian loves a challenge.”

The original Plane+Level opened at the height of the pandemic in November 2020 in Spring, Texas, just outside Houston. Brian and Thomas chose an unusual location in Old Town Spring because it's a decade past its heyday. This was a revitalization of sorts and it breathed new life into the community that had seen better days. Plane+Level has since become a destination restaurant, attracting other businesses to the neighborhood.

Thomas tells me they started with five items including three tapas and the empanadas with chimichurri. Each week they added another item, like octopus and croquetas, a Spanish ham appetizer. “We wanted to teach our guests about food and wine that they may not be familiar with. We called it a food and wine studio.”

Thomas designed the kitchen, and Brian designed the dining area. “We wanted to create a small, intimate, very personal dining experience where people could relax and enjoy new offerings in an unintimidating atmosphere,” says Amelia. Thomas, who has studied wines all his life, recalls the memories of experiencing food and wine in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France.

“Everything is handcrafted. The food, the cocktails, every interior piece of the decor,” Amelia tells me. Brian, originally from Venezuela, has an affinity for aviation which he learned from being in the cockpit of his uncle’s plane as a child, and the bar at Plane+Level in Spring was fashioned from an old airplane wing, thus the name. 

Culinary Director Orlando Amaro, the other partner in KATFU Restaurant Group, is another fortunate person resulting from the pandemic. His resume covers 29 years of cooking in some of the finest restaurants in the world. Twenty-two of those years have been as an executive chef, yet he still considers himself a cook. Also from Venezuela, he tells me, “Thirty years ago, there was no such thing as culinary in Venezuela.”

He studied at culinary schools in Mexico, the United States, and South America and spent much of his time cooking in fine restaurants in Italy and France. He worked at Bulli, a restaurant regarded as the best in Spain. “We had 50 chefs cooking for a capacity of 50 guests that included the likes of Mick Jagger and the King of Spain.” Bulli is now closed but a foundation was created to support new culinary techniques around the world.

Chef Orlando has experienced every culinary stage imaginable including degrees in chocolate, and pastry chef. He has overseen nine restaurant openings in the last 18 years. “The restaurant business is hard. It’s challenging. Years ago, my goal was for my restaurants to be listed in the Michelin Guide,” which they were. His lifetime achievements are remarkable, involving stops at top-rated restaurants in Washington DC, Virginia, and Houston.

When the pandemic upended the restaurant industry, it created the perfect storm of connection for Brian, Amelia, Thomas, and Orlando. Orlando and his family met in the Culwell’s kitchen in Houston. The families gathered to discuss this new partnership opportunity. Brian thought, “I’m finally going to do something that I love.”

Plane+Level in Old Town Spring was so well-received, that it grew quickly. The DiRoNA designation, awarded to top restaurants throughout North America and the Caribbean, takes 3 years of operation to be considered. The only DiRoNA designations awarded in Texas were restaurants within the Houston loop area. Plane+Level was awarded the DIRONA designation exactly 3 years and one month after opening.

Amelia tells me, “We wanted something very different that would attract a clientele seeking something out of the ordinary.” Orlando adds, “I want people to feel like they have been transported to Madrid.” Plane+Level’s offerings are decisively Spanish, with some South American thrown in, such as the delicious wagyu beef and vegetable empanadas served with chimichurri sauce.

We began our visit with a wonderful glass of Cava sparkling wine from Spain. Orlando brings thin slices of Iberian ham, considered the world’s finest, with Spanish cheeses to the table. Another small plate includes slices of chorizo sausage, ham, and small baked pastry to accompany the meats and cheese. We enjoyed a beautiful Rioja from Spain as we talked about the experience they are hoping to bring to Fairhope’s burgeoning food scene.

Thomas tells me that the wine selection is not about the label, but about good wine at a good value. “Most of the wine we offer is from Spain, but also France, and California.” He tells me they want to be able to offer a $50 to $75 bottle that tastes like a $300 bottle. 

“90% of the wine we serve is exclusive to us. Small producers care about every detail in the wine-making process. In my travels, I’ve built relationships with these producers, I  know them personally and often buy a full production. These are small vintners, and we want to teach our customers about each wine we serve.” 

Plane+Level strives to develop a deep connection with its patrons. “We believe we have found a niche to connect people with food and wine and entertain without the fussiness of traditional fine dining,” says Orlando. “We want to bring a different mentality to the restaurant experience. For me, the connection is the most important part. I feel the love when I look at our guests and see their happiness.”

“This is a family-focused business,” says Amelia. “It’s not at all corporate. We are all here because we care about each other and want to create an intimate food and wine experience that people can enjoy while learning.  We want them to feel like they’re dining in someone’s home.” Orlando follows, saying he hopes to be able to walk out with satisfied guests and hear, “Perfection!” 

With a focus on hospitality, Plane+Level is excited to work with local producers to create fresh, unique dishes paired with perfectly matched wines. For Orlando, it's a different mentality than in the past. “This is the culmination of a life-long career in fine dining. This is the dream of passionate people coming together with a sense of purpose. No one has to be here. We are here because we love what we do.”

That’s something I can get excited about! Open 7 nights a week, Plane+Level plans to open for lunch in the New Year, as soon as they can build their staff to a level that allows them to offer a truly memorable dining experience consistently. Reservations are suggested. 

We wish you the best and are glad you are here!