Hilton names Mashama Bailey partner for Signia Savannah dining

Hilton has selected Grey Spaces, the Savannah hospitality company co-founded by chef Mashama Bailey and restaurateur Johno Morisano, to guide food and beverage development at Signia Hilton Savannah. The 444-room riverfront property in Georgia is expected to open in 2028 as the headquarters hotel for the Savannah Convention Center.

The partnership covers concept development, menus, wine lists and guest experiences across the hotel’s lobby bar, all-day restaurant and rooftop venue, Hilton said. It brings the operators behind Savannah restaurant The Grey into a hotel project combining five food and beverage venues with more than 34,000 square feet of meeting space.

Distinct concepts for the hotel

Hilton said the dining concepts would differ from Grey Spaces’ existing work in Savannah and serve residents as well as visitors and hotel guests. The rooftop venue will overlook the city skyline and waterfront.

Bailey said her approach would draw on Savannah and Lowcountry food traditions alongside international influences from her career. She described the aim as “creating a place that feels connected to the city”, with a role for both the local community and hotel guests.

Morisano said the work would involve planning how diners move through the different settings and how their experiences develop. He linked that approach to Grey Spaces’ emphasis on creating welcoming places where people gather.

Hilton’s in-house global food and beverage consultancy, StiR Creative Collective, arranged the collaboration. Brian Abel, Hilton’s senior vice president for food and beverage operations and development in the Americas, said it reflected the company’s commitment to chef partnerships and dining shaped by the destination.

Convention hotel ownership and operations

The Savannah-Georgia Convention Center Authority owns the hotel, which is being developed in partnership with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. Hilton will manage the property, while Songy Highroads and Matthews Southwest Hospitality are co-developers.

Plans include a 13,000-square-foot ballroom within the meeting facilities, an outdoor pool and Club Signia. The property will have direct access to the convention centre and become Signia Hilton’s second hotel in Georgia.

For meeting planners and hotel operators, the culinary agreement connects the headquarters hotel’s dining offer with a local hospitality business. Kelvin D. Moore, senior vice president and general manager of the Savannah Convention Center, said the hotel would extend the convention experience and give attendees a connection to Savannah through local partners.

The partners behind The Grey

Bailey and Morisano opened The Grey in 2014 inside a former Greyhound bus terminal dating from 1938. Grey Spaces’ portfolio also includes L’Arrêt by The Grey in Paris, alongside storytelling and cultural projects centred on Southern cuisine.

Bailey, who remains executive chef of The Grey, trained at the Institute of Culinary Education and studied in Burgundy before working at restaurants including Prune under Gabrielle Hamilton. She won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2019 and became the first African American woman to receive its Outstanding Chef award in 2022.

Morisano is Grey Spaces’ managing partner and leads its growth and partnerships. The pair will now develop the hotel’s culinary programme with Hilton ahead of the anticipated 2028 debut.