After months of speculation about what would replace the failed Peska restaurant at BLVD Place in Uptown comes word that one of Houston's most iconic restaurant brands will take the space. Welcome the first new outpost of the Original Ninfa's on Navigation.

Legacy Restaurants announced Tuesday afternoon it has signed a lease to go into 1700 Post Oak in the space formerly occupied by Peska Seafood Culture, the grand and costly restaurant that opened in June 2015 and closed in November 2017 after several attempts to revive and rebrand the business. The space will now house The Original Ninfa's Uptown Houston, opening late spring 2019.

"We are pleased to announce that our BLVD Place story is becoming even more exciting." said James C. Mastandrea, Whitestone's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The successful addition of Ninfa's will be another great traffic driver to the property. The signing is another step in our process to transform BLVD Place into a true community-centered property. Coupled with the recent announcement of Rooftop Cinema Club opening in October, coupled with its five restaurants from which to choose, BLVD Place has become the 'must-go' destination in Uptown Houston."

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Whitestone REIT is the company that acquired BLVD Place.

For Legacy, which operates the Original Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's Famous Po'Boys, Tuesday has been a day of change. Earlier it announced that it was creating a new concept, Mama Ninfa's Tacos y Tortas, and installing it first in Understory, the new culinary market in the tunnel system downtown with plans to open an additional three to four similar restaurants in the next one to two years in Houston.

Now the news that the original Ninfa's – the house that the late, legendary Mama Ninfa Laurenzo built – is opening a new outpost.

"We have been looking for a premier location for the first 'new' Original Ninfa's, and we have been focused on the Galleria/Uptown area for some time," said Legacy Restaurants CEO Jonathan Horowitz. "The size of this space and its location are just what we were searching for. As for the restaurant itself, we don't see the need to make any significant changes to The Original Ninfa's formula – both the classic items and the exciting new additions chef (Alex) Padilla has made over the past 12 years are extremely popular with our guests. If it's not broken, we're not going to try to fix it."

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The former Peska space will offer seating for about 280 guests in the 6,300-square-foot restaurant with a generous patio.

Horowitz said that the same menu at the Original Ninfa's will be available in the new location. That means the famous fajitas and tacos al carbon washed down by Ninfaritas.

Austin-based architect and designer Michael Hsu, who is also designing the new Ninfa's Tacos y Tortas concept, will redesign the Peska space that will have a tortilla-making station like the original as well as expand the kitchen space to accommodate a wood-burning oven and grill.

Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@chron.com. Follow him on the podcast BBQ State of Mind to learn about Houston and Texas barbecue culture.