Austin Bar, Restaurant & Retail News
 

There is lots and lots of bar and restaurant news in Austin and the surrounding areas. I thought it was time for a central location it.

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Punk shows, coveted burgers, good vibes: how Little Brother became Austin's best bar

Rainey Street's littlest bar defies logic and expectations in the best way.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifesty...r-17231256.php

On an oppressively hot mid-May day in Austin, Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou is chugging out a riff for a mass of mostly aging hardcore punks awaiting drummer Ben Koller’s entrance into the song "Plagues." When he kicks the pedals and hits the cans, the mass throbs like a hammer-smashed toe.

A drummer for local thrash punk openers Expander crowdsurfs, grabbing onto a nearby awning and doing a few pull-ups before pumping his fist and screaming along to the lyrics. It’s a scene of ecstatic mayhem in broad daylight.

This isn’t the 900-capacity outdoor stage at the Mohawk. This isn’t a SXSW day party either. It’s a Monday afternoon on Rainey Street, the formerly residential district now famous for throngs of bachelors and bachelorettes tossing back espresso martinis and provocatively named shots by the gallon.

And Converge, after 30 years of being perhaps the world's most foundational metalcore band, is playing a microscopic patio adjacent to the unassuming Little Brother Bar.

That’s purely because this jewel of Rainey Street, the Sunday Funday capital of Austin, wedged between condos and kitty-corner from a controversial circus-themed bar, is, improbably, one of just a few remaining hubs of transgression left in the city.

Amid the Joe Rogans and Elon Musks and 74-foot towers, Matt Bolick, Little Brother’s co-owner and chief mischief-maker, still sees the magic in his adopted hometown, and he gets annoyed when people tell him that Austin is over.

“I don't think there's any shortage of really great stuff going on in Austin,” he says, looking up at the expanding skyline. “You just have to look a little harder because there's a lot more on top of it now.”

Texas French Bread to roll out a trailer in garden space next to bakery

https://www.statesman.com/story/ente...ry/7659949001/

Texas French Bread owner Murph Willcott recently announced that he had rented a commercial space to start baking for wholesale clients, delivery and sale at farmers markets in mid-July.

This week he shared news that TFB is planning to get baked goods directly into customers’ hands in a very familiar setting. Willcott purchased the lot at 2904 Rio Grande St., which is adjacent to the Texas French Bread parking lot. That space, which was previously an outdoor garden dining area, will be home this fall to a trailer serving a version of the TFB lunch menu and as much of the breakfast menu as possible.

“We’re pretty fortunate that it came back on the market,” Willcott said of the space next to his bakery that suffered a massive fire in January.

The outdoor space around the renovated Airstream trailer lent to Texas French Bread by Aaron and Stacy Franklin of Franklin Barbecue will be designed by Word + Carr Design Group. Willcott hopes to have the trailer open in October.

“We’re in a race to get back to a point where we can feed the public,” Willcott said.

As for the building, Willcott says they are looking at different options for what can be rebuilt on the property where TFB has sat since 1986.

does anyone know what's going on with that old white building with the green trim at s. 1st and annie? it's been vacant for years, and now it looks like the roof and some walls have come down. i saw an alcohol notice in the windows, so it looks like a bar or restaurant is coming soon.

I saw that the other day. I think the building has been pretty much a hollow shell for a while. It looked like they were trying to keep the facade from what I saw last, but that could have changed. Was the facade still up when you went by?

for the most part. the roof was totally gone. also looks like that penzoil shop next door has closed.

Few days old but we had 3 James Beard winners in Austin

Nixta - best up and coming chef (national award)
Dai Due - best cookbook
El Naranjo - best chef texas

Ok I love this thread. Here is question for everyone: we just noticed a TABC alcohol notice posted on the Boiler Nine restaurant space in the Seaholm complex with the applicant name "Prequel LLC". That is a beautiful restaurant space and it's a shame it went unoccupied for several years. Anyone know anything about the new restaurant coming?

Exclusive: Health-conscious Picnik opens restaurant and bar in South Austin

https://www.statesman.com/story/ente...in/7688805001/

Owner Naomi Seifter got to several trends pretty early in Austin, opening her health-conscious restaurant that catered to specialty diets, Picnik, in a shipping container on South Lamar Boulevard in 2013.

She expanded her healthful eating brand that focuses on plant-based, gluten-free and refined-sugar-free items to North Austin in 2016. On Tuesday, she opened her first South Austin brick-and-mortar location in the mixed-use building at 1600 South First St.

I love this new complex. I hope to see a bunch of these go in up and down S 1st and S Congress.

It may be tied to this DC-based company:

http://prequeldc.com

It seems to be a restaurant incubator. In DC, they opened a huge space for rotating pop-ups and a permanent speakeasy bar in the basement.

Austin's Jester King brewery wins gold at 2022 World Beer Cup

A special release is set for July

But an old cult favorite, the highly sought-out Atrial Rubicite from Jester King, took home the gold in its category and cemented its place as a legendary Texas beer.

While the barrel-aged, raspberry-infused sour has gotten recognition in the past, evident in write-ups in craft beer magazines and long lines that stretch as far as the eye can see on release dates, this is the first World Beer Cup award for the beer, winning in the Belgian Fruit Beer category.

Hot Summer Nights free music festival returns to Austin's Red River Cultural District

https://www.statesman.com/story/ente...ct/7699778001/

Hot Summer Nights, the sweaty summer cousin to Austin's popular Free Week series in January, will return to the Red River Cultural District from Aug. 4-6.

Eleven Red River Cultural District venues, including popular hot spots Cheer Up Charlies, Mohawk and Empire, as well as relative newcomers like Chess Club and Mala Vida, will participate in the event. Over the three days of the festival, the venues will present no-cover shows by local and regional artists highlighting a mix of established talent and up-and-comers.

Although the shows are free for fans, all artists are paid for their performances through festival sponsorships.

More Austin music:Hip-hop star Kid Cudi is coming to Austin's Moody Center in August

Summer fun:Have a sci-fi summer at Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria's outdoor film series

Proceeds from the event will benefit the RRCD's charitable programs. Artists will be announced at a later date. Drop by redriverculturaldistrict.org for more details.

I'm still waiting on news about Uptown Sports on the Eastside. Last news I can find is from April 2020.
I wonder if they've thrown in the towel, or if it's just a matter of construction materials delays...

"Once renovated, the structure holding down 1200 East Sixth Street for more than a century now will retain the Uptown Sports Club name as a new bar and restaurant concept, announced back in February by a large team of locals including celebrated barbecue pitmaster Aaron Franklin, Mohawk co-owner James Moody, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, and hospitality designer Tenaya Hills."

https://austin.towers.net/inside-the...n-sports-club/

Austin's beloved 90-year-old steak joint Hoffbrau closes for summer amid Texas heatwave

Owners say it's merely temporary.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...P-CP-Spotlight

The apocalyptic Central Texas summer has claimed another victim. Hoffbrau, the beloved, almost-90-year-old downtown steak joint, is closing for the summer, because sometimes air conditioning isn't enough.

On May 30, the owners of Hoffbrau posted a Facebook message that shocked customers. Basically: it's hot, they're old ("seniors," they say), and steaks can wait.

"Hoffbrau is closed for June, July and August. We will be back serving steaks in September, with a new schedule."

Apologies...can someone explain why San Antonio's newspaper is so infatuated by what's going on 75 miles to the north - even down to one small restaurant closing for the summer?

My guess it's just because a lot of people in SA come to Austin on weekends, and a lot of people also live in SA but work in Austin.

selection bias

none of mysanantonio.com stories about san antonio get posted here. 100% of the stories you read from there on this forum are about austin

Turns out Michelada's moved to the Coppertank Event Center, on 5th and Trinity. Shows up on Google Maps but it didn't look like they were opened yet. Still the same old Coppertank,TBH.

The website is a Hearst property (born out of San Antonio Express-News & Houston Chronicle) that covers all of Texas. Let's not get our collective panties in a bunch. :haha::haha::haha:



Plus! I haven't seen this info in any Austin area media.