Austin 360
The coronavirus has hammered the restaurant industry, leading to countless closures and pivots. But it hasn t been all bad news for the local restaurant scene. Dozens of chefs and operators have found ways to open in the face of all of the adversity.
If you ve been sticking to takeout and delivery from some of your favorites and standbys, you might not be aware of some of the most notable openings since March 2020. We re here to help.
Aba: Mediterranean restaurant from Chicago-based hospitality group Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is helmed by executive chef CJ Jacobson of “Top Chef” fame. (1011 S. Congress Ave.; 737-273-0199, abarestaurants.com/austin; previous coverage)
Ready to get back out there, or at least thinking that might be in sight?
While a lot of things in Texas have been open for business for a while (and certainly are allowed to be, under Gov. Greg Abbott s March order opening the state), plenty of people have kept close to home as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
There s hope in sight. As of early last week, more than 8.4 million Texans had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and of those, almost 4.9 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to state health officials. And as folks get their shots, they re likely to resume some of their pre-pandemic habits.
Rendering: The Thompson [Official]
Chicago restaurant group Land and Sea Dept. behind famed bars and restaurants including tropical bar spot Lost Lake is opening its first Texas restaurant this year. The unnamed restaurant and bar will be found in the forthcoming downtown Austin hotel the Thompson on 506 San Jacinto Boulevard sometime this summer.
The restaurant will be an entirely new project for Land and Sea Dept., as shared by co-partner Peter Toalson, involving food, drinks, and outdoor spaces. A press release from the hotel notes that it will be found on the fourth floor with a terrace.
Along with Lost Lake, Land and Sea oversees a whole bunch of Chicago restaurants and bars: fried chicken and boozy slushie restaurant Parson’s Chicken & Fish (with multiple locations, including one in Nashville, Tennessee), formerly Michelin-starred whiskey restaurant/bar/inn Longman & Eagle, bar and restaurant Lonesome Rose and accompanying basement bar Golden Teardrops, and four places
Chefs and restaurateurs turn to branded retail products to generate new revenue streams and raise brand awareness
Restaurateurs have learned over the past year that they need to find new ways to make money other than crowding guests into their restaurants.
Besides delivery, which they got better at, many figured out how sell other services, like teaching remote cooking classes and wine pairings, for example. Many others also got involved in retail, which can be great for marketing as well as generating extra revenue.
This relatively low-labor approach to staying in touch with guests and selling them the food that they wanted happened initially out of necessity early in the pandemic, when supermarkets fell short on supply of some products and restaurants, with distribution channels that weren’t connected to retail, had surpluses.