Downtown Austin Market News - Page 3

KevinFromTexas · #41 Posted **Sep 1, 2011, 7:55 PM**

http://downtownaustinblog.org/2011/0...ts/#more-12534

Quote:

New Life For Congress Ave Store Fronts
2011 SEPTEMBER 1

by @JacobDirr

More tenant changes are on tap in the shadow of the Capitol on on Congress Avenue.

Middle Eastern restaurant Marakesh Cafe & Grill, at 9th and Congress, closed its doors and has a sign indicating its looking for a new location, but its fate is questionable.

Going in place is a new addition to the Austin market, a health food eatery called Muscle Maker, according to Cody Lyon, a reporter at the Austin Business Journal.

FastCasual.com reports it will open in October.

KevinFromTexas · #42 Posted **Sep 24, 2011, 1:13 PM**

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...ng-to-the.html

Quote:

Urban Wine & Liquor coming to The Austonian

Austin Business Journal by Cody Lyon
Date: Friday, September 23, 2011, 12:26pm CDT - Last Modified: Friday, September 23, 2011, 12:37pm CDT

Urban Wine & Liquor, a new 2,615-square-foot retail concept from Austin-based wine expert Buckley Windhot, is coming to the base of downtown luxury condominium high-rise The Austonian.

The store is projected to open later this year.

KevinFromTexas · #43 Posted **Nov 24, 2011, 8:02 PM**

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-downtown.html

Quote:

More bars to flood Rainey St. downtown

The seven pubs there now will soon see about 10 other establishments pop up
Austin Business Journal by Cody Lyon, Staff writer
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011, 5:00am CST

Cody Lyon
Staff writer - Austin Business Journal

As many as 10 new bars — more than what’s there now — are under construction or planned for the Rainey Street neighborhood in the southeast corner of downtown.

Among the newcomers, a house at 85 Rainey St. is under construction to become a full-service Wahacan restaurant, said Jesse Lunsford, a broker at Commercial Real Estate Brokerage. Lunsford is also a property owner who bought houses in the Rainey area before it took off in the early 2000s.

KevinFromTexas · #44 Posted **Jun 14, 2012, 5:41 AM**

http://www.statesman.com/life/walk-y...o-2398961.html

Quote:

Walk your dog on the trail and go shopping at new mobile dog store

By Reshma Kirpalani
Published: 6:09 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Matt Edwards is his own target demographic: a career-minded Austinite who "loves his dog to death."

This 28-year-old entrepreneur with a hankering for self-startups broke into the pet industry last year while designing outdoor gear for dogs. His latest startup, Great OutDogs, is a website and mobile store that sells eco-friendly, outdoor gear for dogs. The mobile store, which opened in April, sets up shop at different "activity-driven areas around the city" every week.

In the first weekend in June, the mobile trailer was parked at Auditorium Shores. Visitors, both two- and four-legged, skid off of the jogging path around Lady Bird Lake to follow the yellow-paw-path to the mobile retail store. Customers pick through the merchandise: 1,300 eco-friendly, outdoor dog products, including many new for the local market, Edwards says. The trailer sells customer favorites from Edwards' online store, which launched in February and features more than 10,000 outdoor dog items.

KevinFromTexas · #45 Posted **Jun 27, 2012, 4:59 AM**

I remember someone mentioning a live music venue in city hall that Terry Lickona wanted to do, well now he's also starting a new restaurant there.

http://www.austin360.com/food-drink/..._a-list_123074

Quote:

'ACL' executive producer enters restaurant business

By Gary Dinges
Updated: 6:29 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Published: 3:01 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Terry Lickona has helped make "Austin City Limits" one of the best-known shows on TV today.

Now, he's hoping to be just as successful in the restaurant business.

Lickona, executive producer of the long-running PBS program, is part of a group poised to remake the Austin Java coffeehouse at Austin City Hall.

The restaurant, which is expected to open this fall, will be called Lickona's, serving primarily New Orleans-style cuisine.

KevinFromTexas · #46 Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 5:48 AM**

A whole lotta alcohol.

http://www.statesman.com/business/au...n-2414725.html

Quote:

Austin bars, restaurants, hotels sell $50 million in alcohol during May

By Gary Dinges
Published: 8:21 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, 2012

In May, alcohol sales at Austin-area bars, hotels and restaurants were up nearly 25 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data from the Texas comptroller's office.

An American-Statesman analysis shows beer, cocktail and wine purchases totaled approximately $50 million in May, or $9 million more than in May 2011.

That $50 million total works out to an average of about $1.6 million worth of alcohol sold in the city per day.

The alcohol sales netted $7 million in mixed beverage taxes for the state.

The 78701 ZIP code, which covers most of downtown Austin, accounted for more than a third of May's total; sales there were nearly $19 million.

KevinFromTexas · #47 Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 6:09 AM**

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...ng-center.html

Quote:

Trailer Food Tuesdays coming to the Long Center

Austin Business Journal by Vicky Garza, Staff Writer
Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 12:25pm CDT

Vicky Garza
Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal

Several Austin food trucks plan to take part in Trailer Food Tuesdays which will roll into the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the end of the month.

Starting July 31, and taking place the last Tuesday of every month up to November, 10 food trucks will park on the city terrace fronting the Long Center in the evenings, bringing with them family-friendly entertainment and music.

MichaelB · #48 Posted **Jul 24, 2012, 4:15 PM**

OK... it's not downtown... but I guess I was out of town when the news broke that there is an H&M going into the Domain! Damn... I wanted it downtown. But, at 24,000 sq ft it should be a good one!

Cloud92 · #49 Posted **Jul 25, 2012, 10:50 PM**

H&M at the domain? what i haven't heard of this?

MichaelB · #50 Posted **Jul 26, 2012, 1:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud92

H&M at the domain? what i haven't heard of this?

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...tin-store.html

KevinFromTexas · #51 Posted **Aug 11, 2012, 10:07 PM**

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-to-venue.html

Quote:

Threadgill’s holds on to venue, will grow

Downtown site staves off redevelopment, but for how much longer?
Austin Business Journal by Jan Buchholz, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, August 10, 2012, 5:00am CDT

Jan Buchholz
Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal

Austin’s iconic Threadgill’s restaurant and live music venue downtown almost became a relic of the past, but instead has found its future. Owner Eddie Wilson spent much of the past year renegotiating a lease on the property at 301 W. Riverside Drive and, in the process, put the wheels in motion to expand the brand. Still, the popular downtown venue remains in danger of being replaced with a shiny new high-rise.

Jdawgboy · #52 Posted **Aug 12, 2012, 1:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-to-venue.html

Okay im sorry but that is just ridiculous to say Threadgills could be replaced by a shiny new highrise. Its unlikely anything tall would go there.

KevinFromTexas · #53 Posted **Aug 12, 2012, 6:21 AM**

I wouldn't doubt some developer has considered it, but really I wish they'd consider all those empty lots first. And what about that plan to reconfigure all the streets/blocks.

Downtown_Austin · #54 Posted **Aug 12, 2012, 1:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-to-venue.html ...danger of being replaced with a shiny new high-rise.

That's bush league language by the ABJ/Jan Bucholz. Boooo.

KevinFromTexas · #55 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 10:47 PM**

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/d...osting-/nSPNX/

Quote:

Posted: 3:08 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, 2012
Downtown bars, restaurants say roadwork is costing them thousands

By Gary Dinges

The current building boom in downtown Austin might be a long-term plus for Austin’s economy, but some existing businesses say construction-related street closures are costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One restaurant has already shut down. Maria Maria, at 415 Colorado St. in the Warehouse District, closed its doors Sunday, unable to survive roadwork that has gone on for almost six months now, CEO Blake Rudman said.
“This is pretty long for construction,” Rudman said. “It just killed us. We took a major loss.”

With portions of several streets and sidewalks blocked, forcing customers to navigate a maze of orange-and-white barriers, owners of some of the city’s best-known bars and restaurants told the American-Statesman they’re concerned Maria Maria’s departure might be the first of many.

Jdawgboy · #56 Posted **Sep 29, 2012, 12:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/d...osting-/nSPNX/

Really? Maria Maria closed. Funny I didn't mind dealing with or had any trouble getting onto that part of Colorado street. In fact that sidewalk is really crowded with people on weekends. I can't see how its because of the road work that they closed. Fact is even before they started work on Colorado street, Maria Maria was never really a busy place at all. If it really is the construction you would the the other places on that side are having a hard time staying open but yet they are not.

migol24 · #57 Posted **Sep 29, 2012, 3:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Really? Maria Maria closed. Funny I didn't mind dealing with or had any trouble getting onto that part of Colorado street. In fact that sidewalk is really crowded with people on weekends. I can't see how its because of the road work that they closed. Fact is even before they started work on Colorado street, Maria Maria was never really a busy place at all. If it really is the construction you would the the other places on that side are having a hard time staying open but yet they are not.

Is Cuba Libre still there? I had a friend who worked there once and even then it was hardly ever busy.

What other celebrity-owned venue has been shut down? Is Vince Young's steakhouse still around?

KevinFromTexas · #58 Posted **Oct 3, 2012, 10:14 PM**

Ok, so this isn't retail news, but it is something that occupies a downtown space - the convention center.

This brings up the issue of the airport not being big enough or having enough international flights. This was a big loss for Austin. The conference was started here almost a decade ago. Attendance had been increasing. The article says last year there were 3,350 attendees.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...-austin/nSRb6/

Quote:

Posted: 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012
Game Developers Conference to leave Austin

By Brian Gaar
American-Statesman Staff

The Game Developers Conference Online starts next week, but this will be the event’s last year in Austin.

The conference, which has been in Austin under various names since 2003, is being renamed and moved to Los Angeles, said Simon Carless, executive vice president of the UBM Tech Game Network, which runs the conference.

Carless said that geography was partly a reason for the move. An internal survey showed that 44 percent of professional game developers were based in California, he said. Carless also pointed to a lack of direct international flights to Austin.

Jdawgboy · #59 Posted **Oct 4, 2012, 1:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Ok, so this isn't retail news, but it is something that occupies a downtown space - the convention center.

This brings up the issue of the airport not being big enough or having enough international flights. This was a big loss for Austin. The conference was started here almost a decade ago. Attendance had been increasing. The article says last year there were 3,350 attendees.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...-austin/nSRb6/

As I stated in the other thread, what is Austin planning to do about a future expansion for the Convention Center?

KevinFromTexas · #60 Posted **Oct 9, 2012, 9:44 AM**

http://www.statesman.com/news/entert...nment-d/nSXxF/

Quote:

Posted: 6:07 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, 2012
STATESMAN EXCLUSIVE: SIXTH STREET DEVELOPMENT
Changes coming to downtown Austin’s entertainment district

By Gary Dinges
American-Statesman Staff

Big changes are coming to downtown Austin’s entertainment district, with at least six new bars in the works.

Buildings that once housed Beauty Bar, Fuel, Kiss and Fly, and Spill all have new tenants, while an office building will be transformed into an upscale lounge.

There are about 100 bars in the Warehouse District, Sixth Street entertainment district and on West Sixth Street, with about 10 percent of those currently vacant.