Booze Blimp

There's a giant cucumber flying over Austin this weekend — and you could go for a ride

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a flying cucumber! That’s right, Hendrick’s Gin has created Hendrick's Air, a gigantic billboard in the sky. The 130-foot-long, 44-foot-tall blimp nicknamed the Flying Cucumber is visiting Austin this weekend.

The Hendrick’s Flying Cucumber first set sail on April 13 in Los Angeles and will visit San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, South Florida, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis and Chicago during its journey. In Austin, the blimp will fly over Levitation Festival, Zilker Park and South Congress. It's the first booze blimp to grace the skies of Austin.

“Our giant flying cucumber will pay homage to the distinguishing ingredient that makes our gin special. We want to remind our loyalists that Hendrick’s Gin & Tonic deserves the finest cucumber garnish, every time. We hope that this journey will enlighten our imbibers as to the important role the cucumber plays in the Hendrick’s world,” said brand ambassador, Jim Ryan, at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport where the blimp is tethered.

Whether you cast a jaded eye on the massive cucumber or see it as an omen that you must immediately have a cocktail, you have an opportunity to take a flight on the blimp.

“We are able to take a select group of people to ride with us in the Hendricks Flying Cucumber,” says Ryan. “These fellow ‘unusualists’ include loyal drinkers from the industry trade, press, and of course, our fans. Anyone can enter [for] a chance ride in the Flying Cucumber through social media by snapping a photo of it as it soars over Austin and post[ing] it onto Twitter or Instagram using #HendricksGin, #FLYINGCUCUMBER and #CucumberChallenge.”

The dirigible will fly over Austin “slow and low” at a sub-1000-foot cruising altitude from May 8-10. Hendrick’s recommends gathering at one of its viewing spots during the weekend to catch sight of the Flying Cucumber:

Friday, May 8, 6-8 pm at Maggie Mae’s
Saturday, May 9, 4:30-6:30 pm at Olive and June
Sunday, May 10, 7:30-10 pm at the W Hotel, Bar 96 and Bungalow

This cucumber will be flying over Austin all weekend.

Photo by Matt McGinnis

This cucumber will be flying over Austin all weekend.

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Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.