Propah taco lovers, this one’s for you!

Chef of shuttered East Austin taqueria heads west with new restaurant for taco lovers

While the ongoing pandemic continues to put a strain on Austin eateries and bars, area restaurateurs remain nothing if not resilient. And falling quite literally under the realm of when one door closes, another opens, a beloved Cali-Mex restaurant known for its abundance of drool-worthy dishes is reuniting local taco lovers with its West Coast-style fare in a spicy new location.

Sadly, East Austin lost a darling taqueria when Reunion 19 — the popular restaurant opened in February 2020 by four Los Angeles chefs, among them Esdras Ochoa, a semifinalist on Netflix’s The Final Table — closed permanently in early November.

“With labor shortages, rising costs, and a landlord not willing to work with me, I was forced into a position of having to close the restaurant,” says chef and owner Christopher Haydostian, the hands-on heart and soul of the concept.

While Haydostian is not alone in facing such challenges, prior to Reunion 19’s closing, he had opened a food trailer in the Hudson Bend area called R19 that enabled the chef to gain more fans in a region of town seriously lacking in “propah” tacos.

R19 was so popular with locals in Hudson Bend, Haydostian tells CultureMap, that it emboldened the chef to relaunch the concept in restaurant form in nearby Lakeway.

“The love from the community was there and I took a leap of faith to move into a brick-and-mortar location,” he says, noting that in order to do so, he had to close the trailer.

But the new R19 Taqueria — which is located at 2422 RR 620 South, suite A-120, in Lakeway and has its official grand opening on Monday, November 29 — gives Haydostian the opportunity to fully realize the brand’s potential. He expanded the trailer’s menu, importantly added cocktails, beer, and wine, and brought some spice to the lakeside community, decking out the joint with a massive Taco Lover mural and tons of cool spray-painted tags adorning every wall.

The new R19 will function as a fast-casual counter-service operation, and includes indoor and outdoor seating, a big-screen TV that will air UT games, the World Series, and other major sports events, and is available to host private parties.

“As for the food, we have done some cool things, I feel,” Haydostian says, highlighting a new activated-charcoal corn tortilla for the restaurant’s seafood and shellfish menu items, as well as spinach corn tortillas for vegans and vegetarians, which will be available alongside the eatery’s classic yellow corn tortillas for meatier dishes. And yes, all of R19’s tortillas are made in-house from fresh masa and cooked to order.

Other tempting new menu options include the house-made queso blanco, the Lakeway house salad (a Santa Fe-style delight), and an expanded kids’ menu. Haydostian notes that both kids and adults will clamor for the cheesy quesadilla with a “cheese skirt” on the outside.

And since no local worth a hill of beans can start the day without a breakfast taco, R19 is obliging with its new grab-and-go breakfast tacos in bacon, chorizo, and black bean varieties, as well as breakfast burritos.

Haydostian says he plans to expand the breakfast and lunch/dinner offerings in the coming months and will also feature regularly rotating specials. An upcoming special is the “char’d” ahi tuna taco, an activated-charcoal-dusted ahi steak seared rare and served with tortilla chips, house slaw, cotija, and avocado dressed with a Sriracha crema.

Starting November 29, R19 Taqueria will be open Sunday through Thursday from 7 am-8 pm and Friday and Saturday from 7 am-9 pm.

Follow R19 on Instagram for menu updates and more.

Not craving a taco? Try a fat R19 burrito.

Courtesy of R19 Taqueria

Not craving a taco? Try a fat R19 burrito.

breakfast openings lunch tacos closings chefs

SoCo Shopping

Inside the long-awaited South Congress H-E-B, open now

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

The South Congress H-E-B is finally ready for customers.

After two years of construction and more than five years of planning, Austin's beloved South Congress and Oltorf H-E-B location finally reopens on December 4.

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

The South Congress H-E-B is finally ready for customers.

The store opened its doors at 6 am, and you can bet there will be lines today at this behemoth of a store, which features more than 145,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor dining options, a huge selection of groceries, an H-E-B Flower Bar, a stage for live music, a drive-thru pharmacy, and more than 600 parking spots.

South Congress HEB The flower bar is filled with natural light and mix-and-match flowers.Photo courtesy of H-E-B

This new multi-level store also offers fresh Sushiya sushi, H-E-B Meal Simple options, True Texas BBQ, live cooking demonstrations, and more beer and wine options than before.

"The brand new SoCo H-E-B was designed to reflect the vibrant and iconic spirit of the community," says H-E-B Public Affairs Manager, Johnny Mojica. He adds that the new store should feel "welcoming and inspiring" for the growing South Congress community.

South Congress HEB This big cheese selection (which keeps going off-camera) reflects the size of the store.Photo courtesy of H-E-B

This giant store has humble beginnings. In 1957 when it was built, it was just 25,000 square feet. Over the years, the store saw renovations and expansions, and for decades, the South Austin H-E-B we knew was about 69,000 square feet. But as Austin, and particularly South Austin grew, H-E-B decided it needed to grow with it.

So in early 2022, Austin's oldest H-E-B had a date with a wrecking ball.

South Congress HEB This scrappy cowboy outside is a nice metaphor for the store's journey.Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Since the main store's demolition, a temporary H-E-B was opened across the street at the Twin Oaks Shopping Center. This even-smaller store, which was previously a CVS Pharmacy, consisted of just 21 aisles of basics. The temporary H-E-B closes as the new one opens.

"While our temporary H-E-B store served its purpose, this new location delivers the full experience our loyal customers have been eagerly anticipating," says Mojica.

South Congress HEB This store really was customized for its neighborhood.Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Aside from this new H-E-B's exciting remodel, a lot of the anticipation is due to the project's long and somewhat winding trajectory.

Originally, H-E-B announced the plan for the South Austin store in 2019 — construction was to begin in 2020 and doors would open in 2022 — but the chain had to postpone development due to Covid and construction issues.

Back in March of 2020, H-E-B believed construction would be delayed for "weeks or even months," according to a KVUE story. But those were the early days of the pandemic, when estimates were unreliable. This, plus a need for more time to work on the design, meant that the project was delayed for about two years.

However, as of December 2024, construction is finally finished, the shelves are stocked, and H-E-B on South Congress and Oltorf is ready to take your order.

South Congress HEB This store's more niche sections are really able to spread out.Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Mojica says, "We’re thrilled to open this state-of-the-art store and look forward to celebrating this exciting milestone with everyone!"

grocery openings south congress h-e-b