TOKYO CALLING

Austin City Hall storefront trades souvenirs for Japanese collectibles

The former Austin Rocks storefront at Austin City Hall has been reimagined as Akiba Texas, a Tokyo-inspired collectibles shop from the team behind Austin retailer Toy Joy.

Photo courtesy of Akiba Texas

The ground-floor retail storefront at Austin City Hall, formerly home to Austin Rocks, has traded Texas souvenirs for Japanese-inspired collectibles, blind boxes, and pop-culture merchandise. The space now houses Akiba Texas, a new concept from the team behind Toy Joy and inspired by Tokyo's famed Akihabara district.

Akiba Texas will celebrate its official grand opening June 7 at 301 W. Second St. The name on the storefront is new, but the operators are not. It was the people behind Toy Joy who launched Austin Rocks, and it will be them who will operate both Akiba Texas and its sister store, the flagship Toy Joy, down Second Street.

Robby Pettinato, COO and partner at Toy Joy, says the idea for Akiba Texas grew out of a product-scouting trip to Japan. The store's name comes from Akihabara, often shortened to "Akiba," a central Tokyo neighborhood renowned for anime, gaming, and cosplay cafes, which are all facets of the Japanese culture.

Akiba Texas Austin interior Careful organization keeps things neat in this packed store.Photo courtesy of Akiba Texas

"Akiba Texas was inspired by a trip we took with one of our vendors to Japan to scout for products for them to distribute," Pettinato says. "We stayed in Akihabara, and the whole district felt so much like Toy Joy."

The quirky Toy Joy concept was launched in 1987 in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Fred Schmidt and Shelley Meyer from Wild About Music purchased the store in 2014 and have now moved the location to Burnet Road. Akiba Texas will join a growing number of brands launched by Schmidt and Meyer, which now include Toy Joy, Yummi Joy, and Wild About Music.

That toy scouting trip to Tokyo, Pettinato says, didn't just spawn Akiba Texas but has also reshaped the downtown Toy Joy. Going forward, the Japanese imports will be found at Akiba Texas. Typical eclectic toys and gifts will be at Toy Joy. Toy Joy also operates locations at The Thinkery at Mueller and as a retailer at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

"We eventually brought in a bunch of new product from that trip and realized we were going to need much more space to fit it all, and thus Akiba Texas was born," says Pettinato, adding that Toy Joy also has been remodeled. "Splitting out our Japanese import products from Toy Joy Downtown has allowed us to remodel that space and fit way more traditional toys, games, and gifts that we've always been known for. It's been a net benefit all around for the company."

Inventory at Akiba Texas includes merchandise from popular Japanese brands and franchises, along with collectible lines that have developed large online followings. The store caters to fans of Sanrio characters, Gundam model kits, anime merchandise, capsule toys, and blind-box collectibles such as Sonny Angel and Smiski.

Blind-box collectibles have become a social-media phenomenon, with shoppers purchasing sealed branded packages in so-called "blind boxes" without knowing which figure they will receive. That often leads to trading among collectors.

The Akiba Texas grand opening celebration begins at 10 am on June 7 and runs through 9 pm. Organizers say the event will feature exclusive merchandise, giveaways, and product restocks. A portion of the day's sales will benefit Austin-based Japanese punk band Peelander-Z. Members of Peelander-Z were involved in a major car accident in New Mexico in May and were forced to cancel a number of tour dates.

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BACK HOME

Austin's Mexican American Cultural Center reopens after nearly 3 years

Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center/Facebook

The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center is inviting Austinites to the space for performances, workshops, food, and more.

Juntos de Nuevo, Spanish for "Together Again," is a fitting name for the reopening of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Saturday. The center will welcome the public back for the first time in nearly three years with a day full of performances, workshops, exhibits, and tours.

The celebration runs from 11 am to 9 pm at the center, tucked between Lady Bird Lake and the high-rises of the Rainey Street district at 600 River St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and welcome remarks from Austin City Council Member José Velásquez will kick off the festivities at 11 am.

The reopening marks the completion of Phase 2 improvements to the cultural center, which closed in early 2023 for construction. The project adds music rehearsal rooms, a teaching kitchen, upgraded classrooms and galleries, renovated offices, and a redesigned Zócalo Plaza featuring a dramatic shade structure intended to support year-round outdoor programming.

For many long-time Austinites, however, the reopening represents more than the unveiling of a renovated building. It marks the return of a community gathering place that has served as a hub for Mexican American and Latino arts, education, and cultural programming for nearly two decades.

The center's history stretches back more than 70 years. Community advocates spent years fighting to create a permanent home for Mexican American arts and culture. After a 1992 bond proposal failed, the city preserved the six-acre site along Lady Bird Lake and eventually secured voter approval for funding in 1998. The Mexican American Cultural Center opened in 2007 as the first phase of a larger master plan, according to the Austin Chronicle, and was renamed in honor of Emma S. Barrientos in 2011.

Barrientos, the late wife of former Texas State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, spent decades championing arts, education, and cultural programs in Austin and helped lead efforts to create a permanent home for Mexican American arts and culture in the city.

The push for a permanent cultural center grew out of a broader Chicano movement in Austin that sought greater political, educational, and cultural representation. Before the MACC existed, Juárez-Lincoln University operated in a converted church near East First Street and Interstate 35, serving as a bilingual, community-focused university rooted in that movement, according to a 2023 report by KUT.

The campus was eventually demolished, and the land was sold. The site, rumored to be under consideration for redevelopment, is now occupied by an IHOP. Today, the MACC stands as one of the most visible legacies of those efforts.

The reopening celebration is designed to introduce visitors to the expanded campus while highlighting the center's mission through music, dance, art, food, and community programming.

Visitors can expect:

Guided tours from noon to 2 pm offering a first look at the renovated facility, including all the spaces listed above.
Live entertainment throughout the day featuring performers including Mariachi Suroeste, Ballet Folklórico de Austin, Los Fandangueros de Austin, Danza Azteca Guadalupana, Los Sabrosos de la Cumbia, and other local artists.
Hands-on workshops and family activities ranging from jarana and Zapateado instruction to cumbia lessons, visual arts projects, culinary demonstrations, storytime, karaoke, and youth programming.
Three exhibitions including Loteriafest by Austin artist Courtney Enriquez, Mitote: Selections from the Gilberto Cardenas & Dolores Carillo Garcia Collection, and an exhibition tracing the history of the MACC from the Chicano Movement to today.
An artisan market and community resource fair featuring local Latino artists, makers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and cultural organizations.
Food and drink vendors throughout the campus including Mike's Texas Tacos, El Mana, Dulce Frida, Desnudo Coffee, Please Stay Coffee, Dobie Dough Bakery, Mom & Pops All Natural Pops, and Aguas del Mundo.

The timing is especially notable because the reopening coincides with the return of neighboring Confluence Park as part of the Waterloo Greenway project, creating a renewed cultural and recreational destination on the eastern edge of downtown.

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