hot headlines

New Italian happy hour and Mexican brunch lead Austin's 5 most-read stories this week

It's always the right time of day for Arriba Abajo's excellent salsas. Photo courtesy of Arriba Abajo

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. New Italian happy hour and Mexican brunch wake up Austin restaurant news. This week, locals get an update from a farmers market of two decades, a reminder from a great food fest, and news of several openings or service expansions by newcomers.

2. Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in Austin in 2024. A new report has revealed exactly how wide Austin's income thresholds are to be considered middle class – and the highest income ceiling is nearly $180,000.

3. Paperboy team renovates a slice of historic East Austin for new pizza spot. This pizzeria serving Italian-American classics is sprucing up a historic Victorian house in East Austin: the Haynes-Delashwah house at 1209 Rosewood Ave.

4. Austin chef shares Persian culture at new cocktail bar with growing dinner pop-up. Roya, a pop-up by brothers Amir and Ali Hajimaleki, has gained a glowing reputation for its lavish Nowruz celebration, and now it's time for a new era entirely.

5. Austin businesses start packing up — or digging heels in — for I-35 expansion. In just a few months, at the end of this summer, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will begin to demolish more than 100 properties along Interstate 35.

Pecan Falls Far From The Tree

Pecan Street Festival moves from Sixth Street citing 'redevelopment'

The Pecan Street Festival is moving and figuring out what's next. pecanstreetfestival.org

After decades in Downtown Austin, one of the city's longest-running festivals has a new home and a muddled future.

The Pecan Street Festival will move to Bee Cave for its upcoming spring festival on May 3-4. The bi-annual festival is traditionally held in Austin on Sixth Street — historically known as Pecan Street.

Organizers of the festival cited that the recent installation of bollards and rubber skirting on Sixth Street would have forced them to significantly shrink the size of the event.

However, while the festival moves to Hill Country Galleria for the spring, the upcoming fall festival in September still doesn't have a home. In an email sent to vendors on Monday, organizers confirmed they were not sure if the relocation to Bee Cave would be permanent.

"We would enthusiastically return to Austin under the right conditions, but that will depend on future conversations with the city," the email said.

For vendors concerned about why the change was announced so close to the festival, organizers cited the "redevelopment" of Sixth Street "by private real estate groups" has strained the festival.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

festivals sixth street