Black and blue

Trailblazing Rosedale cafe closes after 13 years in Austin

Blue Star Kitchen + Bar has closed after a 13-year run.

An already depressed Austin restaurant scene received another blow on January 28 with the closure of yet another long-running eatery. Rosedale’s Blue Star Kitchen + Bar is closing after 13 years.

The culprit is a frequent bugbear of the Capital City’s culinary community — rising costs. “Wilder Properties, who owns the shopping center, wanted to raise the rent over 20 percent, not including the property taxes that have over tripled over the last 13 years,” explains owner Eddie Bernal in a release “This makes it challenging to work together to keep our restaurant open, and the other tenants are facing the same issues.”

Bernal’s The Whole Enchilada Restaurant Group first opened the restaurant in 2006 as Blue Star Cafeteria (it rebranded in 2015) after snagging the former location of Parallel Modern Market at 4800 Burnet Rd.

At the time, the concept was unique to the area. Serving comfort food staples like meatloaf and cobbler in a hip contemporary setting, it was an all-day restaurant before the phrase became an industry marketing buzzword.

Since then, the owner says, the landscape has shifted dramatically. “Local restaurateurs are not only juggling rent and taxes, but also labor shortages, added city policies, chain restaurant competition, and higher food costs,” said Bernal. "Landlords, property taxes, and property management companies are squeezing out the loyal and dedicated locals to basically get more rent as Austin changes.”

Although the brick-and-mortar version of Blue Star is now closed, the menu items will be available through the company’s catering operations. Bernal has not ruled out reviving the brand should he find a viable space.

The other eateries under Whole Enchilada’s umbrella — Santa Rita Tex Mex Cantina, Gusto Italian Restaurant + Wine Bar, and 34th Street Cafe — will be unaffected by the shutter.

closings news-you-can-eat

News You Can Eat

A taquería opening and Indian tasting menus spice up Austin food news

Electric Gravy Never Empty Stomach experience

Photo courtesy of Electric Gravy

Electric Gravy is making it easy for guests to hop all over the menu with its new Never Empty Stomach offering.

Whether Austin foodies are on the hunt for Valentine's Day reservations or saving their dining-out money for another day, the food scene continues its evolution. This week we've heard about the anticipated opening of the second De Nada Cantina, sad news for vegan bakery-goers, and an interesting new rolling restaurant service for folks who want to try more Indian food.

Openings and closings

De Nada Cantina, a popular taquería known for its margaritas, has announced the opening date of its second location. Fittingly, it'll be National Margarita Day, February 22. It's just a soft opening, so if you go, give the team time to work out the kinks. The building at 1302 S. 1st St. formerly housed El Mercado Restaurant & Cantina South for four decades; a representative for De Nada's hospitality group calls the changeover a "rebrand" when it was announced in December.

Fat Cats, an organic bakery and coffee shop that was a longtime vegan staple, has closed, according to a social media announcement. Its last day was February 8. The post did not disclose why the business closed, but it did confirm that the closure is permanent. "Thank you for your support over the past 10+ years!" it concluded. "We’ll miss seeing y’all!"

Another longtime favorite, the Dan's Hamburgers at 844 Airport Blvd., is also closing — but it'll be back. The Austin Business Journal reports that the building will be demolished and replaced with another nearly twice its size. A similar demolition on South Lamar Boulevard has been pushed so the business can have enough restaurants open to stay afloat in the interim. The Airport location will shutter the first week of April and is expected to reopen six to eight months later.

Black Rock Coffee Bar, an Oregon chain (not a franchise, and not owned by investment group BlackRock), will open a new location in Austin on February 17 — this one will be the closest to downtown so far. The new shop is located at 2301 E. Riverside Dr. Guests are invited to stop by for a week of deals from February 17-22, which will follow the same daily order shown during a different opening here.

ICYMI: Here's some news we covered since last week's roundup. Two East Austin institutions are joining together as Kebabalicious opens its second location at Drinks Lounge & Records. Also in East Austin, Mueller gets a Merit Coffee, the fourth in town for the San Antonio-based small chain. Finally, CultureMap Austin's Tastemaker Awards are coming back for 2026; lists of chef, restaurant, and other culinary nominees will be rolling out soon, but foodies can grab tickets to the live tasting event for a discount now.

Other news and notes

Electric Gravy, an Indian sister restaurant to the popular Chinese spot Old Thousand, has launched a new fixed-price menu item that offers a more fluid and attentive service type. The Never Empty Stomach experience ($37 per person) is a take on thali-style dining, which traditionally arranges a selection of foods on one platter, with careful attention to balancing different flavors and nutritional elements. At Electric Gravy, this means guests can continually choose from a daily selection of regional dishes, gravies, pickles, dipping sauces, naan, and more, with plenty of refills on deck. Before you call it all-you-can-eat, co-owner Peter D’Souza said in a press release, “The goal is not how much you eat, but how cared for you feel while you’re here.” Each Never Empty Stomach meal also results in $2 to local and global nonprofit initiatives.

Upscale Mexican restaurant La Condesa is celebrating its 17th anniversary with a deal for partiers: if guests book a "social celebration" at the restaurant or its related private dining spaces between February to May, they'll get complimentary bubbles. More information on bookings including details on party sizes for each space is available at lacondesa.com.

openings closings indian cuisine tacos mexican cuisine vegan burgers coffee