Awards Season

2 Austin restaurant stars score nominations for James Beard Awards

Applause for Laura Sawicki, nominated for Best Pastry Chef.

Photo courtesy of Launderette

Two popular Austin chefs made the list of semifinalists for the 27th annual James Beard Foundation Awards. The Beard awards recognize food and beverage stars in 21 categories, such as best restaurants, chefs, bars, rising star chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers.

Austin chef Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine was nominated for the category of Best Chef: Southwest." And Laura Sawicki of Launderette is a semifinalist for Best Pastry Chef.

Before anyone starts prepping an acceptance speech, keep in mind that these are semifinalists only. We still have to get through the final nominees, announced on March 15, before winners are announced on April 25. But everyone likes to read about awards, even if not everyone can be a winner.

Voters consist of a volunteer panel of more than 600 judges from across the country, including local critics, culinary educators, and past winners.

Only one restaurant in Texas made the list of Best New Restaurant semifinalists: Flora Street Cafe, the restaurant in Dallas' Arts District from chef Stephan Pyles.

Dallas nominees for Best Chef: Southwest include Omar Flores, Teiichi Sakurai, John Tesar, and David Uygur. San Antonio has one nominee: Steve McHugh, chef-owner of Cured. Four Houston chefs were nominated for the category: Manabu Horiuchi, Anita Jaisinghani, Hugo Ortega, and Jianyun Ye.

The full semifinalist list can be found online.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and furthers the foundation’s mission to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America's food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone. Winners receive a certificate and a medallion. No cash prizes, boo.

pour one out

Longtime Austin Tex-Mex staple Trudy's closes final location

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Trudy's Tex-Mex is closing its final location on Burnet Rd. after 40 years.

After serving up queso, Mexican martinis, and more for decades, Trudy's Tex-Mex is closing its final Austin location.

The restaurant group announced on Monday that it is saying goodbye to its North Star location on Burnet Road. Trudy's did not state an end of operations date for the location, and a KVUE phone call to clarify went unanswered.

"This spot has been so much more than a restaurant — it's been a place where memories were made, margaritas were shared, and the spirt of Austin came to life," Trudy's wrote on social media. "To our amazing team and loyal customers, thank you for making North Star so special."

North Star's closure is the latest blow for Trudy's, which first opened in Austin in 1977. The company was purchased out of bankruptcy in 2020 by equity firm Hargett Hunter. The acquisition included three Trudy's locations (a fourth closed in 2019, according to KVUE's partners at the Austin American-Statesman) and South Congress Café.

At the time, Hargett Hunter said it hoped to keep the brand alive and reinvest in Trudy's locations and teams, including the group's temporarily closed Texas Star location near the University of Texas campus. But after the acquisition, the Statesman reported that Hargett Hunter said property damage and other issues made reopening Texas Star unfeasible. The firm sold the West 30th Street property in 2022.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of Trudy's hard times.

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

restaurants closures austin