Austin Exports

Uchi empire expands with first location outside of Texas

You're welcome, Colorado.

Photo by Logan Crable

An Austin empire is expanding with its first location outside of Texas: Hai Hospitality is bringing Uchi, Austin's most famous sushi restaurant, to Denver next year.

The new location is scheduled to open in a hip real estate development, S*Park, in Denver's popular Curtis Park neighborhood by 2018. The menu will highlight chef/owner Tyson Cole's best creations from Uchi and Uchiko, from sushi bites to shareable tempura.

"We are excited to open Uchi in such an energetic city with its vibrant culture and evolving food scene," said Cole in a release. "We are always exploring new avenues to expand how we connect with food and the community."

The restaurant will be designed by Denver-based tres birds workshop, but local architect Michael Hsu, who had a hand in the other Uchi locations, will serve as a consultant. The space will make use of S*Park's sweet perks, including a greenhouse and a community garden.

"Uchi's proximity to the greenhouse space above the restaurant and the community garden at S*Park presents an amazing opportunity. We fly in fish daily from around the world but relish the chance to work with local farmers," said Cole.

Hai Hospitality is keeping busy. In addition to opening the new Uchi outpost, the seventh restaurant under the Hai umbrella, the team is working on a brand-new concept here in Austin. Loro is a casual Asian smokehouse opening later this year on South Lamar Boulevard.

The company currently operates three Uchi locations, plus Uchiko in Austin and Top Knot in Dallas. The group's first foray outside Asian cuisine, Austin's St. Philip Pizza Parlor, abruptly closed in 2015.

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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