When Sandra Bullock's Bess Bistro unexpectedly shuttered in September, we waited to see who would scoop up the primo West Sixth Street space.
Ready your palate for Italian fare: BDG Hospitality is taking over 500 W. Sixth St. with a concept called Sophia's, a representative confirmed with CultureMap.
Opening late this spring, Sophia's is billed as "a modern Italian-American supper club offering traditional dishes in a sexy lounge-like atmosphere." The sexy space, we are told, has no affiliation with Bess Bistro owner Bullock.
The group also runs an upscale dance club and bar combo in Chicago. Given BDG Hospitality's club expertise, guests should anticipate a "unique nightlife experience" to pair with dinner at Sophia's.
The arrival of Sophia's continues Austin's ongoing Italian food trend. In addition to a slew of already opened Italian eateries, a new restaurant called Red Ash is slated to open in a downtown high rise later this year.
David Douglass, known for his social media restaurant reviews, is visiting immigrant restaurant owners around Austin in the new PBS series David Eats Everywhere.
In this era of Instagrammable plates and viral videos, Austin food blogger David Douglass knows how to draw attention to local restaurants. In his new online-only PBS show, David Eats Everywhere, he's lending these digital skills to a less social media-based audience, hoping to give immigrant restaurant owners around town a boost to business. David Eats Everywhere will premiere on YouTube on June 10.
The series contains six parts, each eight to 12 minutes, that will premiere weekly. All will trace members of Austin's diverse food scene from external cultures to here, adding a special focus on the people who make the food.
Douglass' social media restaurant reviews have a formula: show a close-up of the food, take a bite, and toss around some internet humor to puncture through bold claims about the best such-and-such dish in Austin or dense ingredient and flavor breakdowns. The digital PBS series looks different, with wider shots, immersive narratives, and the culinary travel feel viewers would expect from a TV show.
This series is a product of the inaugural Austin PBS Digital Originals Grant in 2025, a press release explains. Douglass and Austin PBS collaborated to bring the show to life.
“For the last two and a half years I have been telling stories in 45 seconds through my phone,” said Douglass in the release. “Austin PBS is giving me an incredible opportunity to collaborate with a talented crew and director to dive deeper into the stories that make Austin a place I love to live.”
Collaborating with PBS meant working with director and editor Ariel Quintans, who calls the series "a love letter to Austin's diverse culinary scene."
"In a city filled with Michelin stars and Bib Gourmands, I wanted to shine a light on the first and second-generation immigrant restaurateurs whose stories are woven into Austin's cultural fabric," Quintans said. "The challenge wasn't simply making a food show—it was finding the intersection of food, film, and community that honors the people that have quietly shaped what Austin tastes like.”
The inaugural six-episode series visits:
Sichuanese restaurant House of Three Gorges
Mexican bakery Comadre Panadería
Colombian coffee trailer Desnudo Coffee
Japanese restaurant Tatsumi Sushi
Chinese Uyghur-inspired barbecue restaurant Camino Alamo
Traditional Mexican barbacoa pit El Grandpa Mexican BBQ
