Downtown Dining

Troubled downtown Austin restaurant space suffers another closure

Dine will close on May 15.

Another restaurant is calling it quits at what has become a tricky Austin location. Dine, the modern restaurant at the Radisson hotel downtown, will close next month.

Dine opened in June 2015 under chef David Garrido, formerly of Garrido's and Jeffrey's, who served contemporary American classics with a side of Lady Bird Lake views. The last day of service is May 15, reports Austin360.

This isn't the first high-profile closure for the space, which originally was a TGI Friday's. The Radisson team brought on celebrated chef Shawn Cirkiel of Parkside Projects, who opened Chavez in January 2014. The Southwestern-inspired eatery closed after Cirkiel's departure a year later. It was then rebranded to Dine.

The closure of Dine signals significant changes to the hotel, which was acquired by Sydell Group and investor Ron Burkle in 2016. A $75 million facelift will transform the Radisson into LINE Austin, slated to debut in 2018.

"Sydell will fully renovate the property into the LINE Hotel with expanded and locally sourced food and beverage offerings, new state-of-the-art meeting space overlooking the lake, and fully upgraded bedrooms," states the project website. "We will collaborate on the design with Sean Knibb who we worked with to create our first LINE Hotel in Los Angeles and with Michael Hsu from Austin."

Two new restaurant concepts will open at LINE Austin, but details have not been released. CultureMap's request to Sydell Group for more information has not been returned.

hotels downtown closings

Near and Deer

Vespaio-trained chef serves venison from trailer at Austin's Sign Bar

Photo courtesy of Sign Bar.

Born and Braised, specializing in native ingredients and braised meats, is now open at Sign Bar.

Born and Braised, a food trailer specializing in native ingredients and braised meats, has just opened for business at Sign Bar. Chef and owner William Woodland, a.k.a. Woody, says so far things are going great.

"They're doing a great job promoting us at Sign Bar. I feel really special," says Woodland.

This is a big change from several years ago when sign bar first opened and Woodland says he "pestered" the folks behind the cool new space.

"I think at that time they wanted to see a couple of years of good experience," says Woodland. "And now my reviews are insanely good — so I think that helped!"

Born and Braised started out at Lustre Pearl back in 2022, and then quickly moved over to Sage Brush where it stayed for more than a year. More recently, Woodland has been operating out of Bastrop and is happy to be closer to town again at Sign Bar, which is located in East Austin. It's still a bit of a drive for many, but not as far south.

Some of the menu items include birria tacos, homemade birria ramen, and multiple venison-based dishes: chili, a smash burger, and bratwurst. There's also grilled cheese, street corn, and other sides.

"I think it's one of only a couple of places in town where you can get venison any time," says Woodland. He adds that the main focus of any foods he prepares is minimal waste and using good, quality, native ingredients. "I'm kind of an ingredient hippie," he laughs.

These cooking roots can be traced back to Woodland's days at his grandparents' out in the country, where his uncles butchering deer in the garage was the norm, and venison was always on the table. As an adult, Woodland got his "formal" education in the kitchen at Vespaio under the tutelage of Ryan Samson.

"He gave me his culinary book from when he went to school and quizzed me everyday; basically took me to culinary school through that job," says Woodland. "I cry thinking about him all the time. Great guy; a really good mentor."

Born and Braised is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 pm to 2 am, and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 am, at Sign Bar Austin (9909 FM 969, Bldg. 3). The bar, decorated with more than 75 retired signs from legendary local businesses, offers a variety of beers, wines, and cocktails.

Sign Bar Holiday Tree This miniature Zilker Tree is the newest permanent installation at Sign Bar. Photo courtesy of Sign Bar

As of early December, guests can enjoy all Sign Bar has to offer next to the Sign Bar Holiday Tree. This 64-foot tall tree is an homage to the Zilker Tree, and unlike most holiday displays, this tree will be up year-round. Guests can even spin under this mini-Zilker Tree — but may want to give it a minute after a bowl of venison chili.

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