Carving new spaces

Steakhouse sensation carves outs new location in dynamic Austin development

CARVE American Grille will open its second location in Austin later this year at The Grove.

Courtesy of CARVE American Grille

The Grove is already growing. The dynamic mixed-use community located at 45th and Bull Creek will welcome its lead tenant later this year, thanks to an announcement from Perry’s Restaurants.

Carve American Grille, the popular Southwest Austin offshoot of Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, will open its second location at The Grove in late 2022, the restaurant group has announced.

Developed by renowned restaurateur Chris Perry, Carve pays tribute to the original butcher shop Perry’s father founded in Houston in 1979. The concept reinvents the "American grille" experience by utilizing live fire, smoke, and wood grilling techniques across the menu and pulling inspiration from Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille.

Menu highlights include wagyu meatloaf cupcakes and a long bone chicken-fried pork chop, both featured on the Food Network and Cooking Channel in 2021. Even signature salads, desserts, and cocktail options deliver a delicious and memorable smoky experience.

“We are thankful to the Austin community for frequenting our first location of Carve in the Barton Creek area and wanted to share this special experience with even more of Austin,” says Chris Perry, founder and owner of Perry’s Restaurants. “We’re working diligently to bring you an amazing second location, slated to open just in time for the 2022 holiday season.”

Designed in partnership with Aria Group Architects, the 9,400-square-foot space will feature a main dining room with a wine tower and three private dining rooms, as well as an island bar. A butcher room will showcase skilled carving of fresh hand-selected beef and custom cuts. High-tech farm shelves will highlight the restaurant’s modern farm approach, where fresh herbs are grown to complement dishes and cocktails.

Three patio spaces will provide a breezy, open feel. The expansive bar (also open to patio dining) will feature an impressive list of wines on tap, each stored in 100-percent reusable kegs and offered in four pour sizes.

“Cultivating the right blend of tenants in the mixed-use portion of The Grove has been an important focus of ours since we started designing and building the project,” says Alan Topfer, owner of The Grove. “We are thrilled to welcome Carve as our first lead retail tenant. The quality of Carve’s dining experience is representative of the quality The Grove is offering and will assist in making The Grove, Austin’s Gathering Place.”

Situated on 76 acres, The Grove features a diverse mix of new homes for purchase, more than 20 acres of parks and green spaces, rental apartments, office space, as well as dining, fitness, entertainment, and shopping options.

CARVE American Grille will open its second location in Austin later this year at The Grove.

Courtesy of CARVE American Grille

CARVE American Grille will open its second location in Austin later this year at The Grove.

openings dinner

Cat's Out of the Bag

Classic Austin dive bar Mean Eyed Cat opens new Driftwood outpost

Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

There ain't no grave can hold Austinites down when it's time to break in this new dive bar.

An Austin bar with a lot of personality has its eye on a new location. The Mean Eyed Cat is opening in Driftwood on Thursday, November 21.

This Johnny Cash-inspired bar has certainly always had the country aesthetic: the weathered wood, the live oak-shaded picnic tables, the black-and-white photos on the wall, and even the occasional taxidermy specimen. The same rustic vibes continue in Driftwood at 8750 W RR 150, Bldg. 100, according to a short press release.

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood interior This new bar already looks like it's been collecting antiques for decades.Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Good luck getting there on Google Maps. Right now, it drops a pin at the intersection of Ranch to Market Road 150 and Elder Hill Road. However, it appears to be next to Mad Rooster's Liquor Store — we can see the side of the building through the window and the same road signs. We've reached out to a spokesperson to get the proper directions.

The Austin original has been around since 2004, and this offshoot is only its second location. The promises "the same laid-back, offbeat charm that made the original bar an icon."

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood interior What's a dive bar without a pool table?Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Before the Austin location was a bar, it was a chainsaw repair shop that was aptly featured in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Chris Marsh was who converted it to a watering hole and Christened it the Mean Eyed Cat, and he later sold it to current owners Matt Luckie, Max Moreland, and Jed Thompson, placing it in a lineage that also includes Lavaca Street Bar & Grill, Sign Bar, Lala’s Little Nugget, and more locally beloved staples and oddities.

All the proper references are there in Driftwood, including several saw blades on the wall, Johnny Cash memorabilia, and lyrics on every available surface, including a picnic table that ominously says "HURT." First and foremost on the menu are whiskeys and classic cocktails, keeping things as simple as anyone would expect at a dive bar.

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood patio A spacious patio takes advantage of the Hill Country surroundings.Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Despite the relatively remote location, commenters on Instagram have already spotted people inside and started chomping at the bit. It sounds like opening day will be a lively affair.

The Mean Eyed Cat in Driftwood will be open Mondays through Thursdays from 2 pm to 2 am, and Fridays through Sundays from noon to 2 am. Happy hour will be weekdays from 4-7 pm.

dive bars whiskey cocktails openings driftwood

Carving new spaces

Steakhouse sensation carves outs new location in dynamic Austin development

CARVE American Grille will open its second location in Austin later this year at The Grove.

New East Austin coffee and beer haven opens weeks after cidery closure

Affordable housing complex opens in Austin with rent starting at $600

Poolside sotol bar splashes into high-end downtown Austin hotel

Cat's Out of the Bag

Classic Austin dive bar Mean Eyed Cat opens new Driftwood outpost