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Hotly anticipated Shake Shack sets opening date for first Austin location

Shake Shack_Austin_Lockhart Link Burger_2015

The Lockhart Link Burger is an Austin Shake Shack exclusive. Order yourself one after the Lamar location opens on Cinco de Mayo.

Shake Shack/Facebook

Start loosening those belts: Shake Shack has announced that its first Austin location will open next week.

The corner of South Lamar Boulevard and Treadwell Street can expect major traffic when the iconic burger joint officially opens its doors on Tuesday, May 5 at 11 am.

"We're so thrilled to be planting roots in Texas, and we couldn't ask for a better home than the cultural and culinary stronghold of Austin," Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti said in a release. "We'll be working hard to cultivate a community gathering spot for locals and visitors to kick back with a delicious burger, frozen custard and cold beer."

Shake Shack's all-natural burgers and quality custard have garnered the New York City-based chain a huge cult following. The South Lamar location will be serving up Austin-only creations in addition to the standard favorites. On the menu you'll find exclusive items such as the Lockhart Link Burger (a burger with Kreuz Market jalapeño cheese sausage), the Cold Shot (a vanilla and chocolate frozen custard named after the Stevie Ray Vaughan song), and Uchi-koncrete (a vanilla frozen custard with the Uchi team's miso hazelnut blondie and huckleberry jam).

Austin influence has seeped into the beverage selections as well. Shake Shack customers can order a cold brew from the local alcohol connoisseurs such as Hops & Grain, Independence, Karbach, Real Ale and Austin Eastciders.

Shake Shack plans to open a second Austin location in the Domain.

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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