A bird in the hand

Celebrity chef's anticipated East Austin restaurant and bakery just quietly opened

Sour Duck Market is quietly welcoming its first guests.

Though Bryce Gilmore was once again robbed of a James Beard Award on May 7, the hometown favorite still has a very good reason to celebrate this week. His new East Austin fast-casual concept, Sour Duck Market, is now open to the public.

An Instagram post on May 8 advised customers that the “bake case is full and ready.” Although construction workers were still busy putting the finishing touches on the space when we visited, a restaurant employee told CultureMap that Sour Duck is in full swing with its soft opening, and a full menu of sandwiches, salads, small plates, and baked goods is now available.

Gilmore, along with partners Jason James, Dylan Gilmore, and Mark Buley, is the latest celebrated Austin chef to branch out into counter service, following in the footsteps of Kevin Fink of Emmer & Rye and Andrew Wiseheart of Contigo/Chicon, both of whom are now operating concepts out of downtown’s Fareground food hall.

The restaurant is located at 1814 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., on the corner of Chicon Street in the space formerly occupied by Joe’s Spot and Connie’s Beer Garden. Hubnik Architecture — the force behind the renovations of Jacoby’s Restaurant and Mercantile, Nickel City, and Whisler’s — transformed the building into a modernist showpiece with warm woods and washes of white.

The concept is a sharp departure from Gilmore’s upscale restaurants Barley Swine and Odd Duck, but it still retains the chef's commitment to local sourcing. Customers walk up to the baked goods case filled with croissants, pastries, and other treats before ordering from a blackboard menu. Many of the dishes come in well below $10, and diners can keep a tab running throughout their visit.

For breakfast, Sour Duck's offerings include a breakfast sandwich, a grain bowl, and sourdough pancakes. For lunch, the menu features a trio of sandwiches: a pork sando, a burger, and a chicken salad. Small plates include smoked carrots with avocado mayo, escabeche, and cilantro; a Cobb salad with smoked goat neck, romaine, avocado, and a citrus-garlic dressing; tempura-battered fried cheese curds served with a spiced bean dip; and a shrimp and redfish cream dip with grapefruit and everything crackers.

Although customers can wait for to-go orders at the bar in the front building, most of the restaurant’s seating is provided by community picnic tables in the beer garden-like backyard. In case of bad weather, some of the benches are covered by an awning, and a back bar provides further coverage from the elements. This back bar also serves most of Sour Duck’s alcoholic options including wine; draft beer from Real Ale, Hops & Grain, Celis, and Live Oak; and draft cocktails like a grapefruit Paloma and a dewberry Hemingway daiquiri.

According to a Facebook post, Sour Duck’s trial hours are between 7 am-10 pm. The website has not been updated with the permanent hours.

openings

Games on the Go

This outdoorsy mountain trolley is now a vintage arcade in Austin

Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley still bears most of the markings from its past life in Tennessee.

Some classic arcade games are now on the go in Austin with the launch of the Austin Arcade Trolley. Housed in a renovated trolley car, this new mobile arcade shows off eight vintage 80s and 90s games, while keeping some of the transportation nostalgia intact, too.

Austin Arcade Trolley owner and ex-corporate salesman Trey Tschoepe said in a press release that the idea came about after attending birthday parties with his 6-year-old daughter. The parties inspired a desire to "keep Austinites young at heart." It wasn't intended as a business, but Austinites can now book it for their own events.

The vintage games include:

NBA Jam
Golden Tee
Ms. Pacman
Atari
The Simpsons
NFL Blitz
Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter II

Austin Arcade Trolley interior Even though the aesthetics are different, both halves of this bus are very retro.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

It's not just limited to those classics, though; a 55-inch screen will let guests play more than 30,000 other games. Minecraft, Roblox, and Tetris are a few of those offerings.

“Not only are we delivering nostalgic fun that accessible to all ages, but we’re also doing it in style with a vintage trolley car converted into a mobile arcade," said Tschoepe. "There’s truly nothing else like this in Texas or anywhere else.”

There certainly are other mobile arcades, but the trolley is unique not just for its vintage selection but a delightfully outdoorsy look. The back of the vehicle looks like an arcade, but the front and exterior sidestep the expected design elements — neon colors, envisionings of cyberspace — by keeping everything as-is.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley basically looks like any other mobile arcade.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The wooden interior still has some passenger benches, and the outside even displays its original affiliation: the Tennessee town of Pigeon Forge, where it was designated a "Fun Time Trolley."

Tschoepe did put some work in, even though he kept the aesthetic intact. He purchased the decommissioned car in May 2024 and spent six months implementing custom woodwork and other design updates.

Now it can fit 15 guests in the arcade section, with space for 7 more in the seating section. There's also wifi and air-conditioning, and guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks and drinks onboard.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley brings light to an airier side of gaming.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley is available for hourly booking every day. The case price is $375 including delivery, setup, and unlimited play within the booking time, which happens in two-hour increments. It can travel around Austin as well as to Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, Buda, Kyle, and Lakeway.

Tschoepe welcomes kids and adults for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, weddings, corporate and team-building events, and anywhere else it's needed.

“We’re excited to spread the fun throughout Central Texas," he said.

kids games arcade parties weddings