It's only natural

Healthy Hyde Park grocer leaves Guadalupe Street shop for new location

Natural Grocers will soon be bringing organic produce to the Triangle.

Natural Grocers

A favorite of Austin’s health-conscious set is on the move. On May 16, Natural Grocers announced via release that it was relocating its 3901 Guadalupe St. outpost to a modern 14,000-square-foot space in The Triangle in July.

The Colorado-based chain first entered the Austin market in spring 2009 in the home of Hyde Park’s Rooster Andrews Sporting Goods. Since then it has grown to four locations in Central Texas with outposts in North Austin, Cedar Park, and Georgetown.

Although the brand was founded in 1955 as a humble door-to-door sales operation, it has seen rapid growth over the past decade, due in part to its strict corporate ethos. Laid out in a manifesto called “Things We Won’t Carry and Why,” the exhaustive list covers a wide range of environmental, health, and animal concerns, banning everything from dairy produced in the factory farming system to harmful chemicals.

The company chose the mixed-use center in part because it has increasingly become a health and wellness hub with tenants like Myo Massage, Orangetheory Fitness, Corepower Yoga, and Solidcore Pilates studio (run-on words are very popular in the fitness industry).

"Austin's reputation for healthy, active living is a major draw for the city,” said Kemper Isely of Asana Partners, the real estate firm behind the development, in a release. “And The Triangle is a destination for that lifestyle, whether you're a resident or visiting several times a week to dine and shop here."

The addition of Natural Grocers is part of an ongoing revitalization for the center, which suffered a wave of shutters in 2018 including Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and Galaxy Cafe. The organic grocery will itself be a former OfficeMax, which has been vacant since 2017, save for seasonal Spirit Halloween pop-ups.

The Triangle has even more in store for the rest of 2019. The release also revealed that San Antonio’s Merit Coffee would be opening a third Austin location in the center by the end of the year. CultureMap has reached out to Merit for more details.

openings

Refill, revere, rejoice

Austin distiller refills Kentucky Bourbon bottles for $1 in UT gameday stunt

Photo courtesy of Still Austin Whiskey Co.

Still Austin is filling up empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles and adding its own label in a display of Texas dominance.

Cheap bourbon isn't usually something people line up for, but in this case they know it's good. Still Austin Whiskey Co., a favorite Austin distiller, is offering $1 refills of its own Cask Strength Bourbon on empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles on November 23.

The promotion celebrates the Texas Longhorns vs. Kentucky Wildcats football match the same day. This is a highly anticipated game because the two teams have only been matched up once, back in 1951. Kentucky coach Mike Stoops reportedly also upped the ante by saying the Longhorns have "no weaknesses."

Essentially, this is a parallel challenge by Still Austin: Replace your Kentucky Bourbon with our Texas spirit and watch the Lone Star State win again.

"Why would I ever taint your bourbon with dried up Kentucky juice[?]" asked a (frankly, terrifying) customer on Instagram.

There is a misconception that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association itself points out that, "According to the 1964 Congressional Resolution, in order to have “Bourbon” on the label it must be made in the United States of America and meet all other federal “standards of identity” for Bourbon."

Still Austin CEO and co-founder Chris Seals is setting the record straight with a little snark, inviting both fans and "skeptics" to stop by to take advantage of the deal.

“We’re deeply grateful to Kentucky for inventing the stuff, but after 200 years of the same old bourbon, people want something new,” said Seals in a press release.“The idea that great bourbon can only come from Kentucky is a myth based on decades of misinformation. We’re inviting everyone still holding onto this old guard notion to ‘Kentucky Fill Up’ to experience the difference for themselves.”

The product he's chosen to represent the brand, the Cask Strength Bourbon, is described as "a deeper more 'metal' version of our beloved straight bourbon." It's 116 proof (58 percent ABV) and has won double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition twice, in 2022 and 2023.

Still Austin will only refill 500 bottles. Here are the rules: The bottles have to be 750 milliliters, clean, intact (with the original cap on hand), and they must have originally contained bourbon from a Kentucky Distillery. There are two time slots for refilling at 9 am and 11:30 am. Patrons can get tickets ahead of time at stillaustin.com.

In addition to the fill-ups, Still Austin will host a watch party starting at 2:30 pm. More Texas-Kentucky crossover will include Frozen Texas Julep cocktails, Texas fried chicken, and an armadillo derby race. There will also be exclusive merch and giveaways. Still Austin is the official corporate partner of Texas Athletics.

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Fans of Austin sports and Austin food and drinks can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm December 12 at Distribution Hall. Find out more about it here.

whiskey university of texas longhorns