Spilling the beans

Famous New Orleans coffee shop grinding into Austin with 25 new locations

PJ's is famous in Louisiana for its nitro cold brew.

PJ's Coffee

If one New Orleans coffee shop gets its way, its purple logo may soon be as familiar to Austinites as the Starbucks siren. Earlier this month, PJ’s Coffee announced ambitious expansion plans in Texas’ four largest cities — including a whopping 25 locations in the Capital City.

According to a release, the brand was established in 1978 by Phyllis Jordan, who opened the first PJ’s in New Orleans' Carrollton neighborhood. The coffee pioneer grew steadily until she opened it up to franchising in 1989 and then sold the operation to Ballard Brands in 2008.

“I could see the beginnings of coffee culture starting up in the Northwest,” Jordan said in earlier release. “I was using coffee and tea to get people to spend time together and sit together. No one else in town was doing that.”

Cold brew was also a new idea when Jordan founded her business, but the pioneering entrepreneur developed a cold-drip process that preserved the flavor of the beans while producing a less acidic final drink. The caffeinated refresher (now also available in nitro form) became PJ’s signature menu item, offered alongside the expected espresso drinks, frozen and blended treats, and organic teas.

Although the brand is ubiquitous in Louisiana, it currently only operates three Texas franchises, all in the Houston area. Those shops have been so successful that the company is now pushing for rapid expansion — 180 locations — within the next 10 years.

In addition to the Austin outposts, PJ’s is opening 60 new locations in Houston, 40 in San Antonio, and 55 in Dallas-Fort Worth. The openings are still in the initial stages, so no information is yet available about potential locations and exact opening dates.

“As we sought further expansion, Texas became an obvious choice as an area with similar values and upbeat vibe," said the brand’s chief development officer David Mesa via release. "We look forward to rapidly expanding and consistently adding to the PJ's coffee family in our neighboring state, because you know what they say — everything's bigger and better in Texas."

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Noodle News

Vegan ramen joint from Los Angeles visits Austin for 2-night pop-up

Ramen Hood/Instagram

Los Angeles' Ramen Hood will be in Austin for a two-night pop-up.

This Thursday and Friday, the Loren Hotel Austin is teaming up with Los Angeles vegan ramen restaurant Ramen Hood for a two-night pop-up dinner on November 7 and 8.

The dinner on both nights will include a multi-course prix fixe menu featuring some of the restaurant's best-selling dishes. Guests will see broccoli with soy, chili glaze, and scallions; Ahi "Tuna" crisps made from spicy beets, crispy rice shells, yuzu avocado puree and sesame seeds; Avocado Toast with crispy rice cakes, yuzu avocado puree, herb salad, togarashi, and chili threads; and ramen with sunflower seed broth, bean sprouts, scallions, bok choy, and king oyster mushrooms.

Dinner is priced at $45 per person, plus an additional $45 for sake and cocktail pairings.

Dinner will include this simple but savory broccoli dish, along with several other courses. Photo courtesy of Ramen Hood

Ramen Hood was founded in 2015 by chef Rahul Khopkar and Ilan Hall, as a vegan and plant-based ramen option in L.A. This will be the first time Ramen Hood is teaming up with The Loren, but it's not the first pop-up the hotel is offering. This is part of an ongoing chef series, where The Loren Hotel partners with chefs from all around the country to showcase their specialty dishes to Austin eaters.

A portion of the proceeds from The Loren Chef Series benefits The Loren Roots Imperative, a nonprofit that has big goals in terms of carbon footprint. Currently the Roots Imperative aims to acquire and regenerate over 50,000 biodiverse acres of land and plant 10 million hardwood trees to offset its own carbon emissions.

Ramen Hood's pop-up vegan restaurant will be at The Loren's Nido Lounge from 6-9 pm on Thursday November, 7, and Friday, November 8.

The Nido Lounge at the Loren Hotel Austin. Photo from thelorenhotels.com

The Loren Hotel is located just south of the Colorado River at 1211 W Riverside Dr. Aside from the Nido Lounge, the hotel a Milk + Honey spa, an extensive fitness center, cafe, rooftop terrace, infinity pool, and plenty of other luxurious amenities in its 108 guest rooms and suites overlooking Lady Bird Lake.

More information and tickets are available at thelorenhotels.com.

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