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Downtown Austin restaurant and beer bar fizzles out after 6-year run

Austin Ale House has shuttered after six years.

In 2013, late Austin Chronicle food editor Virginia B. Wood penned an infamously scathing blind item restaurant review, ending it by saying she didn’t expect the eatery to be around long. Six years later, the concept — Austin Ale House — appears to have finally closed.

The closure, as first reported by the Austin Business Journal, seems to have happened in mid-August. Although CultureMap was unable to directly confirm the shutter with the owners, the doors to the property were locked during business hours on August 16, and all social media accounts have been deleted.

Thomas Elliott and Spoon Singh, the proprietors of the popular Venice Ale House in Venice Beach, California, opened the Austin outpost in March 2013. It was one of a wave of gastropubs advertising farm-to-table fare and a large local craft beer selection, then a novelty in Austin.

Although its opening attracted the attention of New York magazine’s Grub Street blog, it received far less attention by Austin’s local press — that is until Wood’s assessment. Unnamed in the review, Austin Ale House was nonetheless quickly identified by the unique menu details (tacos, risotto, and poke) mentioned in the piece.

Wood slammed everything from the “squiggly sauce paintings on every plate” to the slow service. “The most positive thing I could say about any of the food was that it could prevent starvation,” she wrote.

The Yelp reviews were considerably kinder, and the restaurant enjoyed a middling three-and-a-half star rating at the time of closure. And many of Austin’s more acclaimed concepts failed to attain Austin Ale House’s longevity.

It’s unclear if there are any future plans for the prime downtown space. Although it’s unknown whether the owners of Venice Ale House are still involved in the project, CultureMap has reached out for a statement.

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Roaming Tiger

12th Street Austin coffee shop expands for first time into San Antonio

Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters

El Tigre is opening its first outpost, which will be in St. Paul Square.

A cozy coffee shop in Austin is growing its roots all the way to San Antonio. El Tigre Coffee Roasters, which has been open in the capital city since 2019, will open sometime in February at 123 Heiman St. in St. Paul Square.

The San Antonio location is the first outpost for El Tigre, which is part of a family of other Austin hotspots including wine shop Cork & Screw, tattoo shop Slowpoke Marfa, and outdoor food courts Camp East and Arbor Food Park. The most recent addition before El Tigre was the cool Austin speakeasy Trona.

Although Dreamers & Doers Hospitality clearly has a stronghold in Austin — where El Tigre originated — founder Tatanka Guerrero is now based in San Antonio.

The Chilean-Texan restaurateur has plenty of experience working in far-flung markets, so this is actually one of his smaller moves. Guerrero first became known in Texas for his Marfa restaurant, Al Campo, and he's also worked on projects in Miami and Los Angeles.

In Austin, much of El Tigre's popularity is thanks to its cozy environment; since January 2024, it's been located in a homey trailer that a handful of guests at a time can hang out in. In San Antonio, it'll be located in a convenient corner building.

El Tigre Coffee Roasters sign The new sign.Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters

El Tigre prides itself on "sourcing high-quality beans from around the world," according to a press release. It has two single-origin roasts from Honduras and Brazil, and one half-and-half blend of the two.

The existing shop offers a fairly standard coffee menu with some additions like alternative milks, unique flavors (rose and raspberry, among others), and Mexican specialties like hot chocolate. Products at both locations will be sourced with "sustainability, quality, and community" in mind.

Something new at the San Antonio location will be light breakfast and lunch options. There are some snacks available at the Austin location, but it sounds like this will be a new type of service. The menu is still under wraps.

The projects united under Dreamers and Doers share an artistic sensibility that blends extremely chic and moody interior design with more relatable elements like graffiti, tattoo art, and homey desert stylings. There are no photos of the interior of the shop yet, but if it looks anything like its family concepts, it'll be shaped by similar themes.

123 Heiman Street This building has seen a few concepts in recent years.Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters

“San Antonio is a special place, and I’m honored to have been welcomed with open arms into this community," said Guerrero in a press release. "My El Tigre team and I look forward to serving San Antonio residents for years to come and we can’t wait to get to know all of our new downtown Eastside neighbors, including all the bakers, pastry chefs, and farmers, and producers as we look to source as much as we can locally. Plus, I have some new culinary concepts in the works for San Antonio that will open soon, so there is much to be excited about."

When El Tigre at St. Paul Square opens, it'll operate 7 am to 4 pm daily. After a soft opening phase, the shop will update both the official opening date and operating hours. Potential visitors can check Instagram for any updates before arriving.

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