Prized plumbing
Swanky Austin restaurant competes for title of best restroom in the U.S.
A South Austin restaurant hopes to flush the competition in the pursuit of the 2022 title of the best restroom in the U.S.
Eberly, which serves contemporary American cuisine, is one of 10 finalists vying for this year’s America’s Best Restroom crown, which will be bestowed by Cintas Corp. Cincinnati-based Cintas supplies corporate uniforms, along with related products and services.
Eberly, which opened in 2016 at 615 S. Lamar Blvd., is the only Texas finalist. Voting in the contest ends August 31.
In a news release announcing the finalists, Cintas emphasizes Eberly’s centerpiece — the Cedar Tavern bar, rescued from New York City’s Greenwich Village — and notes the restroom’s “nod to the bygone era when those bars were in vogue.”
“Each stall has an illuminated old-school New York tavern vacancy light outside the door that turns off when you lock it. The restroom includes images from Grammy-winning music photographer Alan Messer,” Cintas says.
The winner of the 2022 edition of the America’s Best Restroom contest will receive a Cintas UltraClean deep-cleaning service for its award-winning restroom, along with $2,500 worth of facility services or restroom cleaning.
“The public holds higher standards for the cleanliness and technology used in public restrooms, which is why we’re proud to recognize these businesses that maintain clean and exceptional facilities,” says Julia Messinger, marketing manager at Cintas.
If Eberly slams the stall door on its competition, it won’t be eatery’s only claim to fame this year. The restaurant’s former executive chef, Jo Chan, competed in the Houston-set 19th season of Top Chef but was eliminated in the seventh episode. That episode aired in April, the same month that Chan left Eberly.
In 2016, CultureMap anointed the bar at Eberly as one of the year’s 14 best new bars in Austin. The business is named after Angelina Eberly, an Austin innkeeper who stood up to Texas President Sam Houston and his Texas Rangers by firing a cannon in 1846 to hold off a rebellion and preserve Austin as the state capital.
