Up our alley
Popular nightlife hub and bowling alley strikes into North Austin for next location
A local nightlife and entertainment venue is ready to pick up a spare in North Austin. On August 28, Scott and Jennifer Emley, the owners of Lakeway’s High 5, announced via a release they are opening a second location at 2700 W. Anderson Ln. #10 (the former home of The Goodnight) in November.
The concept is similar to national chain Punch Bowl Social and the original version of Alamo Drafthouse’s The Highball, offering a variety of diversions like karaoke, virtual reality, and arcade games. The center of the operation will be eight vintage bowling lanes outfitted with Brunswick Sync, a fancy touch screen scoring system.
Along with the all-ages fun, High 5 will offer something just for adults in their cocktail program. The approachable menu will make great use of house-infused spirits like a habañero and pineapple Sauza tequila used in the Garden Fresh Margarita and Mexican Martini. The bar will be stocked with craft beer and wine.
Chef David Hedger's food menu will stand up to the spirits with spins on classic bar fare. He will bring some of the most popular dishes from Lakeway over to the new outpost, such as his signature Diablos — barbecue bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp or chicken with cream jalapeño and cream cheese.
New menu items will include two Austin staples on the opposite side of the spectrum: a Texas chicken fried steak and a housemade veggie burger with all the fixings.
The design of the space will also have a Capital City feel. The Emleys enlisted Rory Skagen, cofounder of the Blue Genie Art Bazaar and one of the creators of South First Street’s famous Greetings From Austin Mural, to create a large-scale mural in the space.
Whether High 5 will have a better go of it than Goodnight remains to be seen. When the like-minded concept shuttered its West Anderson Lane location in May, the owners blamed North Austin’s explosive entertainment scene as one of the reasons they were refocusing their efforts on the upcoming location in the Blueprint building at 506 W. Sixth St.
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Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of IDG
