Bittersweet Closure

Boozy East Austin bakery suddenly closes its doors

Bribery Bakery's boozy Mueller location is closed.

Bittersweet news for those with a sweet tooth. Bribery Bakery's Mueller location has closed, effective Friday, September 1. To announce the closure, the bakery sent an email to customers with a heartfelt note from owner Jodi Elliott.

"With a mixture of emotions and a heavy heart, I wanted to let you guys know that I have decided to close our Mueller location effective Friday, September 1," writes Elliott.

"Juggling two bakeries, two staffs, and two groups of customers was all-consuming. I spent all my time on bills, taxes, schedules, emails, and putting out fires. I didn’t have time or energy for what I love most – being in the kitchen and making desserts that I want to eat and that I want others to experience. It’s been a constant struggle, and I eventually burned out."

The Mueller location of Bribery Bakery opened to much fanfare in February 2016. Billed as a "true bakery-cafe," the East Austin spot served Elliott's signature pastries, as well as a cafe menu and booze, including wine and craft cocktails.

The original Bribery location on Wells Branch Parkway remains open and will be Elliott's "creative pastry workshop," reads the email. It's open Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 am to 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

"I can’t wait to share all the new ideas I haven’t had the time or energy to execute … stay tuned for delivered cakes and treat trays, mail-order treats, wedding cakes, exciting holiday kits, cookbooks, hats, bags, boxes, and so many more exclamation points!"

closings desserts

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.