Seconds Later
Second Bar + Kitchen gets a second chance with East Austin opening
Another local pandemic closure is getting a second chance as business picks up.
Longtime downtown favorite Second Bar + Kitchen will stage a comeback in the East Austin Hotel at the corner of Sixth and Waller streets, less than a mile from its original downtown location, beginning September 15. In November 2020, the restaurant permanently closed its downtown location after a decade in business, due to dwindling foot traffic and the unpredictability of economic recovery in downtown Austin.
“I’m very excited to help bring Second Bar + Kitchen back to downtown Austin with Executive Chef Gerard Kenny,” said SBK founder and chef David Bull, who also serves as regional vice president of food and beverage for La Corsha Hospitality Group, in a press release. He is joined by executive chef Gerard Kenny. “Our guests will recognize that the food and service at this location is authentic to our original location, and we are delighted to be returning to our city’s core.”
The restaurant continued service at the Domain Northside in the Archer Hotel Austin, serving elevated plates in a range of styles from new American to Asian fusion to pizzas, and early breakfasts starting at 7 am. A second existing location also operates at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport next to Gate 16, with a relatively long menu compared to other ABIA eateries, as well as grab-and-go breakfast service.
SBK fans will recognize many menu items at the East Austin location. The Congress Burger honors the original location with onion confit and “comeback sauce,” while more adventurous menu items include the seared Faroe Island salmon with pork belly fried rice, coconut tempura, and mint. Snackers might enjoy truffle pomme frites with grana padano and white truffle aioli.
A long beverage list on the bar side includes a dozen classic and signature cocktails (the white peach sangria lightens up the fruity staple with white wine, peach liqueur, passion fruit, and limoncello), 37 whiskeys, beers, wines, and dessert drinks.
Guests are invited to the restaurant and rooftop, but food and drinks will also be served at the hotel’s poolside bar, as well as in event and meeting spaces. The hotel already has two eateries onsite: the eclectic and stylish Sixth and Waller Global Diner, and loungey cocktail bar and deck The Upside, perched above the pool like a very chic treehouse. Both eateries and the pool bar will be replaced by SBK.
Second Bar + Kitchen at East Austin Hotel will be open Sunday to Thursday from 7 am to 10 pm, and Friday and Saturday until 11 pm. More information is available at www.secondbarkitchen.com.
