Last supper

Award-winning downtown Austin supper club closes for new restaurant concept

Sophia's is now closed, but a new concept will take its place.

Photo courtesy of Sophia's

What’s a restaurant to do when the initial buzz quiets down to a murmur? For an increasing number of shopworn Austin names, the solution is to dust off the cobwebs, bring in new furnishings, and reopen under a new name. Such is the case of downtown’s Sophia’s, which quietly closed in mid-September for a refresh.

According to a rep, the 500 W. Sixth St. space is being transformed into an unnamed new concept to debut in the late fall. Local firm Nova Hospitality, the company behind private club The Pershing and upcoming projects TenTen and Mayfair, will be managing the venture in conjunction with Sophia’s Chicago-based owners, BDG Hospitality. The rep didn’t give a reason for the rework.

Sophia’s attracted a breathless round of publicity when it was introduced in August 2016, taking over the space once occupied by Sandra Bullock’s Bess Bistro, which closed in 2015. Thanks to touches like nightclub-style lighting and a pop-up fireplace/DJ booth, it became an early favorite of Austin’s fledgling Instagram industrial complex. In 2017, CultureMap readers even voted it the Best New Restaurant as part of our annual Tastemaker Awards.

But interest soon dissipated. By 2018, the restaurant was receiving increasingly scattered media attention. The speakeasy atmosphere of Sophia’s soon felt dated in comparison to sunnier, social media-ready newcomers like Anthem or Hank’s.

The Sophia’s team isn’t saying whether such market pressures drove the decision. Managing an Austin restaurant could have simply become unsustainable for a Midwestern-based team. Or perhaps Sophia's simply bowed to the Capital City’s panting hype machine (much like Bullfight's transformation into Vamonos).

Regardless of the reason, diners won't have to wait long to see if the new concept can survive Austin's increasingly cutthroat restaurant world.

openings closings dinner downtown

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.