Tear in our beer

2 popular Austin bars may topple as 48-story apartment tower rises downtown

Austin Photo Set: News_Sig_Javelina_feb 2012_exterior

The fate of Javelina is uncertain.

Photo by Jessica Pages

Two Rainey Street bars face the bulldozer as developers prepare to build yet another residential tower in the popular Austin neighborhood.

The City of Austin has approved demolition permits for properties that house two Rainey Street bars — Craft Pride at 61 Rainey St. and Javelina at 69 Rainey St. Both structures date back to around 1920.

Rainey Ventures owns Craft Pride and Javelina, whose fate is uncertain. A representative of Rainey Ventures couldn’t be reached for comment. For now, the two structures remain standing and the two bars remain open. Craft Pride debuted in 2013 and Javelina in 2011.

The land is being cleared to make way for the 48-story River Street Residences apartment tower. The 505,409-square-foot project will feature 25 penthouse apartments and 384 apartments on lower floors. Amenities will include a swimming pool, a rooftop lounge, and a ground-floor cafe.

The high-rise is being built on parcels where Craft Pride and Javelina currently stand, as well as on an undeveloped plot of land at 60 East Ave.

The developers are Austin-based River Street Partners and High Street Residential, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Trammell Crow. The architect is San Antonio-based Lake Flato. When it was proposed last year, River Street Residences was envisioned as a hotel and residential tower. The hotel component does not appear in plans presented October 26 to the Austin Design Commission.

A spokeswoman for commercial real estate services giant CBRE, which owns Trammell Crow, says the developers aren’t ready to comment yet about when construction on River Street Partners is scheduled to start and be completed.

Earlier this year, CultureMap reported on two other Rainey Street establishments — Bungalow and Container Bar — that are being torn down to make room for a 53-story hotel and apartment tower. As of February, the tower’s developer planned to incorporate Bungalow (92 Rainey St.) and Container Bar (90 Rainey St.) into the project. Both businesses are still open.

Once a low-key neighborhood, Rainey Street — bounded by the I-35 frontage road and East Cesar Chavez Street — has boomed over the past decade with the opening of several bars in converted houses, as well as construction of apartment, hotel, and condo projects.

craft-beer cocktails

News You Can Eat

Glam club's closure and beer passport map out Austin food and drinking news

Photo courtesy of Estelle's

Looking beautiful can only get you so far.

Buckle up, Austin. Hope you're ready for a lot of food news, since it seems like restaurants were holding out until Labor Day to make big announcements. This week we have more than five openings, a surprising closure, and some fun ways to change up your happy hour drinking routine.

Openings and closings

The life of Estelle's in the Warehouse District was short and beautiful; the social club has now closed after less than a year and a half in business. "We are heartbroken to share that Estelle’s has closed its doors and will not be reopening," says a message on the website. "Thank you to our employees, partners, and guests who brought Estelle’s to life." When it opened, it caught the eye of many Austinites thanks to its old-fashioned, stately-yet-airy decor. But despite the apparent readiness for a lounging upscale crowd, the actual venue was known for being very loud and tightly packed.

Another short-lived venture was Bacalar, a Mexican restaurant that was embattled from the start in September 2023, thanks to the relatively recent controversial past of Chef Gabe Erales. As of July 2024, the chef had departed and the restaurant closed, although the group he partnered with for the launch, Urbanspace, remains involved in Tómalo Grill. Formerly the sister takeout window, it will be taking over the full space officially on September 10. It is in a soft opening period throughout the weekend leading up to the grand opening date. Operating hours are Tuesdays through Sundays from 5-10 pm, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm starting September 14. The service window remains open Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 am to 2 pm.

ICYMI: We had lots of openings to share this week. Starting with familiar faces, Sixth Street bar Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is opening a classy-sporty spinoff that's something between a sports bar and an athletic club. Little Ola's Biscuits, a casual sister to Olamaie, is also expanding for the first time into the Mueller neighborhood. Austinites can also look forward to a brand new brunch, breakfast, and lunch spot by the Jack Allen’s Kitchen team. It was big news last year when Las Bis and Luminaire suddenly shuttered at Austin’s Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue, but now two new concepts are replacing them. Finally, two more deli-ish spots are making a comeback: Katz's is rebuilding a longtime legacy with a lot of goodwill, and Foxtrot is feeling out a possible return to a possibly hostile market.

Other news and notes

New Italian restaurant Casa Bianca is making a name for itself through interesting fusion dishes, which might make a dinner spread harder to choose compared to your neighborhood pizza spot. To help flesh out this unique POV, Chef Joseph Zoccoli has curated a tasting menu of six savory courses that will rotate seasonally. It'll be available every night of service for a market price of "around $140," plus optional wine pairings for $35. Reserve via Resy.

Central Market is creating the world's largest charcuterie board on September 11, in an attempt to break a world record. Just setting the board up isn't enough; the record depends on how much is eaten. With more than 1,000 pounds of meat and cheeses, that's a tall order. The free tickets are already sold out, but it'll be fun to see if and how the grocery store pulls this off. This is part of a larger 30th anniversary celebration that's happening all over the state, including more broadly accessible perks like in-store specials, live music, and more.

Friend groups who like to keep busy while enjoying a drink together can try something new at Electric Shuffle, a modern shuffleboard bar. It already had a similar package available for brunch, but now it's expanding out into a nighttime affair. Instead of doing things à la carte, this social sets guests up with a 90-minute open bar, family style appetizers, and a shuffleboard reservation for up to 20 friends for $65. A DJ keeps the energy up no matter how skilled at shuffleboard your party is.

Austin really does have too many places to enjoy a beer to count, but the Austin Ale Trail is attempting it, anyway. The "passport" lines up "over 50 craft breweries, pubs, bottle shops, and cideries in the Austin area," according to the website. Visitors can use it for discounts and freebies at participating businesses, or just a fun challenge to expand their horizons. The program kicks off with two parties: one September 7 at Vacancy Brewing and one September 8 at Blue Owl Brewing. Passports are also available at Black Star Co-Op, The Brewtique,Lazarus Brewing, and WhichCraft.