Hot happy hours

6 festive new Austin happy hour deals to make the season bright

Intero has happy hour specials every day of the week.

The holidays are fast approaching, along with the dreaded seasonal budget crunch. With so many gifts to buy, donations to be made, and groceries to be ordered, few of us have enough left over for a night on the town. But as usual, Austin’s happy hours are here to step in with positively festive specials on food and drink.

Cisco’s Restaurant Bakery
This east side institution may be one of Austin’s oldest restaurants, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a few new tricks up it sleeve. In September, the eatery introduced evening hours for the first time in its almost 70 year existence. Along with dinner came a daily happy hour from 3-7 pm featuring half-price nachos, queso, and guacamole and deeply discounted drinks like $3.50 drafts, $4 red wine glasses, and $5 margaritas. If even that’s too rich for your blood, dive into your couch to finance $1 Pearls.

Contigo
This ranch-chic eatery near the Mueller development has been one of Austin’s favorite happy hour haunts since it first debuted in May 2011. Now, a revamped menu launched in early November gives locals plenty of new treats to try. Every Monday through Thursday from 5-6:30 pm, enjoy fresh bar snacks like a hot dog with mustard onions, pickled pepper, and celery seed or crispy tempura grilled avocado with garlic, shallots, furikake, lime, and camp bread for half-off, along with old favorites like crispy green beans with sambal aioli.

Intero
This classy East Austin Italian joint shines with one of the most creative happy hour snack menus in town. From 10 pm-midnight on Friday and Saturday and 4:30-6:30 Tuesday through Sunday, enjoy nibbles like whipped cannellini beans and Parker House rolls for $3, sourdough bruschetta and crispy green tomatoes for $4, and coal-roasted acorn squash for $5. Pair the dishes with a glass of wine, cocktail, or beer — all $2 off.

Joann’s Fine Foods
Following in the grand tradition of McGuire Moorman Hospitality happy hours, this swanky diner treats everyone like friends and family every weekday from 3-5 pm. The entire food menu — from hashbrown nachos loaded with black beans, queso, charred tomatillos, and sour cream to green chorizo and pulled pork tamales — is 25-percent off. Beer, wine, and cocktails like the refreshing Pink Peppercorn Paloma are all $2 off.

Spin
Work off some steam from 4-7 pm by playing table tennis at this downtown hot spot’s weekday happy hour. The sweet promotions include $2 off a rotating list of selected draft beers; $4 cans of Bishop Cider Co.’s Crackberry, Maui Brewing Company blonde lager; and Oasis Texas Brewing’s 2.13 Pale Ale; and a $8 glass of mystery frosé. Wearing an ’80s-style sweatband is strictly optional.

Lakeway Resort & Spa
Head out to this Lake Travis retreat for a happy hour that makes every day a celebration. Featuring the Sofia line from Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Lakeway Resort’s sparkles with flutes of brut rosé or Blanc de Blanc offered for $7 or less. For the best deals, get there at 4 pm when bubbles are $4. The price goes up a buck each hour until 7 pm.

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Genuine Surprise

Austin coffee shop announces return immediately after sudden closure

Genuine Joe Coffeehouse/Instagram

Genuine Joe Coffeehouse is now under and optimistic spell.

An Austin coffee shop has experienced a roller coaster over the past week. On October 31, Genuine Joe Coffeehouse announced it would close, but after some community help, it's back on track to stay open with some changes to make the business more stable going forward. One of those seems to be a new location that hasn't been announced yet, according to a social media post.

The original message announcing the closure was posted on Instagram: "Genuine Joe is closed for the foreseeable future," it said. "Yesterday was our last day of business. We are sorry to the community for the short notice- it surprised all of us too."

As Genuine Joe owner Josh Brown explained to KVUE, the property he rented had been sold to build condos in 2021. After that, the coffee shop only had a lease for up to six months at a time. Finally, KVUE reported, a hard demolition date has been set for February.

In the shop's next Instagram post, management thanked fans for their comments and established a GoFundMe page, which they explicitly said would not go toward reopening. "Donations will not go towards reopening, relocating, or any debt incurred by Genuine Joe Coffeehouse. Everything will go to the staff," wrote Leann Tipton, who is listed as the organizer of the fundraiser.

Just days later, another post went up announcing that Genuine Joe would reopen and continue business at the original location — meaning 2001 W. Anderson Ln. According to the post, what was raised from the now-disabled GoFundMe ($7,762) went entirely to staff in limbo.

The most explanation the post offers is that "a few special members of the GJ family" stepped up to help. It does not mention whether the help was financial or otherwise. It also announced some changes: an increase in prices, reduced hours, and fewer non-core offerings — namely, breakfast tacos.

This is, of course, not the whole story. The post promises to share more news later, specifically detailing the demolition and a new location.

Genuine Joe's current hours according to the post at 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays, and 8 am to 7 pm on weekends. Customers had strong reactions, and it looks like none bemoaned the reasonable changes.

"Crying tears of joy….. my family and friends are going to be so relieved they don’t have to hear me mourn genuine joe on the daily anymore," wrote one commenter. They weren't the only one in tears, if the rest of the comments were any indication.

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