Strange Shuttering

Once-popular North Austin pub shutters — owners blame Hurricane Harvey

Pour one out for Baker Street Pub.

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Multiple locations of a once-popular bar chain shuttered across the state this week including one in Austin. Strangely, the establishment cited Hurricane Harvey as one of the causes.

Sherlock's Baker St. Pub and Grill announced on Facebook that its Research Boulevard location in North Austin is now closed. A call to Sherlock's sister restaurant, Baker Street Pub & Grill on South Lamar confirmed that they are still open.

The company also announced it was shuttering two outposts in north Houston — one in Willowbrook and the other in Cypress — but the Houston location of Sherlock's on Westheimer remains open. Two locations in Fort Worth also closed, as CultureMap Fort Worth reports.

All of the shuttered bars posted essentially identical messages to Facebook that read in part:

"Although the timing of this may be difficult for everyone, we want to assure you that we will provide opportunities for every eligible employee to be placed at another location. We’ve made a lot of friends and we hope that your memories here will last a lifetime. This chapter closes, but another will open soon."

Of course, as many outraged employees pointed out on the Austin post, Harvey's effect didn't reach Austin or Fort Worth. The decisions to shutter seems even more abrupt given that both the Austin and Willowbrook locations posted a full month's worth of band bookings on December 1.

The closures are only the latest setbacks for owner HUSA Management Inc. Earlier this year, the company closed the Local Pour in Houston to make way for a 30-story luxury high rise. Baker St. Pub's Rice Village location closed in 2016 when the property owner elected not to renew its lease; that location ultimately became the city's second of the Austin-based Hopdoddy Burger Bar.

closings hurricane

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.