News You Can Eat

5 things to know in Austin food right now: Deep dish pizza fave takes a slice of Bee Cave

Austin deep-dish favorite Via 313 is opening a location in Bee Cave on May 15.

Photo courtesy of Via 313

Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of Austin’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings

One of Austin's favorite pizza places, Via 313, is opening a new location in Bee Cave (3944 S. FM 620 Rd.) on May 15. The Detroit-style deep-dish makers now have 14 locations, 10 of which are in Texas. The opening day celebration includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a partnership with Cerebral Palsy Awareness Transition Hope (CPATH), which will receive a quarter of the day's sales. The restaurant has several active job listings, including an hourly wage for servers in addition to tips. Hours only appear in the business' Google sidebar.

Wu Chow, a downtown Chinese restaurant known for its soup dumplings, is expanding from its high-traffic location on West 5th Street to something more accessible to the northern masses: the former site of Rosedale Kitchen and Bar (3800 N Lamar Boulevard). This is the first full expansion from the original location, although Little Wu serves up dumplings to-go at Fareground. The location opens on May 19, with a lunch service starting on June 19, and dim sum on July 8. The dinner service this month will be open Monday through Saturday, from 4:30-10 pm.

Austin drive-through heroP. Terry’s has now hit a milestone number of locations: 30. The newest is in Cedar Park (851 W. Whitestone Blvd.), across from Stiles Switch BBQ. Like the other locations, this one will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night eats, from 7 am to 11 pm, Monday through Thursday, until midnight on Fridays; 8 am to midnight on Saturdays, and until 11 pm on Sundays. The classic menu offers burgers, veggie burgers, fries, chicken patties, cage free eggs, and scratch-made sweet bakes.

Other news and notes

Austin sees its fair share of food festivals and competitions, but the American Lamb Jam is kicking it up a notch with a multi-city contest. The American Lamb Board hosts this event series to promote family-owned lamb producers in the U.S., calling on chefs from Austin, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., to create a signature sharable lamb plate or appetizer to be served at their home restaurants. Austin participants hail from El Naranjo, Interstellar BBQ, KG BBQ, Lenoir and more. Diners can vote for the best dish at americanlamb.com.

Forget the spelling bee — Bee School at Waterloo Greenway will teach one group of kids everything they need to know. French perfume maker Guerlain is launching a "Guerlain Bee School" at the park in partnership with its bee conservation program. (Remember the photos of Angelina Jolie with bees?) A group of pre-selected local second-graders will attend a beekeeping class on May 12, tour the pollinator garden, taste honey, and more. Then the program will be integrated into a current photography exhibition at the Greenway, "Seeing Bees". Adults with FOMO can look into classes at Round Rock Honey, which is helping to host the private event.

Sushi|Bar ATX, one of Austin's most upscale omakase experiences, always books up fast. This series will be no different, but might light a fire under some sushi lovers who have been meaning to splurge on a visit. The new chef series, "The Second Room" (a play on the restaurant's single-room dining), has its inaugural dinner on June 8 and 9. Two Michelin-starred chef Paul Liebrandt, previously chef-partner of NYC restaurants Corton and The Elm, will join Sushi|Bar ATX executive chef Ambrely Ouimette for a 20-item menu ($495 per person), contributing 10 dishes each. Find out more and reserve on Tock.

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Games on the Go

This outdoorsy mountain trolley is now a vintage arcade in Austin

Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley still bears most of the markings from its past life in Tennessee.

Some classic arcade games are now on the go in Austin with the launch of the Austin Arcade Trolley. Housed in a renovated trolley car, this new mobile arcade shows off eight vintage 80s and 90s games, while keeping some of the transportation nostalgia intact, too.

Austin Arcade Trolley owner and ex-corporate salesman Trey Tschoepe said in a press release that the idea came about after attending birthday parties with his 6-year-old daughter. The parties inspired a desire to "keep Austinites young at heart." It wasn't intended as a business, but Austinites can now book it for their own events.

The vintage games include:

NBA Jam
Golden Tee
Ms. Pacman
Atari
The Simpsons
NFL Blitz
Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter II

Austin Arcade Trolley interior Even though the aesthetics are different, both halves of this bus are very retro.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

It's not just limited to those classics, though; a 55-inch screen will let guests play more than 30,000 other games. Minecraft, Roblox, and Tetris are a few of those offerings.

“Not only are we delivering nostalgic fun that accessible to all ages, but we’re also doing it in style with a vintage trolley car converted into a mobile arcade," said Tschoepe. "There’s truly nothing else like this in Texas or anywhere else.”

There certainly are other mobile arcades, but the trolley is unique not just for its vintage selection but a delightfully outdoorsy look. The back of the vehicle looks like an arcade, but the front and exterior sidestep the expected design elements — neon colors, envisionings of cyberspace — by keeping everything as-is.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley basically looks like any other mobile arcade.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The wooden interior still has some passenger benches, and the outside even displays its original affiliation: the Tennessee town of Pigeon Forge, where it was designated a "Fun Time Trolley."

Tschoepe did put some work in, even though he kept the aesthetic intact. He purchased the decommissioned car in May 2024 and spent six months implementing custom woodwork and other design updates.

Now it can fit 15 guests in the arcade section, with space for 7 more in the seating section. There's also wifi and air-conditioning, and guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks and drinks onboard.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley brings light to an airier side of gaming.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley is available for hourly booking every day. The case price is $375 including delivery, setup, and unlimited play within the booking time, which happens in two-hour increments. It can travel around Austin as well as to Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, Buda, Kyle, and Lakeway.

Tschoepe welcomes kids and adults for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, weddings, corporate and team-building events, and anywhere else it's needed.

“We’re excited to spread the fun throughout Central Texas," he said.

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