News You Can Eat

8 things to know in Austin food right now: Hot bar hosts industry night pop-up

Drink makers at the Bar Peached Chef Bar pop-up developed "outlandish" recipes for a "profit sharing experiment."

Photo courtesy of Yasmeen Magar

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

Famously, the restaurant industry is always battling to keep passion alive and restaurants funded, despite very tricky financial standards. Bar Peached, the cocktail-forward sister eatery to the Peached Tortilla, is hosting an industry night on its usual night off, Monday, November 14. Event curators were given free rein to make any weird drinks they’ve always loved, resulting in an eight-drink special menu featuring items like black pepper and stone fruit pit (consider that Peached). Half of sales from the Chef Bar pop-up (6-11 pm) will pay the staff at the event. Everyone is invited, and other industry professionals are especially encouraged to visit.

Happy Lemon, a boba chain from Taiwan, is opening its first Austin location the weekend of November 12. This is part of a larger-scale Texas takeover, with nine locations already in Dallas and Houston, and more planned soon according to an Instagram post in August. The most recent new location before Austin was in Plano a little more than a month before. The shop is celebrating the grand opening on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 am to 9 pm, with buy-one-get-one drinks and free tote bags for the first 100 customers. Happy Lemon Austin is located at 2501 W Parmer Lane, Suite 650.

Other news and notes

Watertrade, the Japanese-style cocktail bar inside omakase restaurant Otoko, is known for its sleek, modern atmosphere and, of course, its Japanese ingredients. Now it may be known for something exclusive; its own private-label sake. Revenge of the Third Son, brewed in Kyoto and inspired by Otoko chef Yoshi Okai, has “gentle ginjo aromas & a dry, crisp, yet matured aftertaste,” according to a press release. It is available to try at Watertrade and Otoko, or to purchase by the bottle in gift sets (starting at $120) via Tock.

On November 10 from 7-11 pm, the American Cancer Society is hosting its second annual Thomas J. Henry Fork Cancer fundraiser, which doubles as a tasting event for several highly-regarded Austin restaurants including Loro, Via 313, Juliet Italian Kitchen, TenTen, and Intero. Supporting entertainment at The Belmont includes live music, a silent auction, and live screen printing by Feels So Good. There are still plenty of tickets ($95 general admission) on GiveSmart.

Speaking of those screen printers and record label, Feels So Good, the recent rebrand is not complete without an official party at FSG Fest on November 12. The multifaceted festival mostly focuses on music (of course), but has plenty of food and drink options planned. There will be four food trucks on-site: Hajima Food Truck, Austin Oyster Co, Fase Cafe, and the Corn Dog Company. Plus, there will be free beverages while supplies last, and some of the proceeds will benefit the Austin Music Foundation. Tickets ($20 in advance) available at fsgprints.com.

Future Front ATX, the events superstars behind Front Fest, are doing it again with a four-weekend market at Ani’s Day and Night. The house-turned-coffee shop and miniature food truck park are making space from November 12 to December 3 for rotating brunch and drink specials, goods by women and LGBTQ+ makers, DJ sets, and “surprise pop-ups.” There are more than 400 vendors participating in 2022. More information about the Front Market at thefrontmarket.com.

Uchi has a busy five days of collabs coming up. Fierce Whiskers Distillery is hosting a sold-out preview of Uchi’s new yakitori eatery, Uchiba, on November 13. Next, on November 16 and 17, Asian smokehouse Loro is teaming up with the sushi restaurant to create an exclusive tasting menu ($74.95) with items like edamame jalapeño hummus and sesame pecan noodles. The dinners will be at Loro, does not accept reservations.

Desert Door Texas Sotol is also busy, but that’s not news for the event-happy distillery. From November 16 to 20, Desert Door is celebrating its fifth anniversary with $5 ranch waters, samples in the tasting room, food by Lo Salvaje, and live music to keep the party going. RSVP on Eventbrite. The sotol distillery recently partnered with Garrison Brothers, a bourbon distillery, to make sotol finished in bourbon barrels called Midnight Cowboy ($75). The public is invited to the Desert Door facility to celebrate that achievement, too, from November 10 to 13. RSVP on Eventbrite.

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Beverage news

Austin-based Poppi acquired by behemoth soda brand for $2 billion

Facebook/Poppi

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PepsiCo is acquiring the Austin-based prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion.

The acquisition, announced Monday, March 17, gives PepsiCo a fast-growing brand in the popular functional beverage category.

“More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement.

PepsiCo said the transaction includes $300 million of anticipated cash benefits, bringing the net purchase price to $1.65 billion.

Allison Ellsworth, the Austin co-founder of Poppi, said the combination with PepsiCo will expand Poppi’s reach.

“We can’t wait to begin this next chapter with PepsiCo to bring our soda to more people — and I know they will honor what makes Poppi so special while supporting our next phase of growth and innovation,” Ellsworth said in a statement.

Ellsworth developed Poppi — then known as Mother Beverage — in her kitchen in 2015 because she loved soda but was tired of the way it made her feel. She mixed fruit juices with apple cider vinegar, sparkling water and prebiotics, and sold the drink at farmer's markets.

The brand took off in 2018 when Ellsworth and her husband pitched it on Shark Tank. An investor on the show, Rohan Oza, took a stake in Mother Beverage and undertook a major rebrand. Poppi, with its brightly-colored, fruit-forward cans, was born.

“We’re beyond thrilled to be partnering with PepsiCo so that even more consumers across America, and the world, can enjoy Poppi,” said Oza, the co-founder CAVU Consumer Partners, which has also invested in beverage brands like Oatly and Bai.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Poppi. Last summer, multiple class-action lawsuits were filed against the brand by consumers who said its products don’t improve gut health as much as their marketing suggests.

Poppi denied those claims, and noted that it removed references to “gut health” from its packaging in late 2023. But according to a court filing last week, Poppi has agreed to a settlement that includes an $8.9 million fund for payments to consumers. A hearing on the settlement is scheduled for May 8.

PepsiCo shares rose nearly 2 percent in morning trading Monday.

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