Bowled Over

Holistic Austin restaurant brings bowls to first downtown location

Honest Mary’s is known for its build-it-yourself bowls and sipping broth.

Photo courtesy of Honest Mary’s

Honest Mary's, an Austin-based fast-casual concept known for its focus on ingredients, is opening its first downtown Austin location on July 14. A grand opening celebration will include free bowls, prizes, and more.

The new location at 222 West Ave. is part of the Seaholm District, a pocket of downtown Austin around the Seaholm power plant that is now home to mixed-use landmarks like the Central Library and a cluster of casual restaurants including True Food Kitchen and Merit Coffee. Honest Mary's will be part of that restaurant cluster. Co-owner Nelson Monteith worked for a company inside the power plant a decade ago.

"I remember thinking how great it would have been to have a place like Honest Mary’s nearby," said Monteith in a press release. "Getting to serve this community with the kind of nourishing food we believe in feels full-circle. Seaholm shares our values of wellness, energy and thoughtful living – we’re excited to be part of it."

The new restaurant was by Cline (formerly Mark Odom Studio) and built by Austin-based general contractor Franklin Alan, who also worked on the Mueller location. The design was inspired by the art deco sensibilities of the surrounding industrial buildings. Seating is available inside and in a shaded outdoor area, and guests grabbing to-go meals will have their own pick-up area.

At the opening celebration, the restaurant will give away free bowls from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Additionally, the first 100 people in line will be entered into a drawing for a free bowl every week for a year — five people will win. Starting on opening day and continuing through July 19, Honest Mary's will donate $1 from each bowl purchased to Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a local nonprofit that shares meals and runs the Community First! Village for chronically homeless residents.

The menu at this location will include everything on the restaurant's "full lineup," the release says, with a focus on bowls. Each has a green or grain base and guests can choose from signature combinations or build their won with proteins like grilled chicken or steak, line-caught tuna, and organic baked tofu.

Everything is gluten free and the menu accommodates vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and seed oil-free diets. Honest Mary's is also known for its sipping broths, either made with chicken bones or seaweed and mushrooms. Guests can also pick up snacks and drinks including house-made aguas frescas and local craft beer.

This is the sixth Texas location for Honest Mary's, and the fifth in Austin. There is only one location outside of Austin, in Houston. Another Houston location is planned for a late 2026 opening.

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A Meal at the Orchard

New modern American restaurant elevates dining along I-35 in Round Rock

Photo courtesy of Grey Orchard

This salmon dish shows off one of Chef Cole Fitzgerald's top skills: beautiful plating.

An upscale "modern American" restaurant has taken root in Round Rock. Grey Orchard, by owner James Sun and chef partner Cole Fitzgerald, will start its soft opening phase July 9 at 2700 N. Interstate Hwy. 35.

Austinites may already be familiar with Chef Fitzgerald from Fig Italian Kitchen & Bar, a fine dining restaurant that opened on South Lamar Boulevard in August of 2024. The young chef arrived in Austin with Michelin Guide credentials — a "recommended" listing for Atlanta restaurant the White Bull, where he was the executive chef — and Fig was a nominee for Best New Restaurant at the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

Chef Cole Fitzgerald Grey Orchard Chef Cole Fitzgerald is under 30 with two Austin restaurants under his belt and a prominent prior role in Atlanta.Photo courtesy of Grey Orchard

Sun also opened Fig with Fitzgerald, bringing experience from the famous Eleven Madison Park in New York City, among other restaurants. He also opened Cedro Scratch Italian & Bar and Mia Italian Tapas & Bar in Austin, starting in 2014.

The new concept, Grey Orchard, focuses on seasonal American food "shaped by subtle Asian influence," press materials say. It's all about the ingredients, whether that's obvious, as in the wild mushroom salad, or less so, as in the double smash burger or the fried chicken with Alabama white barbecue sauce. Some of the more Asian dishes include tempura fried bang bang shrimp, a duck bánh mì, and basil fried rice.

Grey Orchard interior The main dining room at Grey Orchard.Image courtesy of Grey Orchard

One of the "wow" factors at Fig was artful plating, and it looks like that practice will continue at Grey Orchard, with lots of bright colors and garnishes.

It'll really pop against everything at Grey Orchard, which is almost entirely decorated with warm neutrals. An organic layout with partitions creates more intimate sections and choices for visitors — a few clusters of bench seats and chairs for one-on-one dining, tables touching or apart, plus a prominent bar. There is also a semi-private dining room for small groups and larger group bookings will also be available.

$Grey Orchard\u200b interior$ This wide shot shows some of the different experiences diners can have by choosing a different table.Photo courtesy of Grey Orchard

Grey Orchard's formal food and interior signal an interruption of its surroundings along the side of I-35, including chain restaurants with Austin roots like Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Pinthouse Pizza, and DoubleDave's Pizzaworks, or more broadly Texan chains like Whiskey Cake and Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q. Smaller, but growing local restaurants like Jack Allen's Kitchen and Salt Traders Coastal Cooking — the most similar to Grey Orchard, but still more casual — are also part of the cluster.

Reservations at Grey Orchard are available on OpenTable via greyorchard.com. Current hours are 3-9 pm Sundays through Thursdays and 3-10 pm Fridays and Saturdays. As this is the restaurant's soft opening, some things may be limited or change before the full opening later this month.

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