Hot Summer Eats

Persian coffee and hot dogs join food deals at Austin's Hot Summer Nights

SipHaus, a new coffee shop on Red River Street, is ready for its first Hot Summer Nights.

Less than a week after announcing its 2026 Hot Summer Nights lineup, the Red River Cultural District (RRCD) has rolled out a list of participating food and beverage vendors, with two newcomers this year. The annual donation-based summer festival will feature more than 130 local artists and DJs at more than a dozen venues, plus discounts and late-night specials from surrounding vendors, from July 16-18.

Food and drink deals will be on offer at restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, and food trucks along Red River Street, Austin's busiest live music corridor. While it's well known that Hot Summer Nights supports musicians by offering them paid gigs and lots of fresh eyes and ears, all that extra business in the area also helps support other neighborhood businesses.

This year's new businesses are the Persian-inspired coffeehouse SipHaus and the gourmet hot dog trailer Ditty Dog.

SipHaus opened in the final days of 2025 at 715 Red River St., next to the 13th Floor. The interior houses a bar and night club space, while a covered patio outside is decorated with rugs, floor sofas, and a tiled water fountain for a cozy escape from the busy street with shisha and even sometimes belly dancers. The beverage menu includes simple coffee drinks, luxurious specialties, teas, and "rituals" that combine tea and shisha; the short food menu offers fries, pizza, wings, baklava, and gelato.

Ditty Dog is not new to Red River, but it is new as a festival participant. The trailer is a popular destination for visitors who want something fast but unique. The loaded bulgogi fries are a popular choice, and both fries and hot dogs can be made vegetarian or vegan.

As listed in a press release, here are the deals on offer during Hot Summer Nights:

Better Days: Dos Equis Pint with a well tequila shot for $10
Central District Brewing: $2 off Kölsch throughout all three festival days
DittyDog: Festival specials available July 16-18, including:
- Big Dog Combo: Any fully loaded quarter-pound hot dog, seasoned fries, and any soda for $12
- Double Ditty Deal: Any two fully loaded quarter-pound hot dogs and any fully loaded fries for $22
- Full Family Feast: Any four fully loaded quarter-pound hot dogs and any two fully loaded fries for $44
Golden Castle at Marlow: 15 percent off during Hot Summer Nights
Hoboken Pie: $10 Slice Combo featuring two cheese slices and a soda
Jo’s Coffee: Extended all-day happy hour with $2 off beer, frosé, and wine
Marinara Miracles: $10 Chicken Parmesan Hero
Pelon’s Tex Mex: Two classic tacos and one Dos Equis for $8, plus $3 small house margaritas
The Side Bar: Dos Equis Pint with a well tequila shot for $10
SipHaus: 15 percent off any drink when guests mention Hot Summer Nights, plus $1.25 wings and DJs from 10 pm to 2 am each night
Stubb’s BBQ: 10 percent off food in the restaurant when guests mention Hot Summer Nights

“Our summer fest is about supporting the venues, artists, service workers, restaurants, bars, food trucks, and small businesses that give this district its energy year-round," said RRCD executive director Nicole Klepadlo in a press release. These specials help keep the weekend affordable for fans while encouraging them to show up for the local business workers that are vital to our identity and cultural fabric downtown.”

There is no minimum donation and no tickets are required for entry to any of the shows during Hot Summer Nights. However, donations help support musicians, venues, and preservation of the district as a whole, including the ongoing organization of festivals like Hot Summer Nights and Free Week, its winter counterpart. RRCD encourages fans to RSVP in advance, which comes with entries for a Hot Summer Nights Prize Pack raffle: just an RSVP is one entry, $5 gets another, and $10 gets one more.

coffee food trucks red river cultural district hot summer nights festivals

Breastaurant news

Texas breastaurant chain Twin Peaks escapes bankruptcy through sale

Twin Peaks Houston Facebook

Twin Peaks is climbing its way back.

Six months after filing for bankruptcy, the Twin Peaks restaurant chain is getting a second chance at success.

In a Monday, June 15 press release, Twin Peaks said it has separated from its parent company, FAT Brands, and now operates as a standalone private company called Summit Twin Hospitality I LLC.

Summit Acquisitions LLC, a group of the brand’s bondholders — high-priority bankruptcy creditors including Twin Peaks franchisees 3BMgmnt Inc., JEB Food Group, and Operadora 2 Montes — has assumed management of the brand and is poised to eventually buy the chain.

“This transition gives our team the foundation we’ve needed to execute on the vision we’ve always had for this brand,” says Roger Gondek, president and chief operating officer of Twin Peaks, in the release. “We have a strong system, exceptional operators, and enviable guest loyalty, and now we have the financial footing to match. The best days for Twin Peaks are ahead.”

In May, a business known as TWNPKS Bid Co. — backed by bondholders — acquired Twin Peaks in a $359 million debt-to-equity deal approved by a bankruptcy judge in Houston.

Five years ago, FAT Brands bought Twin Peaks from New York City investment firm Garnett Station Partners for $300 million. Last year, Twin Peaks became a publicly traded company after its spinoff from FAT Brands, which remains the chain’s biggest stockholder.

Twin Peaks, which is based in the Dallas County town of Addison, enters its new era with more than 115 restaurants in the U.S. and Mexico, including 11 restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth and a total of 31 statewide. More restaurants are on the way, including franchised locations in Brownsville, Laredo, and South Padre Island.

Twin Peaks, founded in Lewisville in 2005, competes with Bombshells, Hooters, Twisted Kilt and other “breastaurant” chains.

According to the press release, Twin Peaks’ executive team remains intact, and no layoffs are planned. In fact, the company plans to add employees as its store count grows.

In conjunction with FAT Brands’ bankruptcy case, a business called FBG Bid Co. said Tuesday, June 16, that it purchased 13 restaurant brands owned by FAT Brands for about $595 million. The acquisition includes chains like Fatburger, Fazoli’s, Great American Cookies, Johnny Rockets, Marble Slab Creamery, and Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouses, but excludes Twin Peaks.

FAT Brands and Twin Peaks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January with plans to reorganize the businesses. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, FAT Brands owed about $1.4 billion in debt that it was unable to cover.

breastaurants bankruptcy twin peaks

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Breastaurant news

Texas breastaurant chain Twin Peaks escapes bankruptcy through sale