Little Ola's Return

Closed Austin biscuit shop with culinary cred returns for 2 days at SXSW

Little Ola's Biscuits are popping up over the weekend.

Little Ola's Biscuits/Facebook

A popular biscuit shop that Austin lost in early 2025 is staging a comeback for one weekend at South by Southwest (SXSW). Little Ola's Biscuits will be popping up at Olamaie on Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15. The pop-up starts at 10 am each day and continues until food is sold out.

As foodies can guess from the name, Little Ola's is an extension of Olamaie, a Southern fine dining restaurant with a Michelin star (one of a cohort of seven in Austin) and plenty of other accolades.

The menu is an impressive length for a two-day pop-up: a tomato, egg, and cheese sandwich, or swap the tomato for sausage; a fried chicken sandwich that can be made spicy; a peanut butter and jelly variety; and biscuits with a choice of spread including honey butter, ham butter, and caviar and creme fraiche. Biscuit-lovers will also be able to purchase half a dozen at a time.

Little Ola's originally started to keep the restaurant going when the Covid-19 pandemic closed the dining room; Chef Michael Fojtasek had been toying with the idea of opening a fast-casual biscuit shop anyway, reported Eater. It also the skills of pastry chef Jules Stoddart to good use via rotating desserts.

Little Ola's later got its own brick-and-mortar space, which the team intended to turn into a commissary kitchen while opening at least 10 outposts over the next decade, reported the Austin Business Journal. However, the plan fell through, and that was the last Austinites saw of the burgeoning biscuit empire.

There's no word yet about a possible return for Little Ola's beyond the SXSW pop-up but one can hope — and from the looks of the Instagram comments, many do.

Olamaie is located at 1610 San Antonio St. The Little Ola's pop-up will be located on the porch.

pop-ups pastry breakfast

Meet the Tastemakers

Austin's top 10 bars of 2026 shake up an already diverse scene

Photo by Levi Travieso

The Dead Rabbit is one of the liveliest pubs in the city.

Austin’s bar culture is so multifaceted, it’d be unfair to sum it up in one ideal. Austinites flock to places where they can get a cocktail, a beer, or a coffee at any time of day; they also keep an improbable number of speakeasies open with steady business. They go for live music, sports, gossip, and even some medieval role playing.

It is most salient to say, then, that Austinites love bars of all kinds, and the Bar of the Year nominees in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are proof of the city’s range, whether it’s on the menu or in the atmosphere.

Find out which cocktail spot is crowned Bar of the Year on April 9 at the 2026 Tastemaker Awards party at Distribution Hall. We’ll dine on bites from this year’s nominated restaurants and sip cocktails from our sponsors before revealing the winners in our short and sweet ceremony.

Keep up with all of CultureMap's Tastemaker Award nominees in our special editorial series, then be sure to buy your tickets to see who triumphs. And don't forget to vote in the Best New Restaurant tournament.

Raise a glass to our 10 nominees for Bar of the Year 2026:

Armadillo Den
Few things are more emblematic of Austin than outdoor bars…and armadillos. This South Austin “den” away from the bigger city is a popular place to hang out for hours thanks to food trucks, a huge screen for watching sports, live music, and a dog-friendly attitude.

Central Machine Works
Not only does this friendly hangout in East Austin brew its own beer, it also has a full-service bar serving up a thirst-quenching mix of cocktails, frozen drinks, and wine. The spacious backyard also serves as a fun gathering place for concerts, meetups, watch parties, and more.

Elephant Room
It’s the norm for Austin bars to offer live music, but the Elephant Room is in a world of its own. Fun and sophisticated jazz enlivens this stony basement on a daily basis, with cocktails and around 20 beers waiting on tap. While we love its sister bars, the nomination had to go to this classic, casual, and communal spot.

La Mezca
This mezcaleria from the sisters behind Veracruz All Natural offers more than 70 different mezcals and tequilas from small family producers in Mexico. Order a flight to try them neat, or sip on an original cocktail while munching on taquitos or totopos (deep fried tortilla chips) and salsa.

Midnight Cowboy
Tucked between other bars on East Sixth Street, Midnight Cowboy entrances visitors with a tarot-themed menu — a new theme since last summer — that embraces eccentric flavor combinations. This speakeasy invites cocktail connoisseurs to challenge their taste buds with something entirely unique, and a touch of whimsy adds to the dark ambiance of the space.

Parley
Parley is a new neighborhood bar taking Austin by storm with an Irish pub spirit, down-to-earth cocktails, Guinness on draft, and food from Oseyo's kitchen. At the helm of this endeavor are two veteran bartenders from downtown speakeasy Here Nor There, who have made the bar look chic while keeping an overall easygoing vibe.

Péché
This restaurant bar dials in on one specialty that most people either love or hate: absinthe. You can’t go wrong with a Sazerac, but the knowledgeable bartenders are always happy to find something well-suited to each guest. And even absinthe naysayers have a reason to stop by for the beautiful French cooking.

Powder Room
Powder Room’s elegant interior and dimly lit atmosphere make for a wonderful date night, but the no-phone policy is what makes the experience really worthwhile — that’s right, phones get handed in at the entrance. Guests can fully disconnect and focus on each other while sipping on deliciously creative cocktails.

The Dead Rabbit
You can’t beat a classic Irish pub, even in a city that doesn’t have many. The Dead Rabbit is waving that flag and it’s always packed, proving that there’s a local audience for Guinness pints, fish and chips, and a warm atmosphere that only gets better as the crowds stream in.

The Tiny Minotaur
One of Austin’s most unique bars, the Tiny Minotaur is like a pocket renaissance fair that’s open year-round. Guests are invited to wear costumes, role play, enjoy tabletop games, or read a book and just enjoy the atmosphere. Sometimes, the artist-run, donation-supported tavern even offers quests.

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Austin by Maker's Mark, Garrison at Fairmont Austin, NXT LVL Event, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Central Texas Food Bank.

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