family ties

Paperboy team renovates a slice of historic East Austin for new pizza spot

Loudmouth, a new pizzeria, is opening near its sister restaurant Paperboy.

Photo by Likeness Studio

Most people don't need history to sell them a good slice of pizza, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Neither does association with a popular brunch spot, so the entry of Loudmouth into the Austin restaurant scene is already looking promising.

This pizzeria serving Italian-American classics (hey, is that becoming a trend?) is sprucing up a historic Victorian house in East Austin: the Haynes-Delashwah house at 1209 Rosewood Ave. This recognizable house near Hillside Farmacy and the Texas State Cemetery once belonged to city council member Harry L. Haynes (serving from 1881-1883, and 1885-1887) and later to Austin’s first black pharmacist, Thomas Delashwah, according to a release.

It also shares some heritage with another neighbor, Paperboy. The two are sister restaurants by Daybreak Hospitality, which is also known for the gently retro San Antonio brunch spot Full Goods Diner; in addition to having its own brunch service, Loudmouth might end up looking a bit like both thanks to remodeling and design by Kempt Studio, which worked on all three. Furman + Keil Architects and Campbell Landscape Architecture also worked on the new space.

Loudmouth pizza Austin exterior Plans for the house show a mostly unchanged exterior.Rendering courtesy of Campbell Landscape Architecture

Picnic tables, a shaded patio, and a play space characterize the exterior, while the interior preserves some of the antique details: stained glass, beaded paneling, natural materials, and more.

“Peeling back some of the layers, we really wanted to honor the historic nature of the building and allow the bones of the old historic structure to sing,” said Furman + Keil Architects principal Philip Keil. “The new elements we are bringing in play off of the old character mixed with playful color and paired with wood and brick materials. Our studio sits across the street from this property, so this project was even more personal as neighbors in this community.”

Loudmouth pizza Austin exterior The casual patio space should make this an easy hangout.Rendering courtesy of Campbell Landscape Architecture

If that is not enough familial influence, the restaurant is also named for the "boisterous" grandfather of Daybreak Hospitality’s executive chef, Patrick Jackson.

“Growing up making pasta with my Grandpa Joe created some of my earliest food memories and instilled in me a deep love for Italian food,” said Jackson in the release. “This concept is something that I have been excited about for almost a decade and I’m looking forward to bringing our own style to the pizza and space.”

Jackson has teamed up with chef de cuisine Seth Helmly, known for his work at Barley Swine, Holiday on 7th, Dai Due, Odd Duck, and Emmer & Rye — many of the heavy hitters of the Austin food scene. Their work together includes Margherita and pepperoni pies, garlic knots, chicken wings, sandwiches, salads, desserts, and more.

Loudmouth pizza Austin dishes The menu sticks to casual classics.Photo by Likeness Studio

For chefs with such impressive résumés this is simple food, but Helmly wants to center local farmers and the community. Beverages will follow a similar ethos, highlighting "several local beers on tap," wines, classic and signature cocktails.

Folks who want to try Loudmouth before the space opens can stop by Paperboy on Friday nights, starting June 14. The pop-up series will continue throughout the summer.

Loudmouth will be open seven days a week for dinner, plus a weekend brunch. More information is available — and is coming soon — at loudmouth.pizza.

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Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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