Time to Play
Austin chef Philip Speer takes break from fine dining with new concept
Nobody's Business is "business casual" bar fare, according to co-owner Philip Speer.
Four-time James Beard Award nominee Philip Speer opened a new walk-up kitchen serving burgers, sandwiches, and elevated bar food in downtown Austin on September 12. Nobody's Business sits inside Lavaca Street Bar at 405 Lavaca St., in the space Turf N' Surf previously occupied, and opens daily for lunch through late night.
One giant order window opens up into the sports bar to cater to the crowd inside. A second little window opens onto the sidewalk, where Speer hopes to draw downtown residents and workers. The team is also working on setting up some outdoor seating. Speer plans to sell breakfast sandwiches from that window between 9 and 11 am, coming soon.
"I really want to build this downtown community business through this walk-up window," Speer says.
Speer began his career in bakeries and spent 11 years at Uchi, earning James Beard nominations in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category. He now owns and operates Comedor, a modern Mexican restaurant that has gotten a lot of good buzz ever since it opened, as well as the speakeasy eatery Garage Pizza.
Nobody's Business, he says, gives him a bit of a break from fine dining.
"I used to have a restaurant called Bonhomie, that was pretty well known for its burger, and have wanted to do a burger joint since," says Speer, adding that he's always felt somewhat trapped in the "fine dining box."
"I'm just breaking free of that," he says.
Speer partnered with Via 313 co-founder Brandon Hunt for Nobody's Business, and the two took over the space on short notice.
"We actually opened it in six weeks, which is kind of insane, because this place was a disaster when we walked in," Speer says.
Chef Joe Ballou leads the kitchen day to day. He previously served as executive chef at East End Ballroom and as sous chef at the now-closed Elementary.
Speer calls the concept "business casual bar fare," which looks like comforting, delicious, typical bar food, but a bit dressed up. The team grinds Dean & Peeler beef in-house for the cheeseburger, which comes with Dijonnaise on a sesame seed bun Speer bakes himself. Every sandwich costs less than $20.
"I like to think that the offering here is sophisticated, but if you just read the menu, it's burgers, nachos, hot dogs, [a] fish sandwich, you know, things of that sort," he says, adding that the fish sandwich, sourced from Eric Leak Seafood, has already become a top seller.
Some of the most exciting things, according to Speer, are not even on the menu yet. Starting as soon as next week, though, the plan is to launch a French onion patty melt with a 7-ounce patty, caramelized onions, and raclette, served with a side of from-scratch French onion soup. He also highlights a chilled soba noodle bowl with crispy-skinned vermilion snapper and royal red shrimp, part of a menu section they call "Worth Sitting Down For."
"I don't want to say healthy," Speer says, "But you know, a more substantial meal offering; not just bar food snacks. And I'm excited about that."
All told, Nobody's Business is a bit of a break for Speer; a chance to be a little more playful with something a lot more casual. In fact, the name of the business started as a joke, since the partners wanted something that would stand apart from any one person's ownership or personality.
"It's no one person's business. It's nobody's business what you're doing, it's nobody's business what you're eating for lunch, it's nobody's business if you're hanging out at the bar," says Speer.
That playfulness and freedom will also show up in some fun and exciting collaborations down the line --- burger collaborations with Joseph Gomez of Joe's Burgers, game day specials like cheesesteaks when Philly plays, or Chicago beefs when Chicago plays.
"We can do whatever we want here, which is what I'm so excited about," says Speer.
Nobody's Business is now open daily inside Lavaca Street Bar at 405 Lavaca St.
