Enter Milkman

East Austin coffee lounge adds bar with bottled cocktails to-go

These clarified cocktails are shelf-stable.

Photo courtesy of Pershing

Pershing House, a homey but stylish East Austin social club, is adding another set of expansions to its steadily growing compound. Although the house is reserved for members only, the public coffee lounge, Pershing East, now becomes a cocktail concept in the evening. Pershing has also added to-go cocktails, and two East Austin neighbors — a record store and THC cafe — have moved in.

The cocktail concept is called Pershing Milkman and makes use of the Pershing East space — which opened across the street in 2023 — after 4 pm. Guests will find the twin concepts at 2501 E. 5th St.

The new to-go cocktails are clarified and bottled to create a shelf-stable product that is available for sale from the coffee shop during the day. Uniquely, in addition to takeout, the bottles will be available through deliveries by Favor and DoorDash.

Available bottled cocktails include a classic margarita with curacao and coconut milk; the Miami vice with rum, fruity flavors, and more coconut milk; and the Whiskey Punch, which combines bourbon, lemon, bergamot, earl grey tea, and honeycomb cereal milk.

“With Pershing Milkman bottled cocktails, anyone can host a party for friends with quality cocktail ingredients without the bartender,” said chief creative officer Kyle Lauterbach in a press release. “It’s as simple as pouring it over ice. In the long-term, we hope to extend sales of the bottled cocktails to liquor stores as well.”

Other craft cocktails will be available to guests onsite at Milkman, including a negroni, Fiesta de Lengua, iced Irish coffee, and a rotating frozen beverage: July's is Orange Creamsicle. There will also be mocktails, wine, beer, a caviar service, and an array of bar snacks. The release lists burrata, prosciutto cotto, celery salad, panisse, and chicharrones as a non-exhaustive sampling.

While visiting for coffee or cocktails, Pershing visitors can now also browse Sunshine Vinyl and THe Concord. Both are young, but established businesses and Pershing's neighbors, but now there will be outposts inside the coffee shop. Sunshine Vinyl is known for its dedication to queer culture and an interesting selection. The Concord (stylized THe Concord to include "THC") is selling CBD tinctures, lotions, and gummies, as well as infusions to add to Pershing's drinks.

Sunshine Vinyl has moved to be in the space, and The Concord has opened as a second location.

That brings the total number of concepts within Pershing to four: the social club, a music venue, a co-working space that opened this summer, and Pershing East and Milkman, which the press release counts as one concept.

Pershing East is always open to the public. Operating hours are 7 am to 4 pm, followed by Pershing Milkman's hours from 4 pm to 10 pm.

Sowing More Wheat

Co-op grocery store Wheatsville announces 2 new North Austin locations

Wheatsville Food Co-op/Facebook

Wheatsville Food Co-op is moving on from its Guadalupe store.

One of Austin's favorite grocery stores, consumer-owned Wheatsville Food Co-op, has announced an expansion — which will mean more locals getting on board as owners. The store announced July 10 it would be opening two new locations in Hyde Park and Allandale, provided it raises enough funds.

The Hyde Park location will be at 408 E. 43rd St., and the Allandale location will be at 2917 W. Anderson Ln. These two locations currently occupied by Fresh Plus Grocery, a local chain. The post by Wheatsville thanks Fresh Plus for its coordination.

This news fulfills a promise from Wheatsville just over a year ago in 2024, when it announced it might have to close its then-43-year-old location at 3101 Guadalupe St. The problems largely came from challenges with Light Rail construction that would make the store difficult to access for both customers and suppliers, according to a company bulletin. Sales for the location had also halved over the last decade, and the building needed major repairs.

The Guadalupe store's lease expires in 2026, so it set out looking for solutions to replace it. At the end of the same month that the bulletin went out — although a new location hadn't been chosen yet — the store's Instagram account posted that it was time to "get serious," seeking investors in North Central Austin.

It set a goal of $6.5 million in investments. In a comment, a store representative explained owners can invest a minimum of $2,000, which gets them a 3.5 percent return, or $10,000 for a 4 percent return. Funds would go toward the logistical needs of moving and opening, plus staff training and expanding.

That goal means 3,250 investors will have to join as owners. They'll then have a democratic say in how the company runs, plus perks like daily extra savings, coupons, profit sharing during "sufficiently profitable years," and eligibility to join Austin's University Federal Credit Union (UFCU).

This June's call for investors encourages potential owners to email invest@wheatsville.com for more information on the process.

openings grocery stores co-op