Oh My Stars
Classic all-night Austin diner closing I-35 location after 58 years
Stars Café is closing its I-35 location because of planned highway construction. A new location will be announced in November.
After nearly 60 years, local late night restaurant Stars Café — known to many as Star Seeds — is closing up shop and moving to a new location away from Interstate 35.
For several years, KVUE has reported on the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) controversial I-35 expansion project, which is meant to alleviate traffic woes near downtown Austin but will also displace long-time businesses and residents. The battle over the expansion first started brewing around 2021 and has led to numerous protests and a lawsuit from advocacy groups like Rethink 35.
Most recently, an Austin-based attorney said in June that TxDOT was suing displaced businesses along the interstate to acquire their land.
The staff at Stars Café have known for a while that their days at their I-35 location were numbered.
"I hate to say it, but Keep Austin Weird. Stars is definitely weird. We've always been that place where we even hire people where they might not get these jobs at their fancier restaurant because they might not fit the mold," manager Jetara Robertson told KVUE in February 2023. "You want Austin to change, you want Austin to expand, but you also want to be able to keep your heart."
Now, more than a year later, the end of an era has come for the restaurant.
In a social media post on October 10, the café announced its November 10 closure and relocation, stating that the I-35 expansion led it to make the "difficult decision" to move from its location of 58 years.
In the post, the staff waxed poetic about its decades in business.
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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.
The new sign.Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters
This building has seen a few concepts in recent years.Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters