What's Not To Liquor?

Twin Liquors returns with popular weekend 'Dollar Sale' and new Austin store

Twin Liquors' popular sale will return to all stores from August 24-26.

Photo by Julia Keim

After all the barbecues, late-night porch hangs, and lake trips that have Austinites pouring through their summer stock of spirits, it's time for a refill. And this ain't no farmers market run — since these bottles are made to last years, this popular splurge may set visitors up with everything they need til the next one.

Twin Liquors, a family-owned store based in Texas, has announced that its annual "Dollar Sale" will return to all stores from August 24-26. That's not quite a dollar-per-bottle deal; The store-wide sale marks every item of 750 milliliters or more down to its "absolute lowest," according to a news release, and adds $1. Still, visitors practically tore the door off its hinges last year, and surely still have leftovers.

This deal will be especially useful for high-end bottles like collectible wines and rare whiskies, which are priced for luxury — and designer shoppers in the fashion world know how those sample sales go. This may also be some cocktail connoisseurs' opportunity to stock up on premium spirits for specialty cocktails.

After 10 years, Twin Liquors knows how to turn the sale into a community event. Marketplace locations will kick the sale off with free breakfast tacos and Lalo Tequila cocktails, on August 24 beginning at 10 am on Thursday.

The two Marketplace locations in Austin are in the South Lamar area (4001 S. Lamar Blvd. Suite A) and at Hancock Center (1000 E. 41st St. Suite 810), just north of the University of Texas campus. They will also be hosting vendor-led tastings all day.

The sale weekend also marks the grand opening of the new Twin Liquors store in Allandale Village in North-Central Austin (5806 Burnet Road). The new location includes a larger selection of wine, spirits, and home items, as well as more in-store programming at a "bar and education center," which will host in-store programming and give samples.

The grand opening will take place on August 24 at 10 am, including a ribbon cutting with the Austin Chamber of Commerce and two siblings from the Twin Liquors family, David and Margaret Jabour. Like the other locations, this will include tacos and samples throughout the day.

More information about Twin Liquors and the sale is available at twinliquors.com and on social media.

wine cocktails drinks shopping openings

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.