Checking In

Anticipated East Austin hotel books opening date for all-day restaurant and poolside bar

Sip tropical cocktails at the pool bar called ... Pool Bar.

Rendering courtesy of East Austin Hotel

One of Austin's most anticipated hospitality projects is even closer to checking into its east side locale. When it does, the aptly named East Austin Hotel will debut not one, not two, but three all-new concepts on East Sixth Street.

Originally slated for a November opening, the East Austin Hotel announced via release that the boutique hotel will now open in January 2019 at 1108 E. Sixth St., the lot that once housed Cheer Up Charlies and the popular East Side Fillin' Station food truck park.

The new restaurant, lounge, and poolside bar will be led by La Corsha Hospitality Group, the folks behind Second Bar + Kitchen and Mattie's at Green Pastures, and the upcoming The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas.

In curating the menus for each concept, La Corsha’s executive chef Sean Bedford and regional executive chef Jason Stude said they turned to the hotel's East Austin neighborhood for inspiration, creating "personalities" for each concept.

It appears the building's prime spot on the corner of Sixth and Waller streets also served as the inspiration for restaurant's name, Sixth and Waller. This all-day spot will serve as the hotel's main restaurant, and was created with "anyone, anytime, dining, and drinking in mind." According to a release, patrons can expect a menu of globally inspired comfort classics as well as all-day breakfast.

The menu does indeed read like a comfort food fever dream. (Or maybe a hangover fever dream? Either way, we're on board.) Among the dishes are pastrami and eggs with horseradish, green chile queso Benedict, sweet potato and black bean burger with jicama slaw, and the 1989 Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich. Cocktails include a mix of easy sippers and classic drinks such as Sazeracs and rum masala hot toddies.

Upstairs, the hotel's bar and lounge space, The Upside (the names certainly are succinct) features both an interior space and patio overlooking the bustling Sixth Street bar scene. La Corsha's director of beverage and bars Jason Stevens turned to South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Far East for inspiration, crafting a drink menu that's both "approachable and adventurous."

Upside patrons can sip on cocktails like the Air Mail with a white rum blend, orange blossom honey, lemon, and Champagne on the rocks; Lawn Flamingo with EAH Pink Gin, rhubarb, Singani 63, and lemon; and the Peruvian National with Porton Acholado Pisco, pineapple, apricot, lemon, egg white, and Red Chuncho bitters.

East Austin Hotel's third concept, a pool bar called Pool Bar, will feature tropical and island flavors in an assortment of "frozen cocktails and refurbished resort drinks." Pool Bar customers can expect drinks crafted with ingredients like mole vanilla, pineapple, vanilla bean coconut cream, and cassis.

Along with the dining concepts, the boutique hotel will also feature 75 rooms which are split between more affordable "cabins" (private rooms with shared bathrooms and showers) and traditional guest rooms with en suite accommodations.

openings hotels east-austin

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.