Summer seemed to accelerate Austin’s already dizzying restaurant churn.
Blink, and a longtime restaurant closes. Blink again, and a celebrity-backed concept announces its arrival. Before you know it, a new spot has gone viral on TikTok, sending a line down the block.
Keeping up with Austin’s dining scene can feel like a full-time job, particularly as social media feeds us the latest trends faster than restaurants can open and close. But each month, we keep track of the movement.
Here are some of the most notable restaurant openings and closings from this summer.
Restaurant closings
The dining area on the deck fronting South Congress Avenue. (Austin American-Statesman)
Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar on South Congress Avenue closed indefinitely following a fire that broke out Sept. 6.
No one at the restaurant was injured, according to a communications representative for Perla’s. The blaze took nearly two hours to extinguish and affected every floor of the building, according to a spokesperson for the Austin Fire Department.
The South Congress restaurant is known for its seafood and oak-shaded patio. Perla’s was founded in 2009 by chefs Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman Jr. and is owned by MML Hospitality.
Lamb tibbs are among a variety of well-spiced meats offered at Taste of Ethiopia. After closing an Austin outpost, the restaurant will continue to operate its location on Grand Avenue Parkway in Pflugerville. (Austin American-Statesman)
Taste of Ethiopia’s South Congress Avenue location is closing at the end of September after nearly a decade.
Woinee Mariam and her husband, Solomon Hailu, opened the restaurant in 2017. Rising grocery and operating costs, combined with the higher rent that would come with signing a new lease, ultimately led to the decision. The couple will continue operating their Pflugerville location.
John Brotherton, right, with former Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue pitmaster Dominic Colbert in 2018. (Austin Sanders, Pflugerville Pflag)
Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue closed Aug. 30, roughly two and a half years after the death of founder and pitmaster John Brotherton.
In a social media video, Braeden Brotherton cited the broader economy, the “outrageous cost of beef” – which he said had increased more than 20% from the previous year – and parking difficulties at the restaurant’s strip-mall location as contributing factors.
John Brotherton opened the restaurant in 2017.
Customers wait in line to buys candy at Lammes Candies on Airport Boulevard in Austin on Monday, April 27, 2026, following the company’s announcement that it was winding down operations after 141 years in business. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Lammes Candies closed its longtime flagship location on Airport Boulevard in July, following the company’s announcement in April that its Round Rock location would also close.
The candy company cited “changing market conditions” and concerns about its long-term sustainability.
Lammes traces its history to 1876, when William Wirt Lamme founded the Red Front Candy Factory on Congress Avenue. The company became particularly known for its pecan pralines, which it began selling in 1892 after experimenting with locally grown pecans.
The roof in the upstairs dining room of Bar Peached was destroyed in a fire on Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Provided by Eric Silverstein)
West Sixth Street restaurant Bar Peached remains closed indefinitely after a fire severely damaged the building May 31.
Owner Eric Silverstein said much of the building will need to be rebuilt. There is currently no timeline for reopening as the restaurant works through insurance assessments and construction plans.
The Old West Austin restaurant is an Asian-Southern fusion restaurant operated by the team behind Peached Tortilla and Peached Social House.
Chiles en nogada are prepared at El Naranjo in Austin, Texas. The seasonal Mexican dish, featuring poblano peppers stuffed with meat and fruit and topped with walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds, reflected the restaurant’s focus on regional traditions passed down through generations of women. (Provided by Iliana de la Vega)
El Naranjo served its final meal in July, ending a 13-year run that began on Rainey Street before the restaurant relocated to South Lamar in 2019.
Chef Iliana de la Vega, who won the inaugural James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas in 2022, announced the closure, citing an increasingly crowded restaurant market and rising costs for goods, labor and rent.
Known for its traditional Oaxacan cuisine, El Naranjo built its reputation on house-made moles, handmade tortillas, regional Mexican specialties and seasonal dishes prepared with refined technique.
Plating elegance at Olamaie matched the sophisticated mood of the modern Southern restaurant. (AARON E. MARTINEZ)
Olamaie closed in July after more than a decade of serving Southern cuisine in Central Austin.
The restaurant was named the American-Statesman’s No. 1 restaurant in Austin three times, beginning in 2017, and became the first Southern restaurant in the United States to earn a Michelin star.
Chef Michael Fojtasek said Austin’s rising rents and labor costs contributed to the decision. He also pointed to changing dining habits, including fewer late-night diners, as challenges for restaurants trying to remain profitable.
Restaurant openings
A rendering shows the interior the Mexican restaurant concept for 1 Hotel Austin. (Provided by 1 Hotel Austin)
Alteño opened inside 1 Hotel Austin, the luxury hotel located within the Waterline development.
The restaurant expands on the original concept in Denver and centers on the cuisine of Mexico’s Jalisco Highlands. Its menu draws from open-fire cooking and family traditions.
96 Red River St. (737) 415-9820, 1hotels.com/austin/taste/alteno.
Sea trout meunière with braised cabbage at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
After nearly three years operating from a food truck, Texas French Bread reopened its brick-and-mortar bakery and bistro in June.
The bakery had been forced to close after a fire heavily damaged its building in 2022.
The menu includes sandwiches, salads, croissants, sourdough bread, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies, cakes and other baked goods.
2900 Rio Grande St. 512-499-0544, texasfrenchbread.com.
Hermanas, Chef Silvino Sanchez’s first restaurant, opened at 1100 E. Sixth St. (Justin Huffman/Provided by Hermanas)
Chef Silvino Sanchez’s new restaurant, Hermanas, brings together Mexican and Thai influences in a menu shaped by his personal culinary journey.
A callo de hacha tostada pairs scallop with nam prik pla ra, a fermented Thai fish dipping sauce, on an heirloom corn tortilla. Another dish, laab carne apache, combines dried Mexican chiles with avocado mousse, cured egg yolk and Marcona almonds.
The Panang curry mole may be the clearest expression of the restaurant’s Mexican-Thai crossover, bringing together two culinary traditions without treating either as an afterthought.
1100 E. Sixth St. Hermanasaustin.com.
Chef Christopher Krinsky blended the flavors of his youth in Mexico and his time working in Japanese restaurants in Austin at Ramen del Barrio in Hana World Market’s food court. He now has a brick-and-mortar restaurant. (Provided by Ramen del Barrio.)
Ramen Del Barrio reopened on July 25 in its first standalone restaurant after previously operating inside Hana World Market.
The Japanese-Mexican concept has expanded into a full-service izakaya and ramen restaurant with a full bar. The larger space gives owner and chef Chris Krinsky room to expand the menu while bringing back favorites such as ramen, tacos and seafood dishes. The bar features Japanese whisky, Mexican mezcal and other cocktails.
Ramen Del Barrio was named one of the American-Statesman’s Best New Restaurants in 2023, with its carnitas ramen becoming one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
2007 Kramer Lane, Unit 105. 512-720-1469, ramendelbarrio.com.
Chef Philip Speer says he’s been thinking about making a crispy fish sandwich for years. (PROVIDED BY NOBODY’S BUSINESS)
Austin chef and Comedor executive chef-partner Philip Speer and longtime friend Brandon Hunt, co-founder of Via 313, opened Nobody’s Business at Lavaca Street Bar downtown. The walk-up window occupies the former home to Turf N’ Surf, the casual seafood spot which closed in July.
Nobody’s Business serves deliberately nostalgic food made with high-quality ingredients and serious technique. The menu, still appearing in abbreviated form during the concept’s early days, includes a fish sandwich, a cheeseburger and larger dishes such as baby back ribs and a chilled noodle bowl with shrimp, snapper and pineapple.
The restaurant is open daily from lunch through late night.
407 Lavaca St. Instagram.com/nobodysaustin.
The fried chicken sandwich at Ben & Lynn’s comes with pickes between butter-toasted buns. (Ana Gutierrez / Austin American-Statesman)
YouTube chef Joshua Weissman opened his first restaurant, Ben & Lynn’s, on East Cesar Chavez Street, bringing a menu centered on fried chicken to East Austin.
The concept is personal for Weissman, whose culinary career began in Austin restaurants including Odd Duck and Uchiko before he became a food-media phenomenon with millions of followers. Known for his from-scratch cooking videos, Weissman named the restaurant after his parents, who helped inspire his love of cooking.
The menu is relatively focused, featuring bite-sized chicken thighs, chicken nuggets, house-made sauces and Honey Dipped Fried Chicken glazed with Texas wildflower honey, gochujang, Fresno chile and garlic.
Rotating soft-serve ice cream is expected to join the menu soon. The beverage program includes Texas beers and champagne.
2600 E. Cesar Chavez St. Benandlynns.com.
Unlike its previous restaurant, Pasta | Bar, Big Slick will serve an a la carte menu. (PROVIDED BY JASMIN PORTER)
Big Slick, a boutique steakhouse with an intimate setting and ambitious plans, opened on East Sixth Street.
The 22-seat restaurant takes over the former Pasta | Bar space, an Austin outpost of the Michelin-starred restaurant owned by the same couple in Southern California.
The steakhouse focuses on luxury ingredients and tableside preparations, with proteins ordered à la carte alongside seasonal vegetables and sides.
1017 E. Sixth St. 512-360-8702, scratchrestaurants.com/bigslick.
The lox bagel is perhaps the strongest of the sandwich options at Shug’s. (Ana Gutierrez / Austin American-Statesman)
This Dallas-born bagel shop landed just west of Lamar Boulevard and quickly became one of those places that seemed to exist everywhere online before most Austinites had actually eaten there.
The breakfast menu covers the classics, including The Shug, a hefty combination of bacon, eggs and a hash brown. There’s also a lox bagel for $19.50. The lunch options include a pizza bagel and a Philly cheesesteak. There’s coffee, bottled orange and apple juice and, in a particularly Austin-friendly bit of foresight, Pedialyte.
1206 Parkway. 512-640-0020, shugsbagels.com.
A rendering shows plans for Austin Sports Club. The restaurant opened at 205 E. Third St. on Sept. 10, 2026. (Provided by Austin Sports Club)
Austin Sports Club, a new dining and entertainment destination co-owned by Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, opened downtown.
The concept draws inspiration from the athletic clubs of another era, with vintage locker rooms, museum-style trophy cases and old-school gathering spaces designed for athletes, executives and sports fans. The menu offers polished takes on classic American fare, including Snake River Farms ribeye, chilled lobster rolls and cacio e pepe arancini. Game-night-friendly options include caviar and tater tots, lollipop wings and bread served with bone marrow butter.
The cocktail menu continues the sports theme with drinks such as Wimbledon ’75, The Dagger and The Hat Trick, alongside wine, craft beer and rare spirits.
205 E. Third St. 737-329-5992, loboshospitality.com/Austin-Sports-Club.
This article originally published at Austin’s restaurant scene this summer saw major openings, closings, two devastating fires.
