North Central Austin Edition | December 2023

BY AMANDA CUTSHALL

Downtown/West Campus

WHITIS AVE.

Now open

1 Sapori Italian Roots After closing his South Austin food truck Il Saporis in May, Tony DeStefano opened brick-and-mortar restaurant Sapori Italian Roots with an expanded menu. • Opened Aug. 10 • 800 Brazos St., Ste. 215, Austin • www.saporiatx.com 2 Pearl Dive Oyster Bar Helmed by chef Peter Klimov, the Clarksville neighborhood oyster bar occupies the former Sushi Zushi space. Pearl Dive Oyster Bar oers a variety of oysters and other fresh, locally sourced seafood dishes. • Opened Oct. 1 • 1611 W. Fifth St., Ste. 105, Austin • 512-291-7898 3 Quince LakeHouse Sitting on the banks of Lake Austin, Texas restaurateur Brian Sneed opened Quince LakeHouse in early November. The restaurant oers a diverse menu, most of which is meant to be shared. • Opened Nov. 1 • 3825 Lake Austin Blvd., Ste. 201, Austin • www.quincemas.com/atx 4 Cambria Austin Downtown Cambria Hotel Austin Downtown is situated near the Rainey Street District. The hotel has a rooftop lounge called Limestone that oers cocktails and live music, in addition to a lobby bar and restaurant called Grati. • Opened Dec. 5 • 68 East Ave., Austin • www.choicehotels.com

GUADALUPE ST.

MOPAC

included removing the orchestra pit, reconguring the lobby, replacing seats and upgrading the building’s infrastructure. • 2300 Whitis Ave., Austin • www.utexas.edu 6 Violet Crown Cinemas Mitch Roberts, founder of EVO Entertainment Group and an Austinite, announced EEG acquired Austin-based Violet Crown Cinemas in late October. Roberts said the acquisition is part of EEG’s growth plans; however, Violet Crown Cinemas will maintain its name. Violet Crown focuses on independent, documentary and foreign lms. • 434 W. Second St., Austin • http://austin.violetcrown.com

Closings

7 Counter Culture The vegan restaurant closed its West Campus food truck in hopes of opening a brick-and-mortar in late 2024, owner Sue Davis announced. • Closed Dec. 19 • 2908 Fruth St., Austin • www.countercultureaustin.com

In the news

5 Hogg Memorial Auditorium The 90-year-old performing arts venue nished its two- year, $27.7 million renovation in October. Renovations

RICK COFER AUSTIN’S GO-TO CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY

COFERCONNELLY.COM • 602 W. 11 TH ST., AUSTIN, TX 78701 • 512-200-3801

NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION