South Austin has become home to a new Kendra Scott location and a locally owned art gallery and event space. The area can expect a few new changes coming to the business scene in the near future with a new coffee cart and a Mediterranean restaurant. This list is not comprehensive.
Now Open
1. Kendra Scott
Individuals flying out and into Austin now have an additional store to browse while they await their flight with Austin-based lifestyle brand Kendra Scott is now selling products out of its first airport location.
Opened Jan. 9Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 3600 Presidential Blvd., Austinwww.kendrascott.com2. Quimera Gallery ATX
Founded by husband-and-wife duo Praful Parmar and Pooja Parmar, Quimera Gallery ATX has announced its opening in East Austin. The new business is part art gallery as well as a flex event space. The gallery features local Austin artists and their work while also being available as a versatile event venue.
Coming Soon
3. Oria
Oria, a new Mediterranean restaurant, is slated to open to diners off Barton Springs Road in late February. The restaurant specializes in charcoal- and wood-fired cooking inspired by flavors from the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Europe, including bright acidity, bold spices and fire-forward cooking techniques.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s main terminal is now home to Kendra Scott’s first airport boutique location. (Courtesy Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)
In the News
4. Blackshear Elementary
The Blackshear Elementary School community celebrated the school’s 135th anniversary on Feb. 13. The historic campus is Austin ISD’s first fine arts elementary school in which students participate in dance, theatre and music programming twice a week. The area once served as a freedom colony settled by formerly enslaved people amid the Jim Crow and Reconstruction eras following emancipation in Texas.
5. Pho Please
The local Vietnamese eatery celebrated 10 years of serving vermicelli, banh mis, pho and bao buns in late January.
6. St. David’s Emergency Center
St. David’s HealthCare acquired ownership of six Austin Emergency Center locations Feb. 1, including a center off South Lamar. The new centers are staffed with nurses trained in emergency care and board-certified, St. David’s-affiliated physicians.
Austin’s Noble Joe Coffee Co. is upgrading to a larger vintage trolley near East Riverside to meet the rising customer demand for its locally-sourced coffee. (Courtesy Noble Joe Coffee Co.)Relocations
7. Half Price Books
The bookstore is closing its South Lamar location which can be found at 2929 S. Lamar Blvd. and is relocating all of its inventory to a new location opening on South First Street.
Relocation in spring2607 S. First St., Austinwww.hpb.comExpansions
The coffee shop is moving into a 1970s-style trolley that is about double the size of its current tiny home. The new 30-foot coffee trolley will support a second espresso machine.
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