After more than two decades as a campus mainstay, Coco’s Cafe is preparing to close its Guadalupe Street location, marking the end of an era for generations of University of Texas students and shuttering one of the longest-running restaurants on the Drag.
The Taiwanese café, which opened in 2001 and is known for its boba drinks and comfort food, announced in an Instagram post that its final day at 1910 Guadalupe St. will be Sunday, May 10, ending a quarter-century run in the heart of Austin’s student corridor. Its Research Boulevard location will remain open.
Situated steps from the University of Texas at Austin, Coco’s Cafe was among the first eateries to introduce Taiwanese fare to the city and is widely credited as Austin’s first boba shop. Over the years, it became a cultural touchstone for students — a place as much about late-night conversations and study breaks as it was about milk tea and noodle dishes.
In a statement provided to the American-Statesman, owner Joyce Yang pointed to broader shifts in student habits and the evolving dynamics of the Drag as key factors behind the closure.
“For decades, our restaurant was built on the energy of the Drag,” Yang said. “Students exploring, gathering and enjoying the experience of being out. Our business has always depended on that high-volume foot traffic and spontaneous visits.”
That model, she said, has eroded in recent years.
“In the years following COVID, those patterns have changed. Fewer students are going out casually, and more dining has shifted toward delivery,” Yang said. “At the same time, the Drag has become increasingly challenging for delivery access and parking, making it harder for us to adapt to those new habits.”
Those overlapping challenges ultimately made it difficult to sustain the business in its longtime location.
In the Instagram post announcing the closure, Yang also reflected on the café’s personal and cultural significance. “As a former UT student, opening Coco’s gave me the opportunity to give back to the community that shaped me,” she wrote, describing the restaurant as a space where “culture, food, and connection blossomed.”
Even as the Guadalupe Street location prepares to shutter, the business itself is not disappearing. Coco’s Cafe will continue operating at its Research Boulevard outpost, offering customers a chance to hold onto a piece of the experience — albeit in a different part of the city.
As the closing date approaches, the café has invited patrons to share photos and memories.