From coffee to cocktails, music to Mexico City eats, The Watershed is bringing a local gathering spot to Austin’s Clarksville neighborhood. The new hospitality hub welcomed customers starting Sept. 8, with hopes of creating a new neighborhood hang.
“We all designed a program, a menu and a space that we want to spend time in,” said Patrick Gartner, co-owner at The Watershed and founding partner of Verified Hospitality. “So, I’m sure other people will as well. It’s just a matter of how fast they find us.”
Gartner opened The Watershed alongside partners Austin Berry and Austin Pfiester with Lost Heard Enterprises to emulate “a for-profit community center,” Gartner said.
The coffee menu features matcha lattes and coffee drinks brewed with beans from Figure 8. (Courtesy Rhodes in Focus/The Watershed)
The background
Gartner has been active in the food and beverage industry for 15 years. He began bartending while enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley to pay for school, according to the Verified Hospitality website.
Gartner later worked as a bar manager and beverage director at various establishments in California and New York. Then, he served as beverage manager locally at MML Hospitality and beverage director at Nova Hospitality in Austin before establishing Verified Hospitality—a bar and restaurant consulting company. His specialty, the Verified Hospitality website details, is crafting simple and unique beverage programs.
On the menu
The Watershed is home to Grisette, an all-day cafe with coffee, pastries, wine, beer and light bites. Patrons can find espresso-based drinks, teas, non-alcoholic canned beverages and indoor and outdoor seating. Wine offerings include bottles and glasses from natural wine producers; beer options feature a range of brands like Brasserie Fantome from Belgium to Oxbow from Maine.
The Grisette food menu consists mainly of wholesale pastries, Gartner explained. The space features baked goods from local businesses including Texas French Bread and Tiers and Treats. For late-night bites, Grisette will offer cheese boards and tinned fish to accompany the drinks.
Gartner is looking forward to adding a low-ABV cocktail program using wine-based spirits and non-alcoholic ingredients in the future.
The Watershed’s team will continue to make necessary adjustments as the year progresses, Gartner explains, including weatherizing the patio to make the space accessible to patrons year-round. (Courtesy Rhodes in Focus/The Watershed)
Main course
For more substantial bites, visitors can head to Muy Yum, which is parked at The Watershed’s patio. The truck serves food from Claudia Willis Villegas, including boards, salads, sandwiches, bowls and light bites. The Muy Yum sandwich features sourdough bread, herbed butter, pesto-chimichurri, avocado, arugula, sun-dried tomato and parmesan cheese.
One of the truck’s boards is served with a choice of protein, sourdough bread, lettuce, radish, cornichons, manchego cheese, pesto-chimichurri and pepitas.
One more thing
The Watershed will soon host live music, including singer-songwriter acts. Artists who are interested in performing can submit their information to The Watershed online.
“What I’m trying to do is find a really good mix of different types of songwriters,” Gartner explained.
He plans to have an emcee at each performance to ask the performers questions and talk about the songs to make each show “a little more intimate, a little [more] fun, than going to a regular coffee shop open mic where it’s just one performer after the other,” he said.
The Watershed features indoor and outdoor seating. Individuals can also reserve the space for private events. (Courtesy Rhodes in Focus/The Watershed)
Dig deeper
The property is owned by long-time Austinite Walter Long, who wanted to see the space turned into a resource for the community, Gartner previously told Community Impact. The Watershed team is implementing that community-driven mindset, while also preserving the building’s history. For example, the original owners saved the bricks from the University of Texas’ former Main Building that was demolished in the 1930s. The bricks are now being repurposed as part of The Watershed’s outdoor landscaping.
“Step in and grab a bite at Muy Yum, or a drink at Grisette,” Pfiester said in a statement to Community Impact. “Settle outside under mature tree cover with intimate views of the downtown skyline, or head into the modern space tucked inside a building nearly 100 years old.”