After a devastating fire earlier this year, a Central Texas restaurant is getting a new life in a space just a block away from its original home. Bar Peached owner Eric Silverstein confirmed to MySA he’s now moving forward with plans for a new location on West Sixth Street in Austin next year.
Silverstein is aiming to open a revamped concept at 1401 W. Sixth St., taking over the current home of Nightcap bar and restaurant, which closed on October 22. Renovations to the space are expected to begin in early November as Silverstein hopes to reopen a new version of Bar Peached in time for spring 2027.
Over the past four months, Silverstein explained his business had been in “limbo,” as he and his team evaluated how to move forward from the fire that destroyed nearly everything. In June, the Austin Fire Department estimated that the building sustained an estimated $600,000 in damages.
“We looked at the option of staying, and we looked at the option of, relocating somewhere else, keeping everything kind of open-ended,” Silverstein said. “The landlord ultimately at the original location made the decision to terminate our lease. They offered for us to go back, but we just didn’t feel like the terms of that deal made sense to us.”
Silverstein said he had been in talks with Nightcap owner Christin Rowan before the fire about the possibility of selling the business, but hadn’t seriously considered the location until a month after the fire. In August, Silverstein and Rowan reached an agreement and began negotiating with the landlord on a new lease.
“It made sense for us to do that because it was like a definite timeline, and we liked the idea of staying in that area, you know, the economics, you know, made sense for us when compared to the economics of other options, which were, buying a piece of real estate and building a restaurant,” Silverstein said.
Bar Peached’s new home will be a block away from its former space in Austin’s Clarksville neighborhood, which opened in 2019. Silverstein’s vision for the new space includes a focus on Asian tapas, smaller plates, craft cocktails and a new vinyl music experience.
“We’re trying to really tie in this music element to the use of vintage speakers, turntables just a different way to listen to music,” Silverstein added. “This is one of the music capitals, right? And I just feel like the space kind of speaks to that, it’s an old bungalow.”
Silverstein added that he’s working with Kim Lewis Designs in Austin to curate the vibe he wants for the space which he described as “a little bit moodier,” and will “feel very layered and textured.”
Instead of a true listening bar, Silverstein wants to create a space where customers can talk, enjoy the food and stay after dinner for drinks and a curated music selection. He’s tentatively planning to open the new Bar Peached by March 2027.