{"id":193227,"date":"2026-03-06T12:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T12:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/193227\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T12:20:07","slug":"austin-wine-food-foundation-selects-2026-featured-winemaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/193227\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Wine & Food Foundation selects 2026 featured winemaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday, March 6, the husband-and-wife team behind one of Austin\u2019s most beloved neighborhood restaurants will debut a new bar just steps away from their dining room. Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher, owners of Michelin-recommended Lenoir, are opening Boni\u2019s Bar Next Door<\/a> at 1805 South 1st St., transforming a 1934 bungalow on the same property into what they describe as a relaxed, Spanish-leaning cocktail bar for the Bouldin Creek neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Maher\u2019s Spanish great-grandfather, Bonifacio \u2014 known as Boni \u2014 the new concept is both personal and practical. The name nods to Boni\u2019s colorful life: He immigrated from Spain to Argentina before settling in New Jersey, worked as a rum runner during Prohibition, made wine, played music, and grew his own food \u2014 the sort of craftsmanship that resonates deeply with the couple\u2019s farm-driven ethos.<\/p>\n

According to Maher, Boni\u2019s is the first and only dedicated cocktail bar on South First Street, and its setting reinforces the sense of history. The circa-1934 bungalow-style building was originally hand-built from reused materials. Rather than overhaul it, Duplechan has led the renovation himself, preserving original windows and wood floors while layering in vintage bar furniture, black-and-white family photos of Boni, and even Duplechan\u2019s aunt\u2019s piano. The result, Maher says, is meant to feel timeless, but welcoming. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s meant to be a comfortable neighborhood bar,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd I think that it has its own kind of unique feeling about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boni's Warm wood covers the interior of Boni’s Bar Next Door. Photo by Chad Wadsworth<\/p>\n

That feeling is intentionally different from Lenoir\u2019s cozy, “feminine-leaning” dining room next door. <\/p>\n

\u201cBoni\u2019s is meant to be more casual, more welcoming to more people,\u201d Maher says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a special occasion, necessarily, to pop in and get a drink.\u201d Guests can swing by after work, grab an espresso after dinner at Lenoir, or settle in to watch a game on the bar\u2019s cleverly framed flat-screen TV, designed to look old-fashioned. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building the kind of place that we want to be in,” Maher says.<\/p>\n

The cocktail menu leans Spanish but remains rooted in classics, with drinks priced between $12 and $15. Expect goblets of ginit\u00f3nica, a seasonal Boni\u2019s margarita, a carajillo with rotating spirits, a media combinaci\u00f3n (gin and sweet vermouth), papa doble (daiquiri variation), an old fashioned with Spanish brandy and rye whiskey, and sorbete de Cava (lemon sorbet with sparkling Spanish wine). The bar will also pour curated natural Spanish wines, draft beer, and cider.<\/p>\n

On the food side, Boni\u2019s offers a tapas-style menu designed for snacking rather than full-on dining. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just meant to be, you\u2019re snacking and having cocktails,” Maher says, but adds with a laugh, “We’re professional food service people…so the food is probably better than it needs to be.”<\/p>\n

Standouts include spiced pork rinds, a pickle bowl, oysters, soft shell crawfish chips, stewed pork meatballs, preserved whitefish with capers and lemon, shrimp and garlic with glass bread \u2014 a crunchy Catalan hallmark \u2014 and a chocolate chip cookie with dark and white chocolate and candied orange.<\/p>\n

As South Austin continues to evolve, Maher and Duplechan see Boni\u2019s and Lenoir as a small anchor of Old Austin charm. Their hope is to create a little farm-to-table village tucked into the neighborhood; a place where you can pop in, pop out, and feel at home.<\/p>\n

Boni\u2019s Bar Next Door will be open daily from 3 pm to midnight, closed Tuesdays. Free valet will be available Thursday through Saturday.<\/p>\n