Now that we’ve officially crossed over into summer, the top priority is staying cool. Thankfully, Austin has a new ice cream shop, a revolving sushi far, aperitivo deals, and more that doesn’t require heating anything up. We’ll make an exception for one pasta deal that’s too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
Openings and closings<\/p>\n
Gati Scoops, a sister location to vegan ice cream spot<\/a> Gati and a cousin to Thai Fresh, will open at 4500 Duval St. on Saturday, June 27. The original Gati also serves breakfast, lunch, and bakery goods; the new one will focus on the dairy- and gluten-free ice creams, plus a few other desserts like brownie and cookie sandwiches, ice cream cake slices, and sweet sticky rice. There will be 16 ice cream flavors in the case at a time, and they’ll rotate seasonally. The shop is known for interesting Thai flavors like pandan, Thai coffee, and golden milk. Two flavors will be exclusive to this opening: tamarind candy ice cream and a local peach cobbler sundae. The first 100 customers on opening day will get a free scoop; everyone else who stops by will get a free topping. Gati Scoops will be open from noon to 10 pm daily.<\/p>\n Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is in its soft opening phase in Sunset Valley at 5601 Brodie Ln., #1400. The chain is popular for its novelty conveyor belt service style. Today, June 25, is the last day listed among special opening days<\/a> for now \u2014 presumably that means the full opening is coming soon.<\/p>\n Fried chicken chain Raising Cane’s opened a new location at 12901 N. Interstate Highway 35 in Tech Ridge on June 22. The fast food chain<\/a> is known for its chicken fingers, crinkle cut fries, Texas toast, and sweet tea.<\/p>\n Other news and notes<\/p>\n Bar Toti, Este’s sister bar and eatery<\/a> that resides next door, has a new “Ap\u00e9ro Hour,” inspired by the French practice l\u2019ap\u00e9ro, snacks and drinks before dinner. The summer happy hour will be available Tuesdays through Sundays from 5-6 pm, offering $7 aperitivos, $12 signature cocktails, and $2 off glasses of wine and snack selections. The bar’s famous smashburgesas \u2014 a cheeseburger with fried ham \u2014 are also half-off during Ap\u00e9ro Hour<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wine-lovers looking for new dinner spots can consult with Wine Spectator, which just announced its 2026 Restaurant Awards. An award denotes a great wine program; Austin has 29 winners<\/a> in total, many of which were announced in previous years. New winners in 2026 are Geraldine’s, Kappo Kappo, Apt 115, Haywire, Lin Asian Bar, Ling Kitchen, Ling Wu Grove and Lantana, and Qi. <\/p>\n Data gathered by event listing and ticketing platform Eventbrite noted that Austin is leading the country<\/a> in hosting farmers markets, which are up locally by 470 percent since 2024 \u2014 they’re also up in the U.S. by 35 percent. This doesn’t necessarily mean Austin has nearly quintupled its share of farmers markets; but it does mean that a lot more in-person events now include language that mentions a farmers market. Veggies and artisan goods are big in Austinites’ social lives, with residents of San Jose, California, and Jacksonville, Florida, also driving the trend.<\/p>\n Serenade, a French brasserie downtown, launched a new pasta night this week that will continue on a regular basis. “Sunday Sauce at Serenade”<\/a> happens every Sunday from 5-10 pm, bundling salad, a pasta, a dessert, and complimentary bread for $35.<\/p>\n