continue serving guests<\/a> from the adjacent garden that Willcott was able to buy after the fire, and the appearance of an investor looking to pay forward help he\u2019d received early in his career.<\/p>\n![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The iconic sign for Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The menu at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The new interior at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Sea]()
<\/p>\n
Sea trout meuni\u00e8re with braised cabbage at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Bread]()
<\/p>\n
Bread at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Dottie]()
<\/p>\n
Dottie Hall smiles as she speaks with staff after dropping tin to check out the new Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Mushroom]()
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Mushroom bourguignon with handmade fettuccini at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Texas]()
<\/p>\n
Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Wine]()
<\/p>\n
Wine glasses at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Pastries]()
<\/p>\n
Pastries on display at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The new interior at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The TFB cheeseburger at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Pastries]()
<\/p>\n
Pastries on display at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Pastries]()
<\/p>\n
Pastries on display at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The espresso machine at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"A]()
<\/p>\n
A brick wall that survived the January 2022 fire stands on the south side of the new Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since the fire caused the building to be declared a total loss.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Texas]()
<\/p>\n
Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Flowers]()
<\/p>\n
Flowers decorate a table at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The heirloom tomatoes with peaches and goat cheese at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The heirloom tomatoes with peaches and goat cheese at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Mushroom]()
<\/p>\n
Mushroom bourguignon with handmade fettuccini at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Bead]()
<\/p>\n
Bead and butter at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Sea]()
<\/p>\n
Sea trout meuni\u00e8re with braised cabbage at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"Texas]()
<\/p>\n
Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman![\"The]()
<\/p>\n
The iconic sign for Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
‘A little bit of the old city.’<\/p>\n
The new building features some of the bakery\u2019s original brick along with century-old longeleaf pine that once served as second-floor joists, now incorporated into the new ceiling and walls. The trademark corner-door entrance is gone, but the spirit of the place remains. Willcott said the air conditioning went out during the first night of service to friends and family, and the power went out soon thereafter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ghosts that are running around this building are still actively engaged in whatever this project is,\u201d Willcott said with a laugh. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely some continuity here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The continuity extends to a management staff populated with Texas French Bread veterans and breakfast and lunch menus with sweet and savory pastries, salads and sandwiches served on housemade bread.<\/p>\n
The Texas bistro’s dinner offerings will feel familiar, highlighting regional seasonality. The opening dinner menu, served Tuesday-Saturday, is packed with smart but approachable dishes like a bountiful salad of heirloom Texas tomatoes and peaches on a fluffy bed of goat cheese; crunchy pork Milanese scattered with greens spritzed with citrus; local cabbage, braised and caramelized, sitting next to a hunk of sea trout that falls into shards of pink at the touch of a fork; and a fat Wagyu burger that looks like it was plucked from a country club grill.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
![\"Saut\u00e9ed]()
<\/p>\n
Saut\u00e9ed asparagus and prosciutto at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin institution reopens for the first time since a fire burned the building to the ground in January of 2022.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Willcott, who said he felt like a real estate developer for several years as he tried to get the iconic business fully up and running, calls the first couple of weeks of service the \u201cend of the beginning\u201d for this new chapter. Now comes the hard part: running a full-service restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He acknowledges that while he and his team are the ones operating Texas French Bread, the restaurant\u2019s engine is truly stoked by the love so many have for the legacy business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I say that I am kind of the curator and caretaker of this place, what I really mean is the energy that makes this place go comes from the people who come in here. They all feel like they have a little ownership stake in it and they are a part of what makes it happen,\u201d Willcott said. It’s a restaurant where every diner seems to know people at two other tables each night. \u201cHaving grown up in Austin and been here in the ’70s, it feels like there\u2019s a little bit of the old city that is still in this pocket of people who embrace what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas French Bread is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The heirloom tomatoes with peaches and goat cheese at Texas French Bread, June 30, 2026 as the Austin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-362476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}