As we close in on 2025 and get ready to welcome 2026, many people are simply celebrating making it through the year. (To be clear, that is something to celebrate.)<\/p>\n
2025 was a tough year for some, including Austin restaurateurs and shop owners. Unfortunately, not all of these local gems are coming into the new year with us.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 places that called it quits this year. Some cited rising costs and tariffs as reasons for their closure, while others noted competition from national retailers and businesses with more capital flooding the market made it hard to stay open. <\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, let’s raise a toast to these locales. Gone but never forgotten in our taste bud memories.<\/p>\n
Here are the places we loved and lost this year:<\/p>\n
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Michael Minasi<\/p>\n
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KUT News<\/p>\n
Thom\u2019s Market<\/p>\n
After 18 years in business, owner Bill Thom announced in April<\/a> his plans to retire and close Thom\u2019s Market. <\/p>\n The local chain of boutique grocery stores was inspired by Thom\u2019s grandfather, John Love Thom, who opened his first local grocery store in Maine when he was 20.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a tribute to my grandfather, every store is anchored by an authentic, antique grocery counter, each over 100 years old,\u201d Bill Thom said on the store’s website.<\/p>\n The three stores on Burnet, Riverside and Barton Springs are now rebranded as Fin\u2019s First Market and are under new ownership.<\/p>\n Michael Minasi<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News <\/p>\n Trudy\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n The Austin Tex-Mex staple closed its last restaurant on Burnet Road this year after more than 40 years in business.<\/p>\n In its heyday, Trudy\u2019s had four locations and frequently appeared in listicles and Reddit posts claiming it had some of the best margaritas and Mexican martinis in town.<\/p>\n Longtime Trudy\u2019s patron Michael Hillmer told KUT in January<\/a> that dining at Trudy\u2019s was like \u201cgoing into your friend\u2019s mother\u2019s kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n But the restaurant hit rocky ground in the past decade. Trudy\u2019s closed one of its restaurants before being bought out of bankruptcy in 2020 by firm Hargett Hunter. Then, one at a time, each surviving location shuttered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a chapter of Austin is closed,\u201d Trudy\u2019s fan Russell Cowley said in January. \u201cThey are like a true local business, it\u2019s really sad.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Aster\u2019s Ethiopian<\/p>\n Since the \u201890s, Aster’s has served a vegetarian-friendly Ethiopian buffet with stewed vegetables, lentils, and tangy, steamy, spongy injera.<\/p>\n But the little blue building off of I-35 closed earlier this year. In August, the restaurant owners shared a statement on Instagram<\/a> saying it “was not an easy decision.”<\/p>\n “Aster’s was never just about food \u2014 it was about family, community, and the joy of bringing people together around the table,” the post read.<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Hana World Market\u00a0<\/p>\n The Asian market specializing in Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean goods announced it would close at the end of the year after 13 years on Parmer Lane.<\/p>\n In an interview on the Austin Signal, owner YunHui Lee said it became \u201charder and harder\u201d to stay open as national chains like H-Mart and 99 Ranch Market broke ground in Austin. Lee said increased tariffs also had a \u201ccrucial\u201d impact on the business.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the people, the customers, that aspect is what I\u2019m gonna miss \u2026 the most,\u201d Lee said. \u201cEverything else I can do without, but the people that come in \u2026 I will miss them the most.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Jim-Jim\u2019s Water-Ice<\/p>\n The Italian ice and snow cone shop closed in October after 31 years in business when owner Jim Moy announced his retirement. The shop on Sixth Street and carts at Deep Eddy and Barton Springs were featured in the Tribeza, the Austin-American Statesman, and won three Austin Chronicle \u201cbest of\u201d awards over the years.<\/p>\n In a social media post<\/a>, the Italian ice shop said Moy is looking forward to traveling and spending more time with family.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the countless families and customers that have since become our life long friends, enjoying Jim-Jim\u2019s since you were a kid and bringing your children or grandchildren to to Jim-Jim\u2019s \u2014 you made all the sweat and hard work of what we do worth it and we will forever be grateful for the gift of friendship,\u201d the post read.<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery<\/p>\n Black Star, which called itself the first community-owned, democratically-managed brewpub, closed in January after 14 years in Austin. On its website, Black Star said<\/a> the decision to close was made with \u201coverwhelming sadness and heavy emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n When the news hit Reddit, people remembered how Black Star stepped up during the \u201csnowpocalypse.”<\/p>\n \u201cThey were amazing with the storm, people could come get water and they made soup,\u201d one Reddit user wrote. \u201cIt really felt like a community coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n The Skylark Lounge<\/p>\n The blues and soul music venue closed in April after more than 12 years in Austin. <\/p>\n “We love and appreciate our patrons, musicians and staff beyond words,\u201d an Instagram post announcing the closure<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Austin Redditors called Skylark an \u201cicon\u201d and the closure a \u201chuge loss\u201d for the community.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost my wallet here and the owner was on his hands and knees with me looking for it. We didn\u2019t find it, but a few days later it came in the mail \u2014 another patron found it and sent it to me,\u201d one Reddit user said under a post about the closure. \u201cGood folks sad to see them go.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n East Side King\u00a0<\/p>\n James Beard-award winning chef Paul Qui closed the Asian street food truck in June after more than 15 years in Austin. Reviewers online consistently raved about East Side King\u2019s fried chicken and fried beets, one reviewer calling the restaurant a \u201clegitimate Austin institution.\u201d<\/p>\n Another left the restaurant five stars on a Google review and wrote: \u201cWoah. Wasn\u2019t expecting to have the best [karaage] of my life but it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n The owners said they were \u201chonored\u201d<\/a> to serve the Austin community and hinted at a future restaurant opening.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here for a good time not a long time and it\u2019s our time,\u201d they said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t goodbye but see ya l8r sk8r.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi <\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Koriente\u00a0<\/p>\n Koriente, one of the longest-running restaurants in downtown Austin, closed in November after more than 20 years in business.<\/p>\n A blurb on Koriente\u2019s website<\/a> indicated owner Jae Lee opened the restaurant with his mom because \u201cshe hates to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe loved going out to eat (make someone else do all the work) but found it tough to find healthy, msg free, low cal, balanced meals with prices within daily reach,\u201d Lee said. \u201cShe felt guilty for feeding us crap and felt sick of being a housewife, so she said, \u2018Why not open a restaurant for people like me?\u2019”<\/p>\n The restaurant had a strong following and consistently high reviews online, with one reviewer calling it one of the \u201cbest discoveries in the city of Austin, TX.\u201d<\/p>\n Diners lamented the closing.<\/p>\n \u201cI am heartbroken. Best miso soup. The dumplings. The sweet potato noodles. The curry. The summer rolls,” on person wrote on the r\/austinfood subreddit. RIP to an ATX OG.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Minasi<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Limbo\/Triple Z Threadz\u00a0<\/p>\n The store, which has sold local art, jewelry and \u201cfine embroidered crap\u201d on South Congress for more than 20 years, will close by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Triple Z Threadz shares a space with Limbo Jewelry and Dope Daughters, which are also closing.<\/p>\n The owners said they were being pushed out of South Congress as a \u201ccorporation with deeper pockets\u201d will be moving in.<\/p>\n \u201cAustin continues to sell its soul to the highest bidder, especially on Congress,\u201d the owners said in an Instagram post<\/a>. \u201cWe are continuing to search for a new home and will update all of our socials when we find one.\u201d<\/p>\n This might not be the end, though, as the owners said they are searching for a new location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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