Aldrich Street, Mueller Austin’s growing activity hub and town center, is taking shape in the heart of Mueller! Aldrich Street currently comprises Lake Park, the Thinkery, three multifamily communities, Seton’s administrative offices and an upcoming Alamo Drafthouse retail building; it is about to expand further with the addition of five new, local restaurants in a newly announced three-story, mixed-use building fronting Mueller’s Lake Park.
B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub, Lick Ice Creams, Halcyon Coffee + Bar + Lounge, Stella Public House and J.T. Youngblood’s will each debut at Aldrich Street by early 2017. Along with the soon-to-open Bribery Bakery and L’Oca D’Oro on the first floor of the AMLI at Mueller building, this offering establishes an eatery and entertainment core for Mueller’s town center, which will become the densest part of Mueller.
Like its first pub on Sixth Street near the Driskill Hotel, B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub at Mueller is being constructed just outside of Dublin, Ireland, disassembled, packed and transported to Austin, to be reassembled here.
“My partners and I have been searching for the perfect spot for an Austin expansion for well over two years, and we all agree we found that spot on Aldrich Street in Mueller,” said John Erwin, B.D. Riley’s president and founder. “Our designers and craftspeople in Ireland are already working to bring another true Irish pub experience to Austin. Just as we do downtown, we will offer our award-winning menu, local live music, and a wide selection of Irish and local beers plus a full bar.”
Lick Ice Creams, which currently operates two locations in Austin and one in San Antonio, makes artisanal ice creams from pure, whole ingredients. Unique flavors include horchata, Texas sheet cake, caramel silk lick, roasted beets with fresh mint, coconut chia chai, and seasonal specials like cardamom pear cake, cilantro lime and Hazel’s pumpkin pie.
“We’re going to incorporate a bit more color and playful elements to celebrate this location being directly across from the Thinkery, and, since we’ll face a lovely promenade, we’ll be able to have more outdoor seating than our current shops,” said Anthony Sobotik, who, along with Chad Pamatier, founded Lick in 2011.
“We’ve been so intrigued by the Mueller project and the Thinkery relocation for quite some time. Seeing its rebirth is exhilarating and we wanted to be a part of that, because we like to seek out locations within neighborhoods so we can grow with that community and be a destination that’s walkable and bikeable,” added Sobotik.
Halcyon, a coffeebar that originated in the Austin Warehouse District 15 years ago, will open its third location in Texas at Aldrich Street, serving as a coffeehouse by day and a bar and lounge by night, with food served all day. Incorporating a full kitchen and a full bar, Halcyon will offer a broad menu of inventive breakfast, salad, sandwich, snack and dessert options, along with craft cocktails and craft espresso drinks, including its famous Chocolate Espresso Martini and Table Side S’Mores.
Stella Public House, a farm-to-table pizza concept from Austin founders of Halcyon, will open its third location nationally at Aldrich Street. This first Austin location will feature Texas-sourced, artisan pizza prepared in an Italian Modena wood-fired oven and using Stella’s acclaimed dough recipe made in-house daily along with homemade mozzarella pulled in-house daily. Along with its artisanal wood-fired pizzas, the restaurant will also offer a seasonal menu of farm-to-table small plates, including its award-winning wild mushroom mac-n-cheese and lamb meatballs, as well as 30 rotating taps of craft beers from across the U.S. and internationally-curated wines.
J.T. Youngblood’s is a fast-casual, healthy alternative to fast food, featuring Texas-style fried and oak-roasted rotisserie chicken, along with house-made healthy sides, pies and ice cream. This modern take on a once iconic Texas restaurant will have dine-in and dedicated take-out service, plus a full bar and in-house bakery. Former TRIO at Four Seasons Austin general manager Jeff Haber, Lenoir chef- owner Todd Duplechan, and Jeffrey’s and Shoreline Grill co-founder Jeff Weinberger make up the team revitalizing one of the first farm-to-table concepts in Texas.
The approximately 56,000-square-foot, mixed- use building known as the “Diamond Building” because of the site’s baseball diamond shape, will be located along Aldrich Street fronting Simond Avenue and across the paseo from the Thinkery. Future office tenants will occupy the top two floors with unobstructed views of downtown Austin while the five restaurants profiled above will make up the first floor of this unique building designed in collaboration by Lake|Flato Architects and Studio8 Architects.
Aldrich Street’s “diamond building” will be located next to the Thinkery and house five eateries on the first floor with offices on the second and third floors. Image courtesy Studio 8 Architects, which, along with Lake|Flato Architects, designed the building.
The striking design includes an expansive, shaded outdoor patio that features a distinctive sloping roof and incorporates a large rainwater collection system. The building will be accented by a variety of materials, including exposed wooden timbers, as well as shaded areas both at street level and on balconies.
Construction has also begun on the two-story cinema building designed by Page Architects. Alamo Drafthouse will open into a ground-floor lobby with a bar/lounge serving 48 beers on tap, a stage for live music and cafe seating along the paseo. An expansive covered terrace will extend café seating and service to the second floor overlooking Aldrich Street. Their six auditoriums will occupy the second floor with capacity for approximately 600 people. The more than 54,000-square-foot building, located along Aldrich between Ragsdale and Robert Browning streets, will include additional street level shops and eateries. Both buildings are anticipated to earn Austin Energy Green Building and LEED ratings.
“People may not realize they are already enjoying Aldrich Street when they visit Lake Park and the Thinkery, but they’ll certainly recognize how they are part of Mueller’s evolving town center when Alamo and these terrific local eateries start opening this year,” said Greg Weaver, executive vice president of Catellus Development Corp., the master developer of Mueller. “Aldrich Street has been many years in the making to ensure we captured the right mix of businesses and design as we begin to roll out the district.”
At Aldrich Street, places to shop and dine will connect seamlessly with cultural, residential and office opportunities. Broad paseos and a lakefront park make the outdoors a key part of the experience. A strong emphasis on local businesses will underscore its sense of place with locations for a variety of retail merchants, hotel, casual and fine dining, pubs, live music, galleries, professional and neighborhood services. Aldrich Street is named for the street that bares the name of Roy Aldrich, who served as a Texas Ranger from 1915 to 1947 and whose farmland later became a part of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport and is today a part of Mueller.
The cinema building at Aldrich Street will feature Alamo Drafthouse on the second floor with retailers and eateries on the first floor.
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[h/t Mueller Austin]
