austin small business

Thursday CASH MOB @ Congress Avenue Card & Gift Shop

Jude Galligan | April 4, 2012 |

A Cash Mob is the same premise as a flash mob, but people all show up at a local business and spend money. It’s a simple and fun way to encourage people to support small local businesses by spending their money en mass.

How can I participate?

Just show up! Bring $20.00 to spend, a few friends and come to the Congress Avenue Card and Gift Shop to give a local business an “economic stimulus”. It’s a win/win, spend some money locally with friends and buy some cool stuff!

Event Details:
When: Thursday, April 5th 12-2pm
Where: Congress Avenue Card and Gift Shop (615 Congress Ave. bw 6th & 7th St.)
Why: Help a local business!
Bring: $$$ and Friends

Wanderlust LIVE – Open House on April 13th

AG | April 2, 2012 |

We wrote about the changing face of the Railyard district not too long ago, and one of the new establishment mentioned was Wanderlust, a new Yoga Studio and Live Music Venue that’s opening soon on the northeast corner of 4th and Brazos.

Well, we’ve recently learned a bit more about the concept and wanted to share…..

So a short summary of the back-story – apparently, Austin locals Ashley Spence Clauer and Joanna Kutchey were so inspired by the Wanderlust Festival, that they decided to bring it to Austin!

And here are some excerpts from a press release sent by their marketing department directly to our office:

Located in a revamped historic warehouse in the heart of the entertainment district of downtown Austin, Wanderlust LIVE’s impeccably designed space is not your average yoga studio. Featuring two studios—one for regular classes and one with a built in stage and top of the line sound and lights—the 6,000 square foot Wanderlust LIVE will offer Austinites a new place to rock out, consciously.

……

Truly bringing the festival experience home, Wanderlust LIVE will feature organic eats by Austin’s Blenders and Bowls—serving healthy and delicious organic acai bowls, natural fruit smoothies, coffee, tea and more. The studio’s outdoor patio seating will provide ample space to eat, relax after class or sip a beverage at Wanderlust happy hour. At all live music and other special nighttime events, attendees also may enjoy organic beer and hand picked biodynamic wines. And inside, the Wanderlust LIVE Boutique will offer specialty yoga gear and apparel.

It looks like this place is going to have a few uses – retail, restaurant / bar, live music venue, and yoga studio. What’s not to love? And, they’ll be hosting an open house on April 13th, the Friday before they open to the public.

I know that I’m getting a little excited about it after reading about it – and will definitely want to check it out!

Coming Soon: The Changing Face Of The Railyard District

Jude Galligan | March 21, 2012 |

Let it be known as the Railyard District, that part of downtown Austin, south of 5th Street and sandwiched between Congress Ave and the Austin Convention Center. You could straddle the convention center and include the area east, around Moonshine, too.

It’s an interesting mix of conventioneers and locals, both feeding on chicken and waffles at Max’s Wine Dive.

For decades, the district has been anchored by the Railyard condos, and recently flanked by the Four Seasons. Soon, these will not be the only full time residences.

In the past couple of years we’ve seen improvements and new businesses open in the neighborhood, including AF1 Racing, Vince Young Steakhouse, Hank’s Garage (which is gone), and Skinny’s Ballroom.

Walking around a post-SXSW absent is the hyper-pedestrianism of the past 10 days, and I observe a “coming soon” sign. I see more as I keep walking. In one lap around the Railyard district, I counted nine businesses or projects “coming soon”!

Nine!

What’s COMING SOON to the Railyard District? [Read more…] about Coming Soon: The Changing Face Of The Railyard District

Street Patio Experiment: Congress Ave @ Royal Blue Grocery

Jude Galligan | March 7, 2012 |

I love this idea for downtown Austin. Convert two duck-in parking spaces in front of Royal Blue Grocery on Congress Ave, in order to improve the pedestrian experience and create a retail destination.

“Street patios” have been implemented before in other cities, successfully, under the badge of “parklet” or “pop-up” cafe.

Upon approval by Council, later this month, the initiative would be a partnership between the City of Austin and Royal Blue Grocery, with design coming from Studio DWG and civil engineering firm Big Red Dog.

The street patio in front of Royal Blue Grocery is just a trial run. If successful we could see more street patios in other parts of downtown. The results should provide more space for pedestrians and a cafe sitting area, similar to Jos on 2nd Street. WIN!

More pics after the jump. [Read more…] about Street Patio Experiment: Congress Ave @ Royal Blue Grocery

Somethin’s Happenin’ Here… What It Is Ain’t Exactly Clear…

Fred Schmidt | February 22, 2012 |

Remember that great old Buffalo Springfield song? Well those were the lyrics that started going through my head as I spotted this scene unfolding tonight in the long-vacant retail space in City Hall, at the SE corner of 2nd Street / Willie Nelson Blvd and Guadalupe.

What I do know is the sweet vibe of SXSW is definitely in the air all around Downtown on these 80-degree late February days. The countdown is on: only 16 more days til Austin starts rockin’ off its hinges! And I don’t just mean with music… but also energy, enthusiasm, innovation, creativity, knowledge, adventure, technology. It’s a week when we all can really visualize Austin’s future as a global creative capital.