Rainey Street District

It’s About To Get Loud On Rainey Street

Jude Galligan | August 24, 2010 |

The Rainey Street District is showing signs of maturation as stakeholders are coping with the growing pains that come with such rapid growth. On August 19th, Bridget Dunlap, owner of the thriving Lustre Pearl bar, was approved for an Outdoor Music Venue permit (OMV). The OMV permit (new window), expressly for “winter months,” allows the venue to host amplified music.

Rainey Street proper is zoned CBD, a flexible zoning definition that enables a multitude of uses for properties. Little of the street’s CBD density entitlements are being used, as they are sitting idle waiting for big capital to return. The district is currently dominated by bungalow homes, and flanked by mid- and high-rise residential condos.

It was late 2008, early 2009, when Lustre Pearl became the first bar to open on Rainey Street. With smart design that preserved much of the historic bungalow aesthetic, Lustre Pearl seems to have set the trajectory for Rainey Street development over the next few years. Clive Bar, G’raj Mahal, El Naranjo, are all thriving in addition to three more bars under construction. According to Lustre Pearl’s General Manager, Scranton Twohey, Lustre Pearl is shifting to become more of a music-centric destination.

Dunlap and Twohey operate four venues: Lustre Pearl, Clive Bar, “96” (upcoming sports bar theme across from Lustre Pearl), and an upcoming outdoor/mobile concept on the corner of Rainey St and Davis St (where Container Bar was planned).

What is it about Rainey Street?

Nearly 1,000 residences anchored by Rainey Street.
Big capital dried up, so no more big CBD projects for the next few years.
No commercial infrastructure, little parking, intermittent sidewalks
A creative surplus of funky bungalow houses

During the requisite notification period the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) submitted a letter in opposition to Lustre Pearl’s OMV application. The Downtown Austin Plan expressly calls for limiting the number of cocktail uses, and further encourages uses that complement the quiet neighborhood character of the district. (pdf)

Mr. Twohey made assurances to DANA’s Public Policy Committee about limiting the genres of music, hiring a sound mitigation consultant, and withholding applications for his company’s three other venues. Despite those assurances, DANA and Rainey Street residents remained concerned that approving this Outdoor Music Venue permit will encourage more bars into the district, and those bars will also pursue Outdoor Music Venue permits.

The cost to apply for an Outdoor Music Venue permit is $50.

-Jude

NIMBY disclosure – I live at the Shore condos, which is one block from Rainey Street

Is This The Next Bar On Rainey Street?

Jude Galligan | August 5, 2010 |

The Rainey Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and new businesses must get approval from the Historic Landmark Commission before commencing with any building rehab. I have to give credit to businesses coming into Rainey Street. They are doing a great job at rehabbing the old bungalows and creating an enjoyable atmosphere.

But, with 1,000+ door fronts in the district, let’s shoot for more mixed uses. Are we approaching market capacity for new bars in downtown Austin’s Rainey Street District? It’s a fair question to ask.

Rainey Street is zoned CBD, and this is a good thing! However, the density entitlements of CBD sit idle (potentially for years) and the district is dominated by residential uses. The Downtown Austin Plan expresses five Urban Design Priorities for Rainey Street District. One of those states: “Limit the number of cocktail uses allowed.”

When are we going to see some day time retailers and restaurants, eh? Truth is the district is lacking sidewalks and offers little parking to support many uses except for bars, which are listed below.

1) Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey Street) is has applied for Rainey Street’s first Outdoor Music Venue permit, to the chagrin of many neighbors fearing a trend.
2) Clive Bar (609 Davis Street) is a great bar that we love to go to.
3) “96” Rainey Street under construction, and will soon be a sports bar.
4) Icenhauer’s (83 Rainey Street) is under construction, and should be open on September 20th. It will be a bar.
5) 86 Rainey Street (pictured above and below) has started down the path towards becoming… something.

Back in April, I found myself hanging out in front of 86 Rainey Street, drinking cold beers with John Arley – an affable guy who sang a few songs for me.

John On Rainey Street

Jude Galligan | April 29, 2010 |

This is John Arley. Singer/songwriter. Hanging out on Rainey Street.

I was heading to El Naranjo for some din-din. They were closed, but directly across the street, John was playing guitar and waved me (a total stranger) over. Clearly he’d had a few beers, but was kind enough to offer me one. After a long day, there’s nothing better than a cold beer and hanging out on your porch/lawn/terrace/etc. I grabbed two beers and he commenced playing four original songs. All of them really good.

It was interesting. Lot’s of people walked by. He invited everyone to hear a song, but nobody took the bait. Most people are so caught up in their own world. I let my guard down for a second, and glad I did, because I was able to join him in just relaxing with good music, company (even a stranger), and cold beer. That’s what I love about Austin. John says he doesn’t know how to use a computer, but if he ever manages to get online I hope he finds this.

“Thanks, John!”

-Jude

The Shore Condos Battle Developer AND Villas On Town Lake

Jude Galligan | February 24, 2010 |

The rumble on Rainey Street… it’s a clash of the condos!

Like most condominiums, The Shore Condos are controlled by its home owners association (HOA). Like several condominiums in downtown Austin, The Shore Condos are actually a sub-association of a more senior association. In this case, The Shore Condos are the “residential unit” and one half of a master association called the Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc. The other half is a “hotel unit” – ostensibly setup as the place holder for the Hotel Van Zandt (and may still be).

In 2005 High Street Rainey, LP purchased Lot 1, Red River Addition, from Sack Family Holding, Ltd (the “Waterfront Property”). In 2006 High Street Rainey, LP created the Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc. Prior to that, when the Villas On Town Lake’s land was originally deeded, the seller withheld a 50 x 50 right-of-way easement where Red River meets Davis St in order to provide access to the south of Davis Street in perpetuity.

In 2007 High Street Rainey LP + JMIR-Austin Hotel, LP + The Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc. sued the Villas On Town Lake Owners Association, Inc for encroaching on that easement. Note that at this point in the story, the “residential unit”, aka the Shore Condominium HOA is not named in the lawsuit. In fact, the “residential unit” wouldn’t learn about this lawsuit until recently.

As best as we can figure out, the Villas decided this easement could be used to locate a dumpster. The developer of The Shore, who by right also has use of the 50 x 50 easement, removed the dumpster and the parties sued each other. In 2008 the parties reach a written settlement agreement, but for reasons unknown this agreement wasn’t actually executed. Earlier this month, the Villas filed a motion to enforce that settlement agreement.

Not so fast.

[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZPRf8qL8h0]

The Shore Condominium HOA (“residential unit”) legally intervened by filing an objection to the Villas motion to enforce the settlement agreement, on the grounds that any settlement agreement would bind The Shore Condominium HOA to something they weren’t a party to. So, the Shore HOA wants to put the kibosh on a settlement agreement that could adversely affect their interests.

B-b-b-but wait it gets worse!

The Shore Condos seem to be unclear about how, or if, they are would be bound by the settlement agreement. The Shore Condominium HOA asserts in a legal filing that:

The Shore Association is not clear on how such terms [re: the settlement agreement] would impact its’ members regarding the easement contemplated.

To the best of our knowledge this is a Mexican standoff. Since the original parties sued each other, it’s unlikely they will both simultaneously drop all of their claims. The judge is unlikely to enforce a settlement agreement that would bind a party that was not originally part of that agreement.

Friggin’ dumpsters.

G’Raj Mahal Cafe (Not Garaj Mahal) – MENU, HOURS, and REVIEW: Indian Restaurant Now Open in Downtown Austin

AG | December 13, 2009 |

9/25/2012: Breaking news….G’raj Mahal announces through their Facebook page that they are expanding! 2nd Location will be at 73 Rainey Street, and it looks like they will have live music. Check out our story on the details of G’raj Mahal’s expansion here.

7/3/2012: Updated menu below! Large groups should note that G’raj Mahal now only takes a maximum of 3 credit cards per order – no matter how many people are in the group. I was told by a server that this policy has been around for years, but I’ve been with several large groups there and June 2012 was the first time this happened, so I think it’s actually relatively new. This policy seems particularly odd to me personally because the minimum credit card order there is $10 (last time I checked, unless they’ve changed that, too), so logic would tell me so long as the total bill for each card is larger than $10, there shouldn’t really be an issue from a fees perspective. I guess maybe it has to do with the servers not wanting to take the time to run multiple cards? I’ve asked Sidney Roberts, the owner – but she has yet to give me a response or reason on the issue….will keep you updated!

Incidentally, it’s also worth noting that the gratuity for parties of 5 or more is now 20% (it used to 18%, per their older menu).

7/2/2010: G’Raj Mahal is currently open from 5pm-12am on Weekdays, 5pm-3am Fri-Sat. CLOSED Mondays. Also looks like all delivery will now be going through Longhorn Delivery (contact info on menu). G’Raj Mahal is BYOB!!!

Sidney, the owner also wanted me to let everyone know that the lamb is halal, blessed, and grassfed – for those following strict diets.

REVIEW:

If somebody asked me what I thought about eating Indian food made in a truck, my *go-to* response would be – “less good choice.” At least, that was until I tried G’Raj Mahal Cafe (no website yet, but you can find them on Facebook), located at 91 Red River Street in Downtown Austin. Ummmmm…super yummy!

This gem opened a couple of weeks ago, and when I had the opportunity to try it out the other day, I was very pleasantly surprised. I had the Vegetable Goan Coconut Currie with the Classic Vegetable Samosa, which was all washed down with a Mexican Coke:

Looking at the menu, I initially thought the pricing seemed way super high. After all, this is food made from a trailer. However, the food was made to order, tasted fresh and high-quality, and the portions were generous. While I still think it’s a bit on the pricey side, I also believe that it’s worth it.

**UPDATE 12/14/2009: The owner (Sidney aka Ms. GM) just contacted me to tell me: “FYI…We reduced our prices this week slightly for the entrees as much as we could. However, we use such high grade ingredients, we are somewhat restricted to obey our food costs. We will soon have a late night menu with $5-8 items like naan wraps, lamb burgers, Indian “taco” salad, and spicy goan sausages.” Once I’ve received the updated menu, I will post it.

G’Raj Mahal Cafe does table service and take-out. The table service I experienced was friendly (even deferential) and the overall vibe was good. I would note that there is no indoor seating, but the outdoor seating is covered, and what I would describe as breezy, surrounded by peacefully flowing pieces of gauzy white fabric. Here’s a shot of the typical table:

Overall, I think it’s a good, unique addition to the downtown Austin restaurant landscape, gives the east side of Congress a quality casual dining option, and is a small business that I will support. It’s just a few steps from our residence at The Shore Condos. My only real complaint so far is that it’s only open for dinner (from 5pm-3am everyday). I think a Saturday/Sunday lunch (business permitting) would be awesome.

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