JESSE LUNSFORD, TRANSFORMATIVE DEVELOPMENTS. THRIVING INVESTMENTS.
May 13, 2020
A new bar and mobile vendor food court is on the way to RR 12 north of downtown Dripping Springs near Springlake Drive.
Located on a 1.2-acre property at 29035 RR 12, Dripping Springs, the project includes a small indoor bar with seating, an outdoor patio, and space for about four food trucks or mobile vendors. The project will also have about 40 parking spaces, according to documents presented to Dripping Springs City Council on May 12 by developer Neil Stokes.
November 1, 2018
Think “fast casual” and I’m willing to lay money it conjures images of that corporate clone you resort to when you need the quickest lunch with the least regret. But in the hands of Bryce Gilmore and team, it means so much more.
September 28, 2018
Zach Biderman is a lifelong Austinite.
He helped found Seventh Flag Coffee on South First Street. Last year, he and his business partner Gabe Sims opened Biderman’s in North Austin.
“Originally, [our goal]was to come and fill the void of the Jewish deli in Austin because there was nothing,” Biderman said.
Rather than offering staples, such as pastrami and whitefish by the pound, the deli focuses on a “core set of Jewish items,” such as matzo balls, chopped liver, its best-selling Reuben sandwich and bagels, Biderman said.
May 9, 2018
Austin’s mega-popular restaurants Odd Duck and Barley Swine’s new, much more casual sister restaurant has finally arrived. Sour Duck Market (1814 East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) is now open as of Saturday, May 5, revealing its neighborhood bakery, cafe, bar, and market.
August 3, 2017
Statesman critic Matthew Odam’s visit to Cafe Nena’i this week started with an entirely new understanding of empanadas. Though he admits he has never visited South America, he highly praised all four varieties of the stuffed pastry: beef (“flaunts its juiciness”), chicken, spinach, and ham and cheese (which “will make you want to never again eat a ham-and-cheese sandwich not served in fried shell”).
August 4, 2017
Bryce Gilmore, the lauded chef behind two of the city’s critically-acclaimed restaurants Barley Swine and Odd Duck, is switching gears for his third project. Instead of a sit-down, table service establishment, Sour Duck Market will become his new fast-casual restaurant, bakery, marketplace, and bar all in one place, found on the edge of Central East Austin.
August 3, 2017
Sometimes you encounter a version of a dish that helps you understand it in a completely new way. I have not had the pleasure of visiting South America, but I felt I had a decent handle on empanadas. Then I discovered Cafe Nena’i in East Austin.
June 21, 2017
Light shone through the cracks in the contact team model for neighborhood planning during deliberation over a neighborhood plan amendment at the most recent meeting of the Planning Commission.
The Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Plan, adopted in 2002, includes voluntary design guidelines for the area, one of which is to minimize the use of the garage as a distinct structure from the homestead as a way of maintaining neighborhood character.
May 23, 2017
Five-times James Beard award finalist Bryce Gilmore wanted to find a way to deliver his brand of thoughtful, quality food to a wider audience and at lower price points. So, the Odd Duck and Barley Swine chef-owner and his partners came up with the idea for Sour Duck Market.
April 20, 2016
December 5, 2015
Note: Dale Glover is no longer associated with Rainey Ventures.
April 20, 2016
April 12, 2016
March 7, 2016
When the South by Southwest festival takes over Downtown Austin each year, the already-bustling Texan city transforms into the mecca of Stuff To Do. But SXSW can be a tricky, overwhelming game to play
March 4, 2016
The sprawling capital of Texas has welcomed over 100,000 new residents since 2010. Along with all the new Austinites, dozens of new shops, restaurants, bars and hotels have appeared, turning the formerly sleepy city into a thriving metropolis quickly approaching a million inhabitants. Every March, the South by Southwest Festivals only adds to the bustle. To catch up on the cool arrivals, you’ll need a rental car or a service like Uber or Lyft, as well as the patience to brave the city’s traffic. If you’re a first-time visitor, take time for the city’s must-sees, like Lady Bird Lake, the State Capitol and the enormous bat colony that lives under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. With all the excitement in Austin, you might also find yourself considering moving here for good.
February 17, 2016
The James Beard Foundation's semifinalist list for this year’s awards was released today. Among the Austin chefs include Tyson Cole, who was nominated for Outstanding Chef. Previously, he was nominated for the Best Chef Southwest category four times, winning once in tie with Las Vegas' Saipin Chutima in 2011. Bryce Gilmore of Odd Duck and Barley Swine nabs a spot for the fourth time in the Best Chef Southwest category. He was a finalist last year, 2014, and 2013.
November 2, 2015
Lustre Pearl East, the original bar that was transported from its home on Rainey to 114 Linden last spring,...
November 5, 2015
Correction: Jesse Lunsford moved the original Lustre Pearl building to its new location and developed the site as the Resurrected Lustre Pearl East.
"...Lustre Pearl East is opening Friday in the same 19th-century house that housed the original bar, before it closed when the property was sold on Rainey."
November 2, 2015
Lustre Pearl is back on the scene. The East Austin reincarnation of the Rainey Street bar that started it all is slated to open on Friday, November 6.
Fans of Lustre Pearl will see that this "new" bar looks pretty familiar. The original Lustre Pearl building was moved from 97 Rainey St. and transplanted to a new home at 114 Linden St.
"It was crucial to restore this incredible house, to replicate everything the original Lustre — built in 1895 — embodied, to give our customers back the space they made an institution. It's been a labor of love and we are excited to once again have a full house," said Bridget Dunlap of Dunlap ATX in a press release.
August 20, 2015
You’ve probably seen Med Chef products -- particularly the beloved Grandma’s Humus -- in stores like Whole Foods, but what you probably don’t know is that you can swing by the headquarters and get the Mediterranean dips, salads, and dolmas to go -- and even watch the hummus-making in action. We hear hummus-making is quite the spectator sport.
July 1, 2015
Jacoby's Restaurant & Mercantile is a Southern family-owned operation. Situated in East Austin along the Colorado River, the restaurant is a true, rustic, ranch-to-table concept.
The Jacoby family founded Jacoby Feed and Seed in Melvin, TX in 1981, and have since grown it into a local business that includes a farm, ranching operation, cafe and rail center. The beef served at the Restaurant & Mercantile comes straight from the ranch, and is always hand-cut and dry aged 21-28 days.
May 29, 2014
The coral blue bungalow that was the locally adored home of Lustre Pearl bar on Rainey Street will become a new east Austin restaurant slated to open late next spring, with Lustre Pearl owner Bridget Dunlap in talks to be the operator of the eatery.
Local developer Jesse Lunsford, who bought the bungalow in 2006 and leased it to Dunlap for the bar that helped create the thriving Rainey Street entertainment district, said he wanted to preserve the historic structure. In the process, he spent close to a year planning the recently completed move of the structure to a property on East Cesar Chavez and Linden streets.
March 6, 2015
Jesse Lunsford developed the Austin HQ for this awesome company.
Flocasts Inc., a sports media startup, is changing its name and expanding the number of sports it covers.
The Austin-based company is now called FloSports Inc. and is considering adding more sports to its coverage, such as softball, lacrosse and swimming. The name change comes five months after the startup completed an $8 million round of financing, Chief Marketing Officer Mark Floreani said Thursday.
Reason number 8,693 that we love Austin: Our ever changing landscape of gastronomic and cocktail excursions.
I recently moved to a new neighborhood and have since found my way into a wonderland of neighborhood jaunts I can’t seem to get enough of. Take a gander at my short list of East Austin happy hour favorites and you may find a new refuge of your own.
December 1, 2014
October 27, 2014
Adam Jacoby brought true ranch-to-table dining to the capital city when Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile opened at the end of August. He grew up working at his family’s feed and seed company in Melvin, Texas, raising sheep for stock showing and cooking at the homestyle cafe that was originally started to nourish local ranch hands. The all-natural, hormone-free meat used in the restaurant comes from the family ranch and is showcased in classics like the flavorful burger, a perfectly crunchy, golden-battered chicken-fried steak and a juicy steak stuffed with cheese and topped with veal gravy, grilled peppers and onions.
February 11, 2014
In February of 2013, JT and Brandy Egli opened Craft Pride at the corner of Rainey and River Streets. With the 100-tap Banger's just a block away, a second craft beer bar could have been overkill. Thankfully, Craft Pride's hyper-local focus set them apart: every tap on their wall is dedicated to beers brewed in Texas. Such a large Texas-only offering had never been attempted, and beer nerds quickly flocked to partake in the frequent rarities and one-offs on the Craft Pride list.
January 10, 2014
With craft beer booming in our town, it's no surprise Draft Magazine picked two Austin bars as the best spots in the country to get your brew on. But enough of this un-beer-able wait, let's hop to it and find out who won!
The first winner is one of the newest additions to Rainey Street: Craft Pride.
