South Congress Closings & Openings: Fall 2026 Near Travis Heights

"I want to tell you, Bouldin Creek and Travis Heights, you have my heart," Tiny Grocer owner Steph Steele said in July, when she announced she was closing the South Congress shop she opened in 2021. She also described the avenue in a way any neighbor would recognize. "It's a connector, being on that street." The shop at 1718 S. Congress Ave. closed August 23. The grocery itself is moving to East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

That move is a good map of what has happened this year. The everyday businesses on the blocks closest to Travis Heights haven't simply disappeared. Several reopened or are reopening somewhere else, often miles away, and the storefronts they left are going to flagship retail. If you walk west from Travis Heights for groceries, a quick dinner or a morning coffee, the route you used for years is being redrawn this fall.

Five Departures in Four Months

All of these happened between June 1 and October 1, 2026:

Taste of Ethiopia is south of Oltorf, so it sits beyond the stretch that borders the neighborhood. It still belongs on the list because of the reason it gave. KVUE reported that the restaurant served South Congress for 12 years, and that the owners chose not to renew the lease because of the rising cost of operating in the area. The same report counts Vespaio, Chapulin Cantina, Prototype Vintage and Tiny Grocer among the businesses that closed their South Congress locations this year. It also notes that Monkey See Monkey Do left its storefront after 20 years for a new spot off South Lamar Boulevard.

Perla's is the exception. Its closure followed a fire, not a lease decision, and it remains on the avenue. The restaurant announced the temporary closure on September 8, and as of September 24 it had not announced a reopening date.

What Moves Into the Empty Storefronts

The clearest picture of what comes next is at 1612 S. Congress Ave., the former Vespaio and Chapulin Cantina site. On July 21, owners Quannah Partners and Fortum Ventures announced that the first phase of the redevelopment is fully leased. The tenants are Wrangler, Alberta Boot Company, Cody & Sioux and Astrid & Miyu. The phase delivers about 6,800 square feet of retail space this fall, and all four tenants are expected to open by the end of 2026.

According to the release, this will be the first U.S. retail location for both Alberta Boot Company and its sister brand Cody & Sioux. Wrangler is making it a flagship, and Astrid & Miyu is opening its first Texas boutique. The owners say the design intent is to preserve elements of the historic facade and keep the existing buildings, with construction underway as of the July announcement. A second phase on the Milton Street frontage is planned to start construction in early 2027, adding just under 4,000 square feet for one or two more retailers.

A few doors south, the Austin Business Journal reported that Clayton & Crume, a high-end lifestyle and apparel business, will take over Tiny Grocer's former storefront at 1718. That puts western wear and apparel brands at 1612 and 1718, inside one stretch of a few blocks. That same stretch used to hold a neighborhood grocery, a vintage shop and an Italian restaurant.

The biggest change on the block is across the street. The South Congress Hotel at 1603 S. Congress Ave. closed May 31 for a renovation. It will reopen as The Standard, Austin, the brand's first Texas location and its first U.S. opening in more than a decade. The reopening date varies by source. KVUE reported spring 2027, Community Impact said early 2027, and the 1612 release cites January 2027. A fair expectation is sometime in the first half of next year.

The New Addresses Sit East and South

For a Travis Heights resident, the moves matter as much as the closures. Here is where the departed businesses are going:

• Tiny Grocer is moving into the former Longhorn Meat Market at 2411 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Its locations page lists a fall 2026 opening. Steele has also said she is "working as hard as I can to come back as fast as I can" to serve the South Austin neighborhoods.
• Little Nishi is becoming Nishi, a brick-and-mortar restaurant at 2000 Southern Oaks Drive. Its website lists an October 15 opening.
• Taste of Ethiopia keeps its Pflugerville restaurant at 1100 Grand Avenue Pkwy., Ste. 100, while the owners look for another Austin location.

The Tiny Grocer and Nishi dates are announcements, so check before you make the trip.

The East Side route also runs through the I-35 rebuild. TxDOT has permanently closed Woodland Avenue under I-35 and sends pedestrians to the Oltorf Street bridge. East Avenue under the Lady Bird Lake bridge stays closed through late 2026, and access to the northbound frontage road just north of Riverside Drive is closed through 2029, with drivers using a bypass lane to continue north. Grocery runs that used to be a walk west to 1718 now mean a drive across the highway corridor, during the construction years.

What Still Keeps Neighborhood Hours on the Avenue

Some of the everyday rhythm stays. Mañana, the coffee shop inside the South Congress Hotel, was expected to stay open through the renovation. Its South Congress page still lists 1603 S. Congress Ave. and daily hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For now, that makes it the main morning stop left on the block between 1600 and 1718.

The one announced opening that looks more like a neighborhood place than a flagship is further out. Connie's, a bar and café planned for the historic Bergen-Todd House at 1403 S. Congress Ave., is targeting late summer or early fall 2027. KXAN reported in June that the project aims to preserve the longstanding home on the site. Connie's address sits steps from Perla's at 1400. If Perla's reopens first, those two blocks would have a restaurant and a café again, roughly a year apart.

Several storefronts are still open questions. No new tenant has been reported for the former Prototype Vintage shop at 1700, the Little Nishi trailer lot at 2118, or Taste of Ethiopia's former space.

The Calendar Moves Into the Neighborhood

As the avenue changes, the next few weeks have more to offer on the residential streets east of it.

Big Stacy Pool at 700 E. Live Oak St. is on its August 31, 2026 through spring 2027 schedule. That includes weekday recreation and lap swim, plus weekend public hours from noon to 7 p.m. A neighborhood pool open on a fall-through-spring schedule doesn't depend on any lease.

The 24th Annual Travis Heights Art Trail runs November 7 and 8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's free, and Visit Austin lists 707 E. Monroe St. as the event location. The trail has reached its 24th year while much of the avenue nearby has turned over. For more ideas close to home, our local's guide to weekends in Travis Heights and our roundup of hidden gems in Travis Heights cover spots on the neighborhood side of Congress.

The 1612 tenants are due by year-end, The Standard in the first half of 2027, and Connie's late next summer. Between now and then, Mañana, Big Stacy and the November Art Trail are the dated, open, walkable fixtures on this side of South Congress.

If you own in Travis Heights and wonder how a changing South Congress shows up in your home's value, Kim Fodor is happy to walk through it with you, block by block. Start with a home valuation whenever the timing feels right.