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Congress, chef David Bull’s first restaurant, is closing down after New Year’s Eve on December 31 in downtown Austin. The shutter will make way for casual sister restaurant Second Bar + Kitchen to expand into the soon-to-be vacant space. The new extension will debut by late spring next year.
Second Bar is also raising the dining stakes at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport by opening an outpost inside the international terminal. Bull will take over as the executive chef of Second Bar + Kitchen’s Domain location within the Archer Hotel, which should open by next summer. Chef de cuisine Ethan Holmes will become the Congress Avenue location’s new executive chef. Aside from minor decor and menu changes, Bar Congress will remain the same.
Bull opened Congress, Second Bar + Kitchen, and Bar Congress five years ago on New Year’s Eve 2010. He previously worked for the Driskill.
La Corsha Hospitality Group, where Bull is a partner, is also opening highly anticipated restaurant Boiler Nine Bar + Grill with executive chef Jason Stude, opening in Spring 2016. The group is also updating iconic Green Pastures, which would begin in February. This is along with Wonderland bar, other hotel renovations throughout Texas, and plans for an East Austin hotel, too.
