Via 313 Branches Outside of Pizza With New East Austin Bar

Austin’s favorite Detroit-style pizza slingers Via 313 is branching beyond pizza with a new bar, Nickel City, as reported by Austin 360. The brothers, Zane and Brandon Hunt, are taking over Longbranch Inn’s now-defunct space on the East Side for their booze project. And before you get your hopes up, there are no pizza plans.

Nickel City will focus on whiskey. The Hunts will add draft beer to the drinks lineup, alongside cocktails and "higher price points," Brandon told the publication. They want Nickel to have "an old school bar feel to it." The space won’t undergo a drastic renovation.

As it is Austin, there are plans for an attached food truck called Delray Cafe, helmed by the brothers. The menu will span Detroit-style eats, like the city’s classic Coney dogs (where franks are topped with chili), sliders, cheese fries, with fish fry Fridays.

For the bar, the Hunt brothers are teaming up with Javelina's Craig Primozich and a fourth unnamed person (someone who helms from Buffalo, apparently). The name stems from Buffalo, New York’s nickname.

Nickel City will open sometime in the spring, ideally April or May.

Longbranch Inn appeared to close up in September after an eviction notice went up on the bar’s facade. The historic bar originally opened in 1935, and underwent various owners since then.

Zane and Brandon Hunt opened the first Via 313 trailer on East 6th Street at Violet Crown Social Club, followed by the second in 2012, which now resides at Craft Pride, and then two brick and mortars, the first in Oak Hill in 2015, and the second on Guadalupe (taking over Blackbird and Henry’s former location) in 2016.

• Via 313 owners taking over Longbranch Inn with new bar concept [Austin 360]
• Longtime Dive Bar Longbranch Inn Closed Down [EATX]
• All Coverage of Via 313 [EATX]