Tesla Wants to Add Restaurants to Charging Stations, and More A.M. Intel

— Electric car company Tesla is thinking of adding local restaurants to its future Supercharger stations, so that people can drink and eat while they're charging their cars. There are three planned Supercharger stations for Austin, near 10th and Guadalupe streets, another near 55th Street, and the last in Cedar Park.

— KXAN determined that Visit Austin (the city’s convention and visitors bureau) used almost half a million dollars for entertaining purposes, after it conducted a deep-dive into the group's American Express credit card statements and receipts. It spent $412,000 on dining within a one year and ten month period from October 2015 through July 2017, which also includes money spent outside of the city. Of the food-related purchases, the news station found:

“In one visit to Flemings Steakhouse in November of 2016, a Visit Austin employee bought two bottles of white wine exceeding $100 each.

“Visit Austin purchased more than $8,800 of Cooper’s Bar-B-Que in the past two years alone, credit card records show.

“[...] Visit Austin spend $4,500 in tax dollars at Franklin Barbecue. [via Twitter]

“Visit Austin bought over 500 alcoholic drinks at Antone’s night club for $6,317.”

Visit Austin's chief financial officer Julie Hart said that those charges were made with the city's hotel occupancy tax, and that the group is transparent about how it uses funds. The money was used to entertain clients who would potentially spend money in the city, like conferences and the such.

— Singer and actress Jamie Lynn Spears (yes, sister to pop star Britney Spears) stopped by Easy Tiger for dinner before she performed at the Carriers Ball at Maggie Mae's on Wednesday, September 27.

— Chronicle reported that while South Austin pub Whip In was under the ownership of founder Amrit Topiwala's son Dipak, the restaurant undertook debt and lost money. The next manager, MJ Smith, paid workers living wages and paid more money for better ingredients. New owner, Quickie Pickie's Zahir Prasla (who took over earlier this year), ended up cutting wages, firing staffers, and cut down on food costs to save money. There are ex-staffers both from Quickie Pickie and Whip In that don't feel good about Prasla's business methods.

— North Lamar Boulevard bar Shoal Creek Saloon is adding breakfast to its lineup this weekend, debuting dishes like breakfast tacos and shrimp and grits. It begins at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 1.

— Travel & Leisure named La Condesa's house margarita as one of the country's best tequila drinks.

— Tiny Pies is making not-too-tiny vegetable pot pies. The bakery is working with local farms, like Johnson’s Backyard Garden, to fill the pies with seasonal goods. This week, that means roasted leeks, Yukon gold potatoes, wild mushrooms, butternut squash, and rainbow carrots. It’s available at both locations.