Bar Experts From White Horse and Kitty Cohen’s Are Opening a New East Austin Bar

A new bar courtesy of bar experts from White Horse and Kitty Cohen’s is coming to East Austin. High Noon will be found at 2000 East Cesar Chavez, taking over what had been Holly bar Craftsman. It’ll most likely open sometime next year.

Behind High Noon are Nathan Hill, Jeremy Murray, and Matt Rade. Hill confirmed the bar, and told Eater that further details will be provided later this year or early next year. The name of the bar could be a reference to the excellent 1952 western movie High Noon, so perhaps it’ll take on a whole cowboys and frontier theme.

The space will be designed by Mickie Spencer, who worked on various Austin restaurants and bars like Eberly (Eater Austin’s most beautiful restaurant of 2017), Garage, Ah Sing Den, and more.

Hill is one of the co-founders of East Austin honky tonk bar White Horse, as well East Austin bar Stay Gold (which is just across the block from High Noon), and easy-going retro bar Frazier’s in the South Shore district. Murray had been the co-owner of beloved Rainey Street whiskey bar Blackheart (which closed in 2018), as well as East Austin bar Kitty Cohen’s and Hill Country restaurant Proof and Cooper. Rade worked as the general manager for both Blackheart and Kitty.

Craftsman opened in the converted 1920s bungalow house in 2015, and closed suddenly in August 2019. Owner Brandon Testa kept ownership of the physical address, and told Eater earlier this year that he was leasing it to new operators.

• East Cesar Chavez Bar Craftsman Is Now Closed [EATX]