P. Terry’s Is Turning Campus Drive-Thru Taco Ranch Into a Burger Restaurant

Campus Drive-Thru Switcheroo
Taco Ranch, the fast-casual taco drive-thru on near campus, closed last week to make way for a new location of its parent company, burger drive-thru chain P. Terry’s. The 517 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard restaurant closed on Friday, December 20, and construction for its replacement will begin this week. This new P. Terry’s, with its usual menu of burgers and milkshakes, will open sometime in the spring of 2020. The space will include a patio, dine-in seating, and two lanes dedicated to drive-thru orders.

“It just made sense to have a presence at the University of Texas,” said co-founder Patrick Terry of the change via a press release. Terry opened the first and now only Taco Ranch in Oak Hill in January 2018, and P. Terry’s in 2005.

Measles in Austin
The person who has been diagnosed with measles in Austin visited the Chipotle on West Parmer Lane on Saturday, December 14, Sip Saam Thai on West Parmer Lane on Sunday, December 15, Mandola’s Italian in the Triangle between Sunday, December 15 and Monday, December 16, and Marco’s Pizza on Research Boulevard on Monday, December 16, among other places. Those who have visited these places during these days should contact the Health Departments of Central Texas.

Downtown Shutter
Downtown fast-casual salad restaurant Leaf is now closed again as of Friday, December 20. Originally, the restaurant had opened in 2007 on West Second Street, and closed in 2015. It reopened on West Sixth in 2016.

New Food Incubator
Coworking space chain WeWork opened its third WeWork Food Labs in Austin this December. It’s part-food-focused coworking space, part-incubator. The goal behind the space is to allow food and agricultural companies, especially consumer packaged goods businesses, to work on food solutions for the world.

The space features 100 desks with memberships starting at $350 for roaming desks and $450 for dedicated desks. Community memberships are $300, which come with access to the global labs and network. There’s also a merchandising area and pantry, access to event spaces, as well as a partnership with consumer products accelerator company Sku. The initial lineup includes OHi Superfood Bar and Naturally Austin. It’s found at the SXSW Center at 1400 Lavaca Street in downtown Austin. The first two WeWork FoodLabs are found in San Francisco and New York.

Possible Downtown Restaurant Changes
New potential plans for another high-rise building in downtown restaurant would get rid of West Sixth Japanese restaurant Maiko Sushi Lounge if approved.

New Canned Cocktails
Austin food truck Ranch Hand’s new canned cocktails, dubbed Ranch Rider Spirits Co., are now available at stores, bars, and restaurants.