Emmer & Rye Chef Wants to Bring a Taste of Spain to Austin

Essential Austin restaurant Emmer & Rye is already thinking about its next potential project ahead of the forthcoming live-fire restaurant Hestia. Chef Kevin Fink revealed that the Rainey Street restaurant team is possibly working on a Basque-style bar called Kalimotxo somewhere in Austin though it’s not set in stone. This was originally reported to Arizona food website Tucson Foodie, though that piece of news has been removed since this article has been published on Eater.

Eater has reached out to the restaurant, but nothing is being announced about the bar: not the location nor the menu. Presumably, the bar is taking its inspiration from the northern Spain region. The actual name Kalimotxo refers to a drink from Spain mixed of red wine and cola soda, which is also known as calimocho. It’s probably safe to assume it will serve said cocktail, along with wines and pixtos (the Basque version of tapas).

Next up for Fink, who is a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist and also from Arizona, and Emmer pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph are working on downtown live-fire restaurant Hestia. The restaurant, which will focus on grilled beef, lamb, and seafood, is pegged to open at 208 Nueces Street sometime later this year.

Fink and Bristol-Joseph opened their first Austin restaurant, the finer-dining grain-obsessed Emmer & Rye, in November 2015 along with then-chef Page Pressley (who left earlier this year). The team opened fast-casual stall Henbit in downtown food hall Fareground in January 2018. They also partnered with new Fareground neighbor, the Israeli stall TLV from Hummus Among Us chef Berty Richter, which opened this past March.

This article has been updated to reflect that Kalimotxo is a potential project at this point, as well as the status of the news through Tucson Foodie.

• We Caught Up With Austin Chef (and Native Tusconan) Kevin Fink in Anticipation of His “Ignite Agave” Appearance [Tuscon Foodie]
• All Coverage of Emmer & Rye [EATX]