Juniper Chef Nic Yanes Will Oversee a New French-Mediterranean Restaurant in West Sixth Hotel

Austin chef Nic Yanes of Italian restaurants Juniper and Uncle Nicky’s is partnering with forthcoming West Sixth hotel Canopy by Hilton. He’ll oversee the hotel’s French and Mediterranean restaurant Verbena. The restaurant is scheduled to open 612 West Sixth Street in July while the hotel will open in August.

Verbena, which, like Juniper, is named after a Texas-native plant, will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Details are scant on the menu, which, other than having “vegetable-forward approach that is influenced by French and Mediterranean cuisine,” is only described in a press release as a series of opposites: “sophisticated yet approachable,” “approachable and hearty, yet healthy,” with “sophisticated yet casual fare.”

Service will likely start with offering grab-and-go pastries and breakfast sandwiches and modified lunch and dinner, all while following safety procedures for COVID-19.

Verbena will have a 60-seat main dining area, 30-seat bar and lounge, and will spill into the hotel’s courtyard. It will offer espresso drinks and a full bar in partnership with Proprietors LLC., a bar consulting group that worked with liquor brands and hospitality groups.

Yanes’s co-partner is Rick Singleton of private equity firm Scenic Capital, which is also involved in nearby restaurants Holy Roller and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yanes opened Italian restaurant Juniper in East Austin in 2015 and partnered with Brandon Hunt and Zane Hunt (Via 313, Nickel City) and Travis Tober (Nickel City) to open casual Italian spot Uncle Nicky’s in Hyde Park in 2019.

This Austin location of Canopy, a millennial-friendly, neighborhood-focused branch of Hilton, was announced in 2017.

• Verbena [Official]
• Verbena [Instagram]
• Verbena [Facebook]
• Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown [Official]