An Independent Grocery Store With a Focus on Local Vendors Is Headed to Austin

A new independent grocery store looking to make it more affordable for local vendors to sell their goods is coming to Austin next year from food truck DFG Noodles owner Cheryl Chin. Tàstès, with the new restaurant Noodle Street Cafe, will open at 3208 South Congress Avenue in the Dawson neighborhood across from St. Edward’s University sometime in 2022.

Tàstès (pronounced “taste ease”) is still in the planning phase, but it will operate like a long-term farmers market, housed in a more permanent, indoor facility. The market will lease shelf space to local vendors, like Mother Culture, Dos Lunas, and Bountiful Acres, at a rate of $100 to $250 per month in an effort to shirk the business models most large chain stores follow.

In an attempt to diversify its offerings, Tàstès will have quarterly tastings with new vendors, giving customers the opportunity to preview products and vote on their favorites. Additionally, the grocery store will have television screens disseminating information on current vendors and products.

Chin is also opening Noodle Street Cafe, echoing her DFG Noodles brand, inside Tàstès. The cafe will serve noodles, dumplings, tea, beer, and small bites, and will have a sit-down area for diners. It will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

After the South Congress location opens, Chin plans on opening others throughout the city and beyond. Tàstès is currently running a fundraiser to help the store progress.

• Tàstès [Official]
• Austin’s First ‘Democratized’ Grocery Store Carts Out Hyperlocal Shopping Experience [CultureMap Austin]
• Tàstès’s Fundraiser [Wefunder]

Update, November 9, 3:00 p.m.: This article, originally published on November 9, 1:48 p.m., previously listed Shirttail Creek Farm as a vendor, which is no longer correct. It has been replaced with Bountiful Acres.