Nickel City Co-Owner Opens a Cozy Wine Bar in Lockhart

Nickel City co-owner Travis Tober has teamed up with sommelier Kaye Askins to open Best Little Wine & Books, a wine bar in the historic town square of Lockhart. The bar opened at 210 West San Antonio Street in March.

Best Little Wine & Books offers 150 wines, with a particular focus on female-owned, minority-owned, or environmentally conscious wines. The bar offers a rotating list of wines by the glass as well as bottles to drink on-site or for retail sale.

There’s also a library of over 40 food-and-beverage-related books, from writers like Karen MacNeil, Alice Feiring, Victoria James, and Wink Lorch, as well as books for sale. The shop also carries local goods from Lockhart like wine chillers and pickled goods.

Best Little Wine & Books plans offer events like wine tastings and book signings in the future, as well as a subscription wine club program.

In addition to East Austin’s Nickel City, Tober is also behind the nearby Lockhart bar Old Pal Texas, which specializes in fried chicken and beer. Askins, a 13-year hospitality veteran, most worked at Eataly Dallas. Askins’s dog, Chicken, will be a regular fixture at the shop.

Best Little Wine & Books is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.