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South Austin cafe/bar/food truck hub/patio destination Radio Coffee & Beer is opening its second location out in Southeast Austin this fall. The 3504 Montopolis Drive cafe and bar — aka Radio/East — will open on Wednesday, October 18 in the McKinney neighborhood.
The bar will serve up drip coffee and espresso drinks made with Radio’s coffee brand RCB Roasters. Then there’s a full bar for cocktails as well as draft cocktails like the Phantom Mood (gin, hibiscus, lime, cucumber, soda). And also there will be eight beer taps.
For food, Radio/East has three food trucks parked on site. There’s a new overall eighth location of fantastic taco slingers Veracruz All Natural, whose food truck will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner tacos. And then McKinney food truck Side Eye Pie (which is parked at the nearby Meanwhile Brewing) will be opened a new food truck, Side Eye Slice, where it will serve up, yes, pizza slices. Lastly, Radio’s in-house food truck, Shortwave Diner, will serve an American menu still overseen by chef Michael Sqyures. That includes smash burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs, as well as morning-time breakfast sandwiches, avocado toasts, and chicken and waffles.
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The kid- and dog-friendly physical space is two acres, with a fenced-in backyard. The indoor space takes over what had been a 1940s home, designed with architectural firm Maker Architects. There’s neon signage by Blackout Signs, murals by artist Dan Grissom and Grace Rowland, paintings by artist Skele, and lots of Twin Peaks references. There are three ordering points, two outdoor windows and the indoor bar. For music and performances, there are indoor and outdoor stages (there’s a schedule of concerts already through the fall).
Radio Coffee co-founders and father-and-son team Greg Wilson and Jack Wilson opened the original location in 2014. For Radio/East, they’re joined by new co-partners Rick Pierik (owner of Austin record label Nine Mile Records and) and managing partner Trey Hudson
Radio/East’s hours will be from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and then from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. For its first day, it’ll give the first 100 people a free coffee and there will be all-day happy hour service.
