New Cafe, Wine Bar, and Listening Room Community Garden Opens in Austin | Eater Austin

"In East Austin, I discovered a cafe, bar, and wide-ranging listening room called Community Garden at 1401 Cedar Avenue, Suite 2 in Chestnut. By day it operates as a bright acai-bowl cafe offering grain-free granola or coconut water and other spices and ingredients, with four base options (cherry/pineapple; strawberry/banana; pineapple/banana/mango/blue spirulina; and dragon fruit/mango/pineapple) — each bowl is even plated as a smiling face. Daytime drinks include cold brew, kombucha, iced matcha, black tea, Olliepop soda, and sparkling water. Around 4 p.m. the space pivots into a wine bar serving red, white, orange, and sparkling bottles from the Hill Country, Spain, France, and Chile, plus beers with a good showing from local breweries like Austin Beerworks and Blue Owl Brewery; snack options include tinned fish with crackers and pickles, an olive plate, a pickle plate, and mixed nuts. Musically, they play everything from deep house to hip hop, Italian disco, and 1970s R&B, with DJs spinning records on weekends in a more relaxed setting than a club — the team explicitly doesn’t aim for a dance floor so people can sit and enjoy themselves. The interior feels earthy and homey by design (natural woods, terracotta tiling, plants, two green velvet couches, a DJ booth, and a wooden fixture housing local records, tapes, zines, and T-shirts), and the back patio is covered in greenery with wooden seats. This is Growth in Decay founder and DJ James Harcrow’s first hospitality venture, inspired by him bringing a Vitamix and making acai bowls for the Coconut Club team; co-owner Cole Evans designed the space to look tactile and simple. Community Garden is open 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, with hours expected to expand in June, and it’s intended as a place for cultural connection and community-building among creatives in a rapidly changing city." - H. Drew Blackburn