High Noon

"High Noon at 2000 East Cesar Chavez Street in East Austin is adjusting hours due to the winter storm." - Nadia Chaudhury

"High Noon is a partnership between several heavy-hitters in the Austin hospitality scene: Nathan Hill (White Horse, Stay Gold), Jeremy Murray (Blackheart, Kitty Cohen’s), and Matt Rade (Blackheart, Kitty Cohen’s). High Noon will offer both on-site and to-go services, the former with a walk-up station at the bar, serving mixed drinks, beer, whiskeys (Murray and Rade’s now-closed downtown bar Blackheart was known for its whiskey selection), and mezcal. Thai food truck Thai Kun (which still counts controversial chef Paul Qui as a partner) will be parked out front, serving food on the patio. There will eventually be live music at some point. The bar will also offer three drinks to-go for those who don’t want to drink on-site: a beet paloma, and two frozen cocktails, one of which is a margarita. The bar decided to only offer a few cocktails to-go as it was difficult to ensure the same bar-quality of drinks. “You worry about everything, to the type of ice they are using, temperature, glassware, garnish, you name it,” explains Murray. “It’s hard to translate the in-house experience in a to-go program.” High Noon’s space, designed by Mickie Spencer, is deliberately meant to feel a bit disconcerting. The press release describes the aesthetic as “a traditional Western saloon meets Kubrick” (referring to the film director), and an “early 1900s saloon, and a touch of peyote in West Texas.” Thus far, this means ceiling tiles reminiscent of a Rubik’s Cube, a long red banquette, a wooden floor, a stretched-out oval-shaped mirror lined with lights behind the bar, draped curtains, and a large bubble window facing the street. In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the bar has installed UV air purifiers, sanitation stations, and is requiring that customers wear masks when not at a table. Per Hill, this is also the bar’s third attempt at opening, first in March and then in June. He says the bar passed its inspection at 11:50 a.m. on June 26, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars to shut down that noon. The bar is able to open now thanks to a new amendment by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. By allowing bars to partner with food trucks — such as High Noon with Thai Kun — they can apply for food and beverage certificates which would designate them as restaurants, thus being able to open for dine-in services. When it opens this Friday, High Noon’s hours will be from 4 p.m. to midnight daily." - Erin Russell

"High Noon will be found at 2000 East Cesar Chavez, taking over what had been Holly bar Craftsman. The name of the bar could be a reference to the excellent 1952 western movie High Noon, so perhaps it’ll take on a whole cowboys and frontier theme. The space will be designed by Mickie Spencer, who worked on various Austin restaurants and bars like Eberly, Garage, Ah Sing Den, and more." - Nadia Chaudhury

"Brazilian food truck Boteco opened up a Brazilian barbecue skewer truck in East Austin earlier this month. Boteco Espeteria is found in front of the Craftsman bar on 2000 East Cesar Chavez. Co-owners and co-chefs Fernando and Lauren Marri wanted to expand into something slightly new, drawing inspiration from Japanese yakitori. All skewers on Boteco Espeteria’s menu are cooked on a Japanese charcoal grill in a converted Indian auto rickshaw (aka tuk tuk). So far the menu has included pincanha (beef top sirloin), chicken hearts, pork belly with guava, grilled cheeses, tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs), vegetable ones, and deep-fried churros with dulce de leche. To accompany the food truck’s menu, Craftsman will serve up caipirinhas. The truck’s hours, for now, are from 6 p.m. to midnight Wednesday and Thursday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday." - Nadia Chaudhury