Austin and San Antonio are favorite spots for restaurants looking to broaden their reach. And, whether they’re new concepts or old favorites, both cities are putting their money where their mouths are and embracing the expansions.
The Weitzman Group’s Britt Morrison gave us the skinny on what he’s seeing locally. For one, as in all major Texas metros, restaurants are often clustering together to create destinations. In San Antonio, restaurants are a huge driver behind the success of the retail space at The Pearl mixed-use redevelopment, he tells us. A lot of the national folks he’s spoken to like Austin because of the amount of discretionary income. Couple that with the young, well educated, high-income professionals and you have a big draw for restaurant owners because it means instead of eating out once or twice a week, Austinites are eating out four or five times weekly.
1) In-N-Out and 2) P. Terry’s
Britt says without a doubt, In-N-Out (pictured) is about as high-profile as it gets for expanding the quick-serve concept. It’s working on an urban Austin location on South Lamar at the site of an old Wendy’s as part of its expansion plans here, he tells us. P. Terry’s is a very similar concept based in Austin as well. It’s averaging two to three new Austin deals annually and is quickly becoming one of In-N-Out’s largest competitors in Austin. Go check out the slideshow for the entire list.
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