Food-o-File

After several e-mails and phone calls from concerned readers about the potential demise of Austin's oldest coffeeshop/bakery, I spoke with Art Silver, the owner of Captain Quackenbush's (2120 Guadalupe, 472-4477) about the rumors. Silver confirmed that he's seriously considering closing Quack's after 15 years on the Drag. He explained that part of his Guadalupe space is under-utilized since bakery production was moved to Quack's 43rd Street Bakery (411 E. 43rd, 453-3399), then he posed a question of his own: "Did you know there's a Starbuck's in the Barnes & Noble just up the street and another one around the corner on 24th Street?" Evidently, escalating rent on the under-utilized space and what Silver considers overkill competition from a national chain have made the Drag location a liability after all these years. "If some synergistic business came along and wanted to rent out our kitchen space, that might encourage me to stay here," Silver allowed. "But otherwise, we'll just try to consolidate our staff and customers at the Hyde Park location."

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Rather Sweet Deal

After creating a very credible bakery operation for the locally owned national chain, Rebecca Rather recently left her position as executive pastry chef with Schlotzsky's for a partnership in the soon-to-debut Ranch 616 (616 San Antonio), a job as executive pastry chef for the company which owns both Ranch 616 and Ella's (#1 Jefferson Sq., 458-2148), and a new bakery of her own, Rather Sweets(814 W. 12th, 474-4822). The charming, spotless new shop opened last week, featuring Rather's signature pastries and desserts, cappuccino and espresso, plus a small sandwich menu.

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Wining and Dining

The next time you visit Tocai (601 W. Sixth, 457-8880), consider surrendering yourself to the suggestions of owner/sommelier Anthony Garcia and chef TimKartiganer, as a colleague and I did recently, and you will be greatly rewarded. We were treated to both regular menu and chef's special items with different glasses of wine for every course. A smoky 1996 Domaine de Marcoux Chateau-Neuf-de-Pape was the perfect complement to the savory cassoulet and the Lindeman's Peche Lambic beer with dessert was a revelation. Across the street from Tocai, we noticed the new digs of one of the city's most popular locally owned wine shops, The Austin Wine Merchant (512 W. 12th, 499-0512). Respected wine expert John Roenigk gave up his funky, subterranean place on Guadalupe for a location with more space and more food-and-wine-related traffic. Roenigk assures us that the new store will retain the same level of personal service, "putting the right people together with the right bottles of wine."

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The Loss of a Friend and Colleague

Many of us who have worked in the local catering and hospitality industry mourn the untimely death of Ronnie Driver, owner of The Flower Bucket (3100 N. Lamar, 453-6692). Ronnie was a delightful man with a great appreciation for beautiful flowers, Mexican folk art, good food, and talented people. He will be sorely missed. The operation of the Flower Bucket is now in the capable hands of his talented daughter, Ginny Riley.