Old Taylor High School in Taylor is back in business. Opened in 1923, after 78 years of educating children, the two-story brick building has a new life as part of a retail, office, residential, and special event campus.
The Mallard Fare Delicatessen (www.mallardfare.com) opened last fall in the former schoolhouse’s kitchen area. Heath and Jennifer Lombard brought a New York deli to the charming town northeast of Austin.
The deli partnered with Leisha Dowers, a former Austinite, to make their breads. Through her Flake Bakery and Larder (www.flakebakeryandlarder.com), Dowers makes breads and pies available online for pickup at the deli window.
Due to the pandemic, there is no indoor dining, but there are two patios on either side of the building. The city’s beautiful Murphy Park is only three blocks away.
The best outdoor dining spot turned out to be the biergarten under the trees outside of Loose Screw Beer House (www.theloosescrew.org) across the hall from the deli. With more than 40 taps, the pour house offers a wide selection of beers. The deli will deliver hot sandwiches to your picnic table.
I ordered the meatloaf from Plowman’s Kitchen (www.plowmanskitchen.com) in the 1956 junior high building around the corner from the old high school to enjoy at the biergarten. Occupying the former band room, the family-owned Plowman’s has an upscale menu of comfort foods. Their dining room is open with limited seating.
The Old Taylor High School is off Ninth Street (officially 410 W. Seventh St.) three blocks west of North Main Street in Taylor. In a historic residential area, the campus also includes the former gymnasium that is available for rent. Coming this summer are an ice cream shop and a food truck lot.
1,537th in a series. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in February 12 • 2021.
