Food-o-File: Friday Lagniappe

Sometimes there is too much Austin food news to squeeze into the print edition of the Chronicle. Rather than wait a week, we've decided to give our readers a little bite of something extra.

photo by Ramen Tatsu-Ya/ Facebook

• Live Oak Barbecue (2713 E. Second) is closing this weekend, according to a Facebook post by owner Randall Stockton. Live Oak opened in 2011 with Tom Spaulding manning the pits, one of the pioneers of the recent east Austin barbecue renaissance, and it soon became known for Spaulding's eclectic Saturday afternoon cook-outs. Spaulding describes the closing as "math-related" and said it was better to face the financial reality now and not struggle along for another couple of months. He's working on another non-barbecue related project in the area, but wasn't ready to offer specifics just yet. The building is up for lease and the smoker is for sale.

• Local hospitality entrepreneurs Will Tanner and Nathan Hill will celebrate the grand opening of their new club, Stay Gold (1910 E. Cesar Chavez), in the former home of the El Leon bar with a series of events this weekend. Though Tanner and Hill pay homage to the longtime Eastside bar with a lion mural, the bar's format will definitely change. The name Stay Gold is inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's film of S.E. Hinton's coming-of-age novel, The Outsiders, and the new club will offer local beers on draft, Texas and international wines, custom cocktails, and regular live music. They will also have a trailer adjacent to the patio. The finish-out on her 31-foot Airstream trailer is ongoing, but local pastry chef Hannah Love looks forward to the debut of her new husiness, Toaster, within a few weeks. Love describes her food as "elevated home cooking," and says she'll be serving assorted pierogi, variations on grilled sandwiches, and daily special pizzas based on her own breads and doughs, in addition to her signature sweets. Plans for serving weekend brunches are also in the works and Hannah is raring to go. "My refrigerator is packed with test dishes; I'm ready to serve some customers."

• Endeavor Real Estate is revitalizing a strip center at 6550 Burnet Rd. and announced the names of three high-profile new tenants earlier this week. Barley Swine, Bufalina, and Lick Honest Ice Creams have all signed leases and plan to open new outlets in the center later this year. Neither Bryce Gilmore nor Steven Dilley were prepared to discuss the details of their new outlets at this early date, but we've heard the new Barley Swine will feature a full bar and more seating, and Dilley alluded to the possibility of an expanded food menu in addition to pizza at Bufalina. Ice cream guys Chad Palmatier and Anthony Sobotnik told us the new Lick storefront will be a "smidge" bigger than the S. Lamar original and have more parking, but their hand-crafted ice creams will continue to be made in their expanding commissary near Cedar Park.

L-R: Chad Palmatier and Anthony Sobotik (Lick), Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine), and Steven Dilley (Bufalina Due). (Courtesy of Columbus Communications)

• A lightning round of local food news and events: Brewers Christine Celis and Kim Clarke present a tasting of their new cans of Gypsy Dubbel coffee porter at the Whip In (1950 I-35 S.) on Friday, Jan. 30, 4-7pm.… Chi'Lantro BBQ has relocated one of their trailers at the Picnic on Barton Springs and will begin serving food Sunday, Feb. 1. This is in addition to their new brick-and-mortar outlet at 1509 S. Lamar.… The Hightower (1209 E. Seventh) has added a Bloody Mary bar to their brunch offerings on Saturday and Sundays from 11am to 3pm. Guests can choose between vodka or George Dickel whiskey, plus a variety of condiments… Ramen Tatsu-Ya saw some familiar long lines as it opened its second location at 1234 S. Lamar Sunday. Chef/owners Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto will expand to lunch service on Monday, Feb. 9.