Thunderbird Coffee on Manor to Close
You have until mid-December to get your caffeine fix
By Haris Qureshi, 12:09PM, Fri. Oct. 6, 2023
Wednesday, October 25 update: In late August, Ryan McElroy of Thunderbird Coffee submitted an application to rezone the site in order to allow for the shop to reopen as a cocktail lounge.
According to the Austin Build + Connect website, the request is still pending. Stay tuned for more details.
Long-time third-wave coffee shop Thunderbird Coffee announced today that they will be closing at the end of the year.
Ryan McElroy, the founder and owner of the Cherrywood cafe, said in an email that their Eastside location on 2200 Manor Rd. will close for good by December 17, 2023. He promises that they will try to stay open as close to that date as possible to give longtime patrons one final chance to pay their respects to the 17-year-old business while the they help its employees find other gigs.
“Our highest priority in this is to take care of them and give them time to both say goodbye to our community and to find good jobs elsewhere. And of course we’d like to give the neighborhood and our long-time supporters a chance to come say goodbye. A lot of life has happened here. Indeed, I met my wife here years ago and you can bet we’ll have a final date ourselves. It’s been almost 20 years of Thunderbird. That’s been a whole half a life for me and many others.” McElroy says.
McElroy, who also co-owns both Bird Bird Biscuit and Love Supreme Pizza Bar on Manor Road, cites the pandemic’s negative effect on his business as one of the reasons for the cafe’s closure and is uncertain of what the space will hold next. “We have a few ideas but nothing fleshed out. It’s a big emotional experience to close Thunderbird. I’m sure we’ll do something fun here down the road. Right now I’m just focusing on closing Thunderbird right. It’s been a great place for a lot of folks, and it deserves a graceful exit.”
This closure marks the end of the Thunderbird Coffee era in Austin. The original shop opened on Koenig Lane in 2006; McElroy and his partners converted it to a second location of Bird Bird Biscuit in October 2021. McElroy joined Clementine coffee shop on Manor in 2007 and converted it to Thunderbird in 2008.
Thunderbird Coffee's hours are 7am to 2pm daily until December 17.
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