More Java News
Had a chat with Austin Java Company CEO Greg Cooper the other day about all the news surrounding his very popular business these days. He explained that rather than “buying” Austin Java, Ted Karam and his Igloo Group bought into the fast-growing local restaurant start-up, becoming one of more than 20 members of the corporation that owns the restaurants. The Igloo Group, however, will be an active participant with Austin Java, involved in systems and operations. Look for the newest Austin Java to open in Barton Creek Square mall this week in the former L’Opera location. The new space will afford them a patio with a dynamite view of the downtown skyline. The interiors were designed by an American Institute of Architects award-winning architect, and they have a window in the mall for selling their signature desserts and coffee drinks to weary shoppers. Could be just the thing to make a hit in Westlake.
Pearl’s Is Back!
Back in the late Eighties, a restaurant called Pearl’s Oyster Bar was the only place in North Austin to enjoy an evening of live musical entertainment with an affordable dinner and a full bar. Then Pearl’s suffered a disastrous fire, reopened with a somewhat different image, and finally closed a few years back. Well, this must be one of those cases where you just can’t keep a good gal down, because the operation has been reborn as Mother of Pearl’s (9033 Research #100, 719-4455). The new joint has a colorful, festive Mardi Gras decor, a very affordable Cajun-Creole menu ($4.95-11.95), and treats like all-day and -night happy hour Monday-Wednesday. And while it’s always a reliable spot for a business lunch, Mother of Pearl’s is still the only place in North Austin where you can enjoy an evening of live musical entertainment with dinner.
Catalog Shopping to Fight Hunger
The season’s most interesting gift catalog is from the Heifer Project International (800/422-0755, http://www.heifer.org). Based on the old adage that giving a man a fish feeds him for a day but teaching him to fish feeds him for a lifetime, this Christian nonprofit organization has been distributing livestock and agricultural training to hungry families around the world for more than 50 years. The shopper purchases a gift animal or a share in a gift animal in honor of someone on their Christmas list, and in return a hungry family receives the animal and the honoree receives a gift card and information about how the gift made in their honor has changed someone’s life. The animals vary in prices, with dairy heifers and water buffalo being the most expensive, and pigs, goats, llamas and sheep in the moderate range, and trios of rabbits, flocks of chicks, and hives of bees that are very affordable. Groups, clubs, or congregations can opt for the Gift Ark ($5,000) loaded with cows, oxen, sheep, water buffalo, goats, camels, llamas, donkeys, pigs, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, geese, chicks, and bees, two by two, of course. This could be just the right gift for the person on your list who already has everything.
This article appears in December 10 • 1999.