10 New Austin Venues for Spring 2019 Meetings and Events

An old union hall is now the Carpenter Hotel, a stylish ranch-inspired, vintage-theme boutique that opened in October. The terracotta block building in the back houses 93 guest rooms. For events, the Zilker hotel has a Quonset hut, which provides covered-yet-al fresco event space that hold about 70 guests. The grounds include Texas comfort food restaurant Carpenters Hall and café the Hot L Coffee, with food from chef Grae Nonas.

Upscale restaurant Tillie’s made its debut within Dripping Springs resort Camp Lucy in October. The beautiful 1,800-square-foot dining room is actually a repurposed 200-year-old town hall that came from Vietnam. There’s also a 20-seat private dining room with audiovisual capabilities, as well as a patio. The main dining room and patio combined seats 75 guests. The American Nouveau menu from executive chef Brandon Martin applies international influences to Texas fare and the wine list boasts over 200 labels.

Texas jewelry designer Kendra Scott opened a flagship store, café, and event space in the South Congress district in November. The refurbished house features detail goods, a large front porch with lounge furniture and patterned flooring and ceiling, and a café complete with baked goods and treats from local female chefs, as well as wine. Measuring more than 3,100 square feet, the space can hold as many as 150 people for reception-style events.

The three-acre land where boutique hotel and restaurant the Wayback Café and Cottages in Dripping Springs once belonged to Willie Nelson and Janis Joplin. The Hill Country property, which opened in December, features plentiful outdoor spaces, including a grove of oak trees, front and back lawns, bonfire areas, a saltwater pool, and a freestanding cabana with a bar. The restaurant highlights executive chef Austin Alavrez’s American-style farm-to-table menu and seats 40, plus there’s a drive-thru coffee bar. Elsewhere on the grounds are eight cottages for overnight guests. When tented, the grounds can hold seated events for 150 guests.

Collective Retreats Hill Country operates as a seasonal glamping retreat on the organic farm Montesino Ranch along the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas. It debuted last fall and stays open from late September to early June. The retreat consists of 12 overnight luxury tents with high-end amenities (think 1,500 thread-count linens, French press coffee bar, in-tent bathrooms, and massages), all with a bohemian aesthetic with textiles, rugs, and blankets. Activities include swimming, kayaking, floating the river in tubes, cooking classes, and more. The kitchen, overseen by executive chef William Howell, focuses on farm-to-table produce and meats, like outdoor roasts, breakfast tacos, barbecue shrimp and grits, plus more. A 1,000-square-foot indoor event space, Three Peaks, accommodates about 70 guests and has a terrace, Wi-Fi, and audiovisual capabilities.

Downtown Austin beer garden and bakery Easy Tiger opened up a second, larger space in Hyde Park in December. There’s a full-service kitchen and bakery, which whips up the same beloved dishes and drinks: sausages, cured meats, baked goods from head dough puncher David Norman, beers, and cocktails. The 600-square-foot private mezzanine has audiovisual capabilities, including a 75-inch television. The 6,500-square-foot patio features its own bar, covered seating, heaters, fans, misters, and two ping-pong tables. The property can accommodate events of as many as 550 guests.

Austin’s Clarksville neighborhood welcomed new restaurant Bar Peached from Eric Silverstein in January. The 3,477-square-foot, bi-level restaurant, which focuses on a fusion of Asian, Tex-Mex, and Southern comfort food from executive chef Stephani O’Connor, features a massive outdoor area spanning an additional 2,000 square feet. Beverage director Kevin Kok curated a large bar program with cocktails, wine, and beer. The basement-level private dining room, which seats about 40 or holds 60 for receptions, includes a projection screen. Throughout the restaurant is a speaker system.

Homewood Suites by Hilton Austin Downtown opened in January near the Austin Convention Center. The hotel’s first-floor meeting room, which measures 884 square feet and fits 50 people, features a built-in screen, LCD projector, 55-inch television, a sound system, Wi-Fi, and outside catering capabilities. Elsewhere, there are 150 guest suites consisting of studios and single bedrooms, plus full kitchens, and there’s a grocery shopping service.

New distillery Goodnight Loving Vodka opened its tasting room and vodka garden in March. Along with the booze, the space features mid-century modern furniture with textiles from West Texas shop Garza Marfa, tiles from Clay Imports, and local designers. The tasting room measures 1,000 square feet, and the vodka garden adds another 2,500 square feet. The venue can hold 150 guests for events.

A massive restaurant and beer garden on entertainment district Rainey Street, Banger's Sausage House and Beer Garden has expanded. There’s a new outdoor beer bar featuring 101 draft beer taps, a new smokehouse with a focus on whole-hog barbecue, additional patios, and a charcuterie room. There’s also a 300-person private event space outfitted with pig wallpaper that has a private bar serving full cocktails. The expansion debuted in November.