The owners are different, but the venue will be much of the same for the legendary cafe that characterized Austin in the 1950s and 1960s. As most people in town are aware, Bob Cole, a well-known local radio personality, has teamed with Steve Cartwright, a bar-b-cue restaurant owner in Bastrop and Elgin, for the project. Hill's Cafe had opened in 1947 and closed its doors in 1988 at the height of the state's downturn.

Work has been under way since June, when the Goodnight family had inked a 20-year lease for the 10,000-sf building with Cole and Cartwright. "We really felt they had an understanding of Austin and what made the restaurant unique," Dean Goodnight tells GlobeSt.com. "We really hope to maintain this as an Austin original."

Through the years, the building has had several uses and several offers, says the owner of Goodnight Properties, which also maintains its office in the structure. For years, a catering business continued to use the kitchen for off-premises catering trucks for construction sites.