The bar has been physically uprooted and moved three times in 26 years; the CBD spot will be its fourth. It was chased from its previous site at Cesar Chavez Street and Lamar Boulevard by anticipated construction by Lumbermen's Investment Corp. Since closing there in November, the bar literally has been sitting on a south Austin lot waiting for its fate to be decided.
The Cedar Door, whose signature drink is a margarita shaken like a martini, joins a lineup of swanky restaurants--Roy's, P.F. Chang's and Fleming's Steakhouse--that have opened near the convention center in recent months. Next door to the bar is a 222-room Hampton Inn and Suites hotel, due to open in September.
Although the Cedar Door will have some renovations, mainly to its outdoor deck, it will remain the Austin institution it's become, says Kurt VanderMuelen, the NAI/Commercial Industrial Properties Co. broker who arranged the move. Unlike many of the competition, Austin is the only Cedar Door location, he says.
VanderMuelen says he's been seeking a spot for the bar for months. A south Austin location, near a school, ran into zoning trouble. Someone in his office mentioned the Brazos and Second location and VanderMuelen checked it out as did Steve Potts, the bar's owner. "We don't have to worry about zoning issues, there's good foot traffic with office buildings all around and it's right in the developing retail corridor on Second Street," VanderMuelen says.
The Cedar Door's corner spot, now a parking lot, is about 17,500 sf. The owner is J17 Fortune LP. The Austin architectural firm Graeber, Simmons & Cowan is handling the renovation.
The new home near the convention center is almost a homecoming for the Cedar Door. A previous location had been a First Street (now Cesar Chavez) overlooking Waller Creek. It was displaced by the convention center.
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