With the great success of restaurants prior behind them, the partners have plans to open yet another restaurant: a high-end omakase restaurant called Shokunin in Dripping Springs later this fall. “That is around the time that Margarita and I decided that this is where we wanted to make our home going forward.”
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“Austin was so amazing in wanting to support us that I felt responsible to stay until everyone had the opportunity to dine with us, so we kept prolonging and prolonging our pop-up until eventually, it became apparent that we needed to just make it permanent,” Lee said. The pop-up was so successful, that they opened up a waitlist and decided to put down roots. The pair dipped into Austin in December 2020 for a five-week pop-up after the California government shut down outdoor dining for the second time. A nearby Colorado Street space that houses two other gay bars, Coconut Grove and Grotto, would be. “Pasta Bar has been a runaway success and we just continue to be so grateful to this city and everyone here for making us feel at home and supporting us,” former Top Chef contestant Lee told Austonia.Ī longtime team together, Lee and Kallas-Lee first met in middle school before reconnecting in their early 20s and starting their lives, and businesses, together. Rain, a neighboring LGBTQ fixture in the Warehouse District, would not be affected by the project.
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The poster confirmed that there are new owners and a rebranding in the works, referring to the bar as “the space you remember as Oilcans.” Drag shows and special events will continue “for a limited time.” Eater has reached out for details, watch this space for updates.Scratch Restaurants chefs, owners and married couple Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee opened Pasta|Bar, 1017 East Sixth St., for business as of March 13, shortly before welcoming a new daughter in April. Update, 10/8: Per a post on Rain on 4th’s Facebook page, which was then cross-posted to Oilcan Harry’s Instagram, the bar has been re-opened with all former staff re-hired. Austins longtime favorite gay video and cruise bar, Oilcan Harrys is set. Over on its Facebook page, the last post notes that the bar isn’t hosting its Super Sunday Diva Show because of “unforeseen circumstances.” The show is relocating to next-door gay bar Rain on Fourth. The front lounge at Austins popular gay bar, Rain on 4th, is a nice spot to. Language about Oilcan being sold no longer appears on the page instead, it was replaced by “shut down suddenly.” In the past two days, the crowdfunding campaign, organized by Kelly Kline, has exceeded its goal with $13,605 as of publishing time.Ĭhronicle also reported that Oilcan Harry’s, which opened in 1990, is currently on TABC’s delinquent list, which means it owes money to its liquor sellers. The GoFundMe page mentioned that there was supposed to be a “transition” with a “new beginning” for the club that the staffers were aware of.
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Eater has reached out to Oilcan Harry’s and the organizers of the GoFundMe page for more information watch this space for updates. However, a GoFundMe page created for the bar’s now-former staffers claimed that the bar’s closure happened out of nowhere, that they “all showed up to work one day to find a sign that the business was closed and were no longer with jobs.” It also asserted that some employees were either not paid for several weeks or received paychecks that had bounced. There is a notice on the doors of the building that says that the bar is “currently closed for repairs and maintenance,” according to the Chronicle. Oilcan Harry’s, the gay nightclub on 211 West 4th Street in downtown Austin, appears to be closed.