Ten Restaurants to Watch in Austin & San Antonio in 2015

Austin and San Antonio are favorite spots for restaurants looking to broaden their reach. And, whether they’re new concepts or old favorites, both cities are putting their money where their mouths are and embracing the expansions. Here's 10 restaurants on the grow, according to The Weitzman Group’s Britt Morrison. As in all major Texas metros, restaurants are often clustering together to create destinations. In San Antonio, restaurants are a huge driver behind the success of the retail space at The Pearl mixed-use redevelopment, he tells us. A lot of the national folks he’s spoken to like Austin because of the amount of discretionary income. Couple that with the young, well educated, high-income professionals and you have a big draw for restaurant owners because it means instead of eating out once or twice a week, Austinites are eating out four or five times weekly.

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1) In-N-Out and 2) P. Terry’s

Britt says without a doubt, In-N-Out (pictured) is about as high-profile as it gets for an expanding the quick-serve concept. It’s working on an urban Austin location on South Lamar at the site of an old Wendy’s as part of its expansion plans here, he tells us. P. Terry’s is a very similar concept based in Austin as well. It’s averaging two to three new Austin deals annually and is quickly becoming one of In-N-Out’s largest competitors in Austin.

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3) Torchys and 4) Tacodeli

The hottest local concepts continue to be in the taco category, Britt says. Torchy’s (pictured) has been on a roll with new locations, but now Roberto Espinosa and Eric Wilkerson’s locally born Tacodeli is in the midst of one of its biggest expansions in years.

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5) Hasler Bros and 6) Capital Grille

Last year saw new locations for steakhouses, too, with a local concept, Hasler Bros at Hill Country Galleria. The other was the first for Capital Grille (pictured), a high-end concept from Darden that opened at the site of the old Spaghetti Warehouse downtown. More may be on the horizon, as well.

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7) Pieology 8) Mod Pizza and 9) Matteo’s Pizza

An emphasis on fresher, healthier ingredients is appealing to customers, too, Britt says. California-based Pieology (pictured) is finding strong acceptance here because it offers a popular concept – pizza – made with higher-quality ingredients and a focus on healthy customizable pies. Mod Pizza and Matteo’s Pizza are also active and signing a number of deals throughout Austin. All are between 1,800 and 3k SF and are active in Austin proper and larger suburban areas like Cedar Park, Round Rock and San Marcos.

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8) Black’s 9) Kreuz’s and 10) Coopers

Britt’s favorite is also on the grow with probably the most expansive concept of them all: barbecue. Black’s (pictured) is opening two locations and on the horizon, look for new sites from Kreuz’s, Coopers, and maybe more. He tells us he’s already working with several concepts, including fast-casual concepts from out of state that are looking to make their mark in Austin and/or San Antonio. However, the local retail market has a limited amount of available space, so sometimes, “the biggest issue is not finding someone who wants to locate here; it’s finding the right place to put them,” he tells us.