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Community Impact •

The Grumpy Grouper

Many residents who drive by The Grumpy Grouper automatically assume it is a seafood restaurant, owner Doug Renshaw said. However, if they were to step inside the building, that notion would be quickly dispelled.
The Grumpy Grouper is actually a restaurant and bar that often offers live evening music with no cover charge.
“The whole reason I started in the bar industry is because I felt like people should not have to pay to hear good music,” Renshaw said.
Renshaw, who also owns the Edge of T...
Community Impact •

Blenders and Bowls

When Kara Jordan and Erin Downing moved to Austin from Hawaii and California, respectively, Jordan said they felt one major thing was missing from their newly found hometown—acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) bowls.
So, the lifelong best friends quickly got to work creating Blenders and Bowls’ original smoothie and acai bowl menu in a shared apartment, she said.
After starting with a food truck in Austin and then opening a location downtown, they now have a second location in West Lake Hills that...
Community Impact •

Five Star Jewelry Brokers & Gemologists

Creating unique and special pieces of jewelry is a part of everyday business at Five Star Jewelry Brokers & Gemologists in Rollingwood, owner Mary Weber said. One day the staff may be resetting a ring for a 30-year wedding anniversary and the next day designing earrings for a couple’s wedding day, she said.
The business focuses on diamond and precious gem sales, appraisals and jewelry creation.
“We design [jewelry pieces] using computer-aided design and can email our customers [renderings of]...
Community Impact •

Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen

When Four Points’ Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen was built, the Italian restaurant’s wood-burning pizza oven was constructed, and the remainder of the building added around it.
“[The oven] burns 24/7,” Napa Flats managing partner Dana Dupree said. “We lit [the oven] a couple of a days before we opened, and it has continued to burn ever since.”
Napa Flats began in College Station, and the RR 620 restaurant, which opened in January, is the Texas chain’s newest undertaking.
The restaurant’s fire-...
Community Impact •

Austin Boat Concierge

Bodie Ostrander said he tries to never have a day go by in which he is not around water. So when he started Austin Boat Concierge in 2011, the company was the perfect combination of business and pleasure for the Austin-area native.
His company caters to and supplies whatever boat and lake house customers may need—including stocking coolers for a day out on the lake, detailing boats, repairing dock lights, providing surfboard and wakeboard rentals, and offering captain’s services if customers do...
Community Impact •

Austin Burrito Co.

When Bryan Walker first opened Austin Burrito Co. in December—located in the Shops at the Galleria—he said he quickly realized the unique challenges restaurateurs face. He spent 22 years working in the tech industry.
“It was such a new concept, where we make everything in-house,” Bryan said. “There was no blueprint to go off of.”
Austin Burrito Co. operates unlike many other fast-food Mexican options. The restaurant does not freeze its meats, and all sauces, marinades, tortillas, and guacamo...
Community Impact •

Oasthouse Gastropub

Although Oasthouse Gastropub opened in a space that formerly housed a sports bar, the restaurant’s atmosphere is intended to be the opposite of a typical chicken wings and beer joint. The eatery opened in November in the Trails at 620 shopping center.
The word “oasthouse” was first used to describe the buildings where hops were dried as part of the brewing process, said managing partner Jeff Cox.
And although the restaurant’s name will soon be changed to “Oasthouse Kitchen and Bar” to deter pe...
Community Impact •

Tumble Tech

When Danielle Wills was looking for a tumbling-only program last year for her son, Jake, she said there were none to be found in the Austin area.
“He didn’t want to do the other parts of gymnastics or do cheerleading, but just tumbling,” she said. “I started asking other parents, and I saw the definite need [for a tumbling program].”
In December, her idea came to fruition when she opened Tumble Tech, a program devoted to power and competitive tumbling.
Although Danielle does not tumble, she...
Community Impact •

RecruitHER

With 20 years of combined experience in the technology and recruiting industries, Gina Helfrich and Ashley Doyal said they know how technology companies operate. So, when the two colleagues realized a need to connect new and existing technology companies with talented, diverse candidates, they launched Rollingwood human resources company RecruitHER in August.
“It’s much easier to [assemble a staff] from the beginning, and we’d like companies to have it be an initial thought,” Doyal said. “It’s...