Two addresses on the 1400 block of South Congress Avenue tell the story of this year. At 1400, Perla's Seafood & Oyster Bar has been closed since a fire on the evening of Sept. 6. At 1403, an 1877 Victorian is being turned into a restaurant that isn't expected to open until next year.
A few blocks west, South First Street spent the same year filling storefronts. A Tex-Mex cantina opened in February. A tapas bar opened in March, and so did a vintage shop. A French café came in May. In September, a sushi bar moved over from South Congress because it needed more room. For Bouldin Creek, 2026's new places to eat happened on South First.
The 1400 Block of South Congress Is on Pause
Perla's has been part of South Congress since 2009. Chefs Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman Jr. founded it, MML Hospitality owns it, and the Austin American-Statesman named it newcomer of the year in 2012.
The Statesman's report on the fire says Austin Fire Department crews got the call at 6:14 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, and took nearly two hours to put the fire out. The department said it started in the vent hood system, traveled up through the roof and affected every floor of the building. No one from the restaurant was hurt. A Perla's spokesperson told the paper the cause couldn't be determined yet, and that the restaurant hoped to reopen promptly but would stay closed until repairs were done. In its September openings and closings roundup, published Oct. 1, the Statesman still listed Perla's as closed indefinitely, with no reopening date.
The same roundup reported a second South Congress closing. Taste of Ethiopia's South Congress location closed at the end of September after nearly a decade. The owners cited rising grocery and operating costs plus the higher rent a new lease would bring. Their Pflugerville location stays open.
On the same block, the next change will take longer. Community Impact reported in August that the Bergen-Todd House at 1403 S. Congress Ave., a City of Austin landmark built in 1877, will become Connie's. The plan includes a seasonal menu, an outdoor brunch and a patio. Co-owner Dustin Minium told the outlet he wants the restaurant to be "South Congress' backyard."
The project is large. A state licensing filing lists it as "Connie's Last Stand" with an estimated cost of $3 million and construction slated to begin in late September. The house's original 2,244-square-foot floor plan stays, and an outdoor bar, bathroom and kitchen will go up as separate buildings around the edge of the lot. The target opening is late summer or early fall 2027. That means the block likely heads through the holidays and spring with one restaurant waiting on repairs and the other waiting on a project aimed at a 2027 opening.
Where the Year's Openings Went
The openings were spread across South First, from De Nada Cantina at 1302 to Boni's at 1805. Here they are in street-number order:
| Address | Business | What it is | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1302 S. First St. | De Nada Cantina | Tex-Mex, tacos and margaritas, late-night menu | Feb. 22, 2026 |
| 1417 S. First St. | Neighborhood Sushi | Sushi and yakitori, moved from South Congress | Reported Oct. 1, 2026 |
| 1628 S. First St. | Very Cherry Vintage | Vintage decor and trinkets | March 21, 2026 grand opening |
| 1804 S. First St. | Swedish Hill | Bakery and café | May 15, 2025 |
| 1805 S. First St. | Boni's Bar Next Door | Tapas and cocktail bar beside Lenoir | March 6, 2026 |
Swedish Hill opened in 2025, so it isn't 2026 news. It's on the list because Boni's opened at 1805, the next street number up, which put a morning stop and an evening stop on the same block.
Alice Poulain Café joined the street in May. Julian Buscicchio and Sebastian Menard opened it as a Parisian-style patisserie, with quiches, daily pastries, imported wines and cheeses, a full Parisian breakfast, and omelettes, sandwiches and charcuterie later in the day. Community Impact covered the opening, which was announced May 14.
The Sushi Bar That Crossed Over
The clearest sign of where South Congress businesses are headed comes from MML Hospitality, the group that owns Perla's. Its only sushi restaurant in Austin, Neighborhood Sushi, moved off South Congress to 1417 S. First St. According to the Statesman, the new space has more seating, a bigger bar and outdoor space. Executive Chef Jorge Garcia still runs the kitchen, with nigiri, sashimi, rolls and hand rolls as the core of the menu. Yakitori is the part that's growing, with Wagyu, grilled king trumpet mushrooms, asparagus and chicken oysters on skewers.
The reason given for the move was space. The restaurant wanted more seats, a longer bar and room outdoors, and it found them on South First. Taste of Ethiopia left South Congress over the cost of a new lease. Together, the two moves show what South Congress offered this year. One business needed more room than its spot had, and the other couldn't justify the higher rent to stay. No tenant or plan for Neighborhood Sushi's old South Congress space had been reported as of mid-October.
South First Changed Hands, Too
Not everything on South First was growth. Little Mexico closed in February 2026, so the street had its own closing this year.
The street's biggest change was a handoff. El Mercado closed its South Austin location on Dec. 17 after 40 years. About two months later, 2 Dine 4 Hospitality Group reopened the building at 1302 S. First St. as the second De Nada Cantina. The original opened off East Cesar Chavez Street in 2021. The new location serves tacos, margaritas in pink cups, happy hour specials and a late-night menu. El Mercado still runs its North Austin location off Burnet Road.
That's why South First's 2026 activity is a different story from what happened on South Congress. When a South First restaurant closed after a long run, a new operator moved in within weeks. On the 1400 block of South Congress, both addresses are waiting, one on repairs and the other on a project with a 2027 target opening.
Boni's shows what a smaller opening can do for a block. It's a tapas bar next to Lenoir, which Community Impact describes as Michelin-recommended. Cocktails run $12 to $15, Spanish wines start at $10 a glass, and there's cider, draft beer, non-alcoholic drinks and espresso. The menu has BBQ-spiced pork rinds, a pickle bowl and oysters. A bar designed for before or after dinner gives the 1800 block a place to wait for a table, have a drink after, or skip dinner and just snack.
An Evening on South First
Here's a route through the new places, north to south, using only addresses that are open now:
- De Nada Cantina, 1302 S. First St. Happy hour tacos and a margarita in the former El Mercado building.
- Neighborhood Sushi, 1417 S. First St. Sit at the bigger bar and order from the new yakitori list.
- Very Cherry Vintage, 1628 S. First St. A stop for decor and trinkets, if you're out while the shop is open.
- Boni's Bar Next Door, 1805 S. First St. A $10 glass of Spanish wine and the pickle bowl to finish.
For a weekend morning, South First has Swedish Hill at 1804 S. First St. and Alice Poulain Café's Parisian breakfast plate, with toast, jam, a croissant, scrambled eggs, orange juice and coffee.
In early November, the Austin Food & Wine Festival runs Nov. 6 through 8 at Auditorium Shores, at the north end of the neighborhood. South First runs south from the festival grounds, so it's an easy place to keep going once the festival closes for the night.
If you're thinking about which parts of Bouldin Creek and Travis Heights sit closest to the blocks that changed this year, we know this corridor address by address. Schedule Your Austin Consultation with Kinan Beck, One Source Team, and we'll walk through it with you.
