Hooch & Company will open in late 2015 above Wahoo's Fish Taco and Dirty Bill's on Rio Grande Street.[/caption]
Wahoo's Fish Taco and
Dirty Bill's on Rio Grande Street will both be closed for renovations that begin in late May.
The remodeling project will last about 60 to 90 days, with both business reopening in August, said Gary Della Croce, managing partner for Wahoo's. The Wahoo's at 509 Rio Grande St. will reopen about the same time the restaurant's other location at 1722 S. Congress Ave. closes, he said.
La Barbecue will take over the South Congress location of Wahoo's in November, resulting in the closure of the barbecue eatery's East Austin food truck, Della Croce said. Responding to
recent neighborhood complaints about smoke from the La Barbecue pits, owner LeAnn Mueller said she plans to keep the barbecue pits on the roof of the restaurant's first brick-and-mortar location.
Work on Wahoo's Fish Taco location on Rio Grande Street will make the space slightly smaller but give the restaurant a more modern surf shop feel, Della Croce said. The team will still focus on providing options at competitive prices, Wahoo's also wants to offer a nicer space for the downtown dinner crowd, he said.
"The neighborhood has changed so much. We feel the night-time guest has made different choices, and we would like to appeal to that," Della Croce said via email. "We will also be focusing on more frozen drinks in our bar with some fun new twists on old drink recipes."
A representative for Dirty Bill's could not be reached prior to publishing this story to learn details about the business's anticipated renovations.
New venue space called
Hooch & Company will open on Rio Grande Street at the end of the year and include an indoor and outdoor bar, Della Croce said. The space will be located above Wahoo's Fish Taco and Dirty Bill's and operate as a daily bar destination as well as a venue space for music performances or private functions.
Hooch & Company will feature various games, such as ping pong, shuffle board, basketball and bingo as well as a live music stage on the second floor of the building, Della Croce said. The building's third floor, the second floor for Hooch & Company's space, will be slightly smaller and offer a bar and patios around the structure that feature views.