Mike Farr, owner of The Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre, had planned on moving his popular outdoor live music venue to Round Rock by the spring, but plans have changed.

“What has happened is, the more that I have gotten in there and looked at the site, the more excited I am about some of the things that we can do that will be unlike any other venue in Texas,” Farr said.

Nutty Brown Cafe announced in August 2015 plans to relocate from its current location at 12225 W. Hwy 290 in Dripping Springs to Round Rock because the original site is slated to become an H-E-B at a yet-to-determined date.

When he purchased The Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre 15 years ago, Farr said it was a mom-and-pop cafe and grew organically into the 3,800-person live music venue. The anticipated move to Round Rock has given him the opportunity to create the new Nutty Brown from the ground up with a design that Farr said originated from years of on-the-job failures and successes.

Some of the features of the new Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre will include a gradual slope that will optimize the view of the expanded stage in addition to a greater number of seating options, such as air-conditioned VIP boxes that live stream stage performances.

The new venue location at McNeil Park at 3701 N. I-35 in Round Rock, will hold up to 6,000 spectators, opening Nutty Brown Cafe up to a greater variety of touring acts, according to Farr, in an area that he said is underserved when it comes to live music. But despite the increase in size, Farr hopes that the intimate feel of the original Nutty Brown will carry over to the new site.

The concept and design has been complete, he said, and the next step is to work with the city of Round Rock to solidify the development plan. The new Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre in Round Rock is expected to be ready by spring 2018. Until then, the venue is planning its final season of live music at the current Dripping Springs location.

Farr said he is excited about becoming part of the Round Rock community.

“We are extremely community oriented, and we will be that in Round Rock,” he said. “We will dive in head first into the community of Round Rock and do everything we can to support it.”