Sarah Koslosky, owner of bistro and bakery Ovenbird ATX, brings food that celebrates her German-Lithuanian heritage to the Austin community.

Meet the owner

Ovenbird opened on South Congress Avenue in March 2021. Koslosky started the business out of her house in 2018, selling home-cooked meals to co-workers, friends and family.

She spent about eight years managing corporate kitchens and teams for Austin-based grocer Whole Foods, but knew she wanted to pursue her own business.

She has never been classically trained, but a passion for learning has driven her culinary endeavors. She said her first memory of food was peeling carrots with her mother when she was 5.


Koslosky keeps a small library of Ukrainian, Russian and Lithuanian cookbooks, and uses Google Translate to read food blogs in other languages.

“A personal fascination of mine is food history,” Koslosky said. “I think that so many people are chasing what's new in the culinary scene, and I personally like to celebrate what's old and where we came from. So I like to look at things that I grew up with as a little girl and things that were important to me in my childhood and find ways to bring those into my culinary persona today.”

What's on the menu

Koslosky’s heritage is reflected in Ovenbird’s menu offerings and pastry case with items like sochniki, a Ukrainian cheese-stuffed cookie, and franzbrotchen, a German cinnamon roll.


Bistro items like hoppel poppel, a German breakfast hash, plus subtle Eastern European influences such as marble rye tortillas for breakfast tacos, comprise Ovenbird’s “Tex-Baltic fusion.”
The overnight oats ($12) include oats, chai-poached pears, ginger granola, dried cranberries, brandy snap tuile, coconut whip and orange zest. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
The overnight oats ($12) include oats, chai-poached pears, ginger granola, dried cranberries, brandy snap tuile, coconut whip and orange zest. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
“Finding ways to introduce my Austin community to a little bit of my home and my cooking and where I came from has been a real treat and real privilege, especially to see the interest that's generated,” Koslosky said.

Weekends bring Ovenbird’s brunch menu, featuring items like biscuits and gravy, quiche and cider-braised pork with spatzle, a German egg pasta. A drink menu with coffee, tea, cocktails, wine and beer is also offered.
The hoppel poppel ($20) is a German breakfast hash with bell peppers, smoked onions, fried potatoes, sirloin steak, Russian dressing and egg. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
What’s in a name

Koslosky knew she wanted her place to be named so it was not immediately obvious what it offered. The poem “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost about a bird named after its oven-shaped nest inspired her.

Nearly four years after Ovenbird’s opening, Koslosky said she has been blessed with a collaborative staff and a strong connection with the South Austin community.


“I always think of the song ‘Almost There’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog.’ That's me. ...” Koslosky said. “At the end of the day, I've shown to myself that [Ovenbird] is worth everything, and I pick her time and time again.”