Bold. Brave. Colorful and a touch theatrical. This is the vision Shannon Sedwick said she dreamed up for Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe, a South Austin honky-tonk that serves Southern-style comfort food at its location on Ben White Boulevard.

“We just thought, ‘Yes, let’s promote our cowgirl instincts,’” said owner Shannon Sedwick, who opened the restaurant with Michael Shelton in 2007. “Cowgirls are brave, and they’re an imaginative thing. We wanted to create a place that was part of the neighborhood and that gives a sense of theatricality.”

She said the portraits of cowgirls and murals of rugged landscapes covering the walls of the South Austin spot were commissioned by local artists Neil Cronk and Kerry Awn. A daily happy hour and almost nightly live music draw a following of loyal customers, she said.

“We have people who come here every day,” Sedwick said. “You’ve got to cultivate your regulars and make them happy. So our food is aimed at what our regulars really like.”

Patsy’s Cafe offers an expansive menu, centered around Southern comfort food and Tex-Mex favorites, Sedwick said. Sandwiches named after Texas greats, such as the Sandra Bullock and the Vince Young burger, are popular items. Chicken-fried steak smothered in cracked pepper gravy and jalapeno-and-cayenne-infused fish tacos are also best-sellers, she said.

Sedwick shared dreams of expanding more than just the menu. Also the owner of Esther’s Follies, a variety entertainment-style theater in downtown Austin, Sedwick has started nearly half a dozen Austin-area restaurants and clubs. A second location of Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe could be on the horizon, she said.

“We decided we wanted to do it and that we could, and therefore we did,” Sedwick said, reflecting on her decision to open multiple businesses in the area.

The loyal customer base at Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe suggests that a pinch of zest and a dash of theatricality is just what South Austinites crave in a local honky-tonk, Sedwick said.