Austin, TX
Italian Cafe Uncle Nicky’s Opens in South Austin With Pastas and Spritzes
An Austin Italian cafe is finally opening its South Austin expansion this month. Uncle Nicky’s will open in the South Lamar neighborhood at 2121 South Lamar Boulevard starting on Saturday, June 22.
The South Austin Uncle Nicky’s will function in the same way as its original Hyde Park counterpart, both from co-owners Nic Yanes (Italian restaurant Juniper) and Travis Tober (neighborhood bar Nickel City, the forthcoming hotel pool bar Swim Club).
Expect a fast-casual service with an all-day casual food and drinks menu. For dishes, expect sandwiches like the breakfast sandwich made with Taylor ham, fried egg, cheese, and ketchup served on a kaiser roll; or the roasted porchetta. Then there are pastas like the baked pepperoni rigatoni and the vegetarian lasagna, and snacks like stuffed peppers and pesto artichoke hearts. The cafe also serves what it calls daily brunch (aka breakfast) with items like small ricotta pancakes and the Eggs Nicky, with poached eggs, prosciutto, a fontina hollandaise, and focaccia. Desserts include vanilla custards with flavor options, cannolis, and tiramisu.
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The Italian cafe-style extends into the drinks, with loads of negronis, spritzes, and espresso cocktails. There’s a take on the negroni, the Tropic Thunder, with a coconut-washed rum, Aperol, banana liqueur, sweet vermouth, and tiki bitters; its Uncle Nicky’s Spritz, with gin, an herbal liqueur, a grapefruit cordial, and prosecco; the Oaxacan Espresso with a coco nib-infused mezcal, a Spanish vanilla liqueur, a bitter coffee liqueur, espresso, and mint; and the Garibaldi with frozen Campari and fluffy orange juice. There are also coffees, wines, and beers.
Yanes and Tober opened the first Uncle Nicky’s in 2019 in the Hyde Park neighborhood, taking over what had been gelato shop Dolce Vita. They expanded into Central East Austin within the former Hotel Eleven-now Frances Modern Inn in 2020, but shuttered it in late 2022 with the goal of reopening elsewhere in South Austin. They announced this South Lamar location in July 2024. Yanes and Tober also work together at New York-styled bar Murray’s Tavern, which opened in late 2023.
Uncle Nicky’s South Lamar hours will be from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
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AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders gathered on East 11th Street on Juneteenth to celebrate the “Black Artists Matter” mural before it must be removed under an order from the Texas Department of Transportation. The mural and the city’s rainbow crosswalk are slated for removal in compliance with a Texas Department of Transportation directive requiring cities to remove political ideologies from roadways. Last October, Gov. Greg Abbott directed TxDOT to enforce the policy.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson stood on the blocked-off street where the yellow letters spelling “Black Artists Matter” are painted on the roadway’s surface. “We will never forget that when the state decided to target our murals, the community stood together to celebrate our city’s diversity, spirit, and creativity,” Watson said.
Watson criticized the state’s actions, saying, “The state government engages in negative rhetoric and threats, it targets communities that it disagrees with and seeks retribution.”
In response to the order, Watson formed the Public Spaces Task Force to identify other ways to celebrate diversity in Austin.
ALSO| Screwworm medications straining animal shelter budgets across Texas
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Daphne McDole, chief executive officer of the African American Cultural Heritage District and a member of the task force, said she wanted the event held on Juneteenth because of its significance. “I wanted to do it on Juneteenth, it was significant to me because I knew that that was the day my community would be in the district. We will be celebrating over here all day, so it was appropriate,” McDole said.
Task force members said they are exploring alternatives to honor East Austin’s history and diversity. They noted that city leaders in San Antonio created rainbow sidewalks after removing rainbow crosswalks, but said Austin will pursue its own approach.
Task force chair Steven Rivas said the community is focused on preserving the meaning behind the markings. “We chose to come together as a community and find a way to respect what these markings mean and build upon them. If we can’t have them in the street, we’re going to put them off the street,” Rivas said.
AUSTIN, Texas — The screwworm outbreak is having a major impact on animal shelter budgets across Texas. Instant kill and preventative medications for dogs and cats are an unprecedented expense.
Paul is a rescue dog from South Texas, where he was living on the streets and starving. He is now at Austin Pets Alive! getting Screwworm prevention medication and the treatment he needs to get healthy.
“Any dog that enters our shelter period, but especially if they look like this, we are going over them with a fine-tooth comb and looking for anything that might be a wound where a screwworm might have been able to gain access,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, CEO and President of Austin Pets Alive!
RELATED| FDA authorizes generic over-the-counter drug to treat New World screwworm in pets
Dr. Jefferson says dogs and cats need regular checks of their eyes, noses, ears, and underneath their fur. But Austin Pets Alive! says the best protection is a combination of Capstar, which is an instant-kill medication for existing active screwworm larvae, and prescription preventatives that provide ongoing protection when administered every 30 days.
“Just to buy the initial Capstar for our program, it was close to $10,000,” said Rebecca Giamona, Asst. Medical Care Director at Austin Pets Alive!
Giamona says preventative meds are also putting a heavy financial strain on the nonprofit’s budget at a cost of around $70,000.
“We need about 5,000 doses of the monthly preventative, and they are roughly $14 to $15 per dose,” said Giamona.
Products with the active ingredients ending in l, a, n, e, r are highly effective at preventing and treating infestations. But keeping Paul and every shelter animal up to date will take help from the public.
“Donations, and hopefully some more donations,” said Giamona.
An infestation of New World Screwworm can be painful, disfiguring, and potentially deadly for animals. Most cases involve livestock, especially cattle, but dogs and cats can also get infestations.
AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texans gather to celebrate Juneteenth or “Freedom Day” on June 19 and commemorate the end of slavery.
What you can do:
The Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA) is hosting the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade and Festival today (6/19).
It’s free and taking place at Rosewood Park in East Austin located at 2300 Rosewood Ave.
The schedule for the events is as follows:
- ACME Juneteenth FunRun – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
- Juneteenth Historical Parade – 10 AM – 12 PM
- Park Celebration and Fireworks – 12 PM – 9:45 PM
Other events
On June 20, the Carver Kickback: Juneteenth Edition will be taking place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center located at 1165 Angelina Street.
It will be a day of celebration and remembrance and there will be BBQ plates and music as well as vendors and hands-on activations.
The backstory:
Juneteenth commemorates the end of formal slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and more than one month following the end of the American Civil War.
Colloquially known as “The Black 4th of July,” Juneteenth marks the beginning of an African American journey to carve a new place in society for free people to shape identities independent of racial caricature, eradicate slave culture, promote ethnic pride, and create economic prosperity.
The Source: Information from City of Austin and Greater East Austin Youth Association and reporting by Jessica Rivera.
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