Austin, TX
East Austin Cocktail Bar Ah Sing Den Is Closing
An East Austin bar is going to be closing this month. Pan-Asian-ish cocktail bar Ah Sing Den — which used to be East Side Showroom — will have its last day of service at 1100 East Sixth Street on Sunday, June 9.
However, a new restaurant and bar is taking over East Side space, which will have a Filipino focus instead. OKO will open at the same address sometime in the early fall of 2024.
OKO is from Ah Sing Den’s owner Trinity Concepts, which is collaborating with restaurant company FAM Hospitality Group, whose co-managing partner is divisive chef Paul Qui. In fact, Qui will help develop the menu with executive chef Harold Villarosa, resulting in a focus on Filipino cuisine with an emphasis on the Southeast Asian country’s diaspora and Texas takes.
Trinity actually took over Ah Sing Den its co-founders/mother-and-daughter team Trudy and Mickie Spencer in September 2020. The Spencers opened the address’s predecessor — East Side Showroom — in 2009, known for being one of the earlier bars focusing on well-made cocktails. They closed the bar in 2016, and quickly turned it into Ah Sing Den a month later. The revamp took its name from the owner of a famous Victoria-era London opium den, which lead to its pan-Asian theme, decor (led by interior designer Mickie), food, and drinks.
Regarding Ah Sing Den’s closure, Trinity co-owner Donny Padda said it was time for a change, via a rep. “Traffic hasn’t been what it was in the past,” he writes, citing the neighborhood’s changes through the years. “So we feel it’s time to breathe new life into this historic Austin space.”
The Trinity rep told Eater that Ah Sing Den’s staff had been told about the closure and were informed that “they can reapply for positions once the hiring process starts with the new management team.” (On the opposite side of the scope, Austin restaurant Salt & Time, which announced it would be closing in July and turn into a new similar business, made sure its butcher team would still be employed at the replacement venture and that they worked on securing jobs for its other staffers.)
The name OKO stems from the Hawaiian word oko’a, which means “different;” the state has a big Filipino community. For food, the restaurant plans on having a kinilaw bar (serving ceviche), oysters from Texas dressed with pinakurat (a spicy coconut-based vinegar), lumpiang sariwa (egg rolls), chicken inasal (a skewered dish), and lamb adobo. Cocktails will focus on rum and agave-based spirits.
Qui was famous for his culinary prowess in Austin, from working at Japanese restaurants Uchi and Uchiko, winning Top Chef in 2012, and being awarded as the Best Chef: Southwest at the James Beard Awards that same year. The chef went out on his own to open Asian street food truck East Side King in 2009 (with various relocations, formats, and closures; now there’s the South Lamar restaurant, East Austin food truck, and food stall in Houston) and co-opened Thai Kun in 2014 (now a physical restaurant in Rock Rose). And then, Qui opened his ambitious restaurant Qui in 2013, which garnered much attention and critical acclaim. He also opened Miami hotel restaurant Pao in 2015.
In March 2016, Qui was arrested on assault charges against his then-girlfriend. Subsequently, he entered rehabilitation, came back a month later, closed Qui in 2016, turning it into a new restaurant Kuneho in 2017, and then closed in later that year. He remained a controversial figure as people talked about whether chefs can or should earn redemption. Qui’s assault charges were dropped in 2018
Post-Austin, Qui went to Houston where he ran two now-closed restaurants, seafood Golfstrommen with chef Christopher Haatuft and Southeast Asian Aqui. There was also the short-lived Richardson taqueria Tacqui.
Villarosa, who is from the Philippines and grew up in New York, has a long career in food, starting in McDonald’s and White Castle while he was in high school. Later on, still in New York, he worked at Aureole, Aquavit, Per Se, the Stand, Freemans, and Maison Pickle. He also runs his own food brand/pop-up Unkle Harold’s focusing on Filipino soul food, where he developed a bottled banana ketchup. He had been a video host at Bon Appetit.
Other OKO team members include FAM directors of operations Dylan Falkenburg and Alexander Gonzalez, and beverage director Jarmel Doss. Falkenburg worked at various restaurants under chef José Andrés in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Gonzalez actually had worked in Austin before, as part of the opening team of the Fairmont Austin and as the service/beverage manager of Qui. More recently, he was at Chicago fine-dining restaurants Alinea and Next, as well as the French Laundry in California. Doss had worked at cocktail bars Chicago cocktail bar the Aviary in Chicago and Higher Ground in Miami.
OKO’s renovations will be done by the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. Expect “playful tropical patterns and iconography,” per the press release.
Trinity co-founders are Padda, Ash Seth, and Dennis Wen, who started the company in 2006. It runs a bunch of downtown Austin bars all of which opened with different owners: Summit Rooftop & Lounge (2013), Parlor Room (2016), and Key Bar (2006).
FAM is from managing partners Qui and Johnny Hoang, who were high school friends and formed the business in 2018. The company oversees Houston food hall Filipino restaurant Soy Pinoy, Denver Japanese-French tasting menu Koko Ni, food hall stands Nashville hot chicken spot Lea Jane’s and Johnny’s Burger in Houston and Denver; and Houston food hall cocktail bars Return to Sender and Address Unknown. Grandfathered in are East Side King, Thai Kun, and Pao.
There’s been a recent spate of shutters in Austin lately this summer: Salt & Time turning into Radius Butcher & Grocery (minus a restaurant); 1417 French Bistro; Spread & Co.’s original cafe; Cuvee Coffee’s original coffee shop; and House Wine, which is moving.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A report released by the think tank Texas 2036 claims that ten state laws implemented between 2019 and 2025 led to “one of the nation’s most comprehensive strategies for connecting education to careers.”
The report is titled “The Next Generation of the Texas Miracle.” It can be read below.
Mary Lynn Pruneda, Texas 2036’s director of education and workforce policy, said in an announcement accompanying the report that the reforms have been steps in the right direction.
“Texas has a bright economic future ahead of it, but we have to make sure that Texas students are equipped to share in this prosperity,” she said. “Texas needs to double down on improving and investing in high-quality career pathways so that all Texas students can take part in the Texas Miracle. Thankfully, due to the Legislature’s great work over the past four sessions, we are on our way to that critical goal.”
The report gives several data points, such as a 532% increase in high schoolers earning “post-secondary credentials” since 2018, or that community colleges awarded 140,000 “credentials of value” in 2024.
It paints a rosy picture of the future Texas economy, but doesn’t source its data or explain how it reached these conclusions. It’s apparent that the think tank wants further laws related to Texas’ workforce and education.
“Texas 2036 is actively engaged in that process, pushing for data modernization and interoperability reforms that would allow the state to track whether credentials are meeting real employer needs in communities across the state,” said the think tank in its announcement.
Grace Atkins, policy advisor of postsecondary education for Texas 2036, called the think tank’s report “encouraging.”
“The early results are encouraging: more students are earning credentials that can help them move into good jobs, and that is real progress,” she said. “For students and families, these pathways can be the difference between getting by and getting ahead. The next step is making sure more Texans can earn credentials that lead to strong wages, real career options and greater economic mobility.”
AUSTIN, Texas — After Senator Charles Perry vowed to introduce another bill to ban THC in Texas next legislative session, an Austin cannabis shop owner is urging lawmakers to find a middle ground.
Estella Castro owns Austinite Cannabis Co., a family-owned shop that makes and sells cannabis and hemp products.
Austinite Cannabis Co. (Photo: CBS Austin/Audrey Wong)
Her business has faced a potential THC ban before. During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 3 attempted to enact a broad ban on all cannabinoids except CBD and CBG.
Castro says she was most worried for her customers. “It was a big initial hit of like, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna pivot? How are we gonna keep the doors open for everybody to keep their jobs?” she said.
RELATED | Texas state senator plans to introduce new THC ban bill in upcoming session
That bill passed, but was later vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott. Similar legislation failed to pass during the subsequent special session.
However, the possibility of a total ban bill being introduced and passed next session could spell trouble for Austinite Cannabis.
During a hearing Tuesday, July 7, Senator Charles Perry vowed to present such a bill next session as public officials, medical experts, and others discussed THC’s medical uses, effects on minors, and regulation.
Castro says over half of the store’s revenue comes from products that contain THC.
“I would say it’s about a 60/40 split: 60% THC and 40 CBD… So feel like it is a huge number that affects my store in so many ways,” she said.
ALSO | Texas French Bread reopens dining room four years after fire
She feels that a total ban on THC would negatively affect multiple parties.
“Banning it is just hurting the consumer,” she said. “Making the consumer go and find a street dealer… killing any dispensaries… it’s gonna hurt your small business owner.”
If another THC ban bill is written, it will be introduced during the next legislative session, which begins in January 2027.
In the meantime, Castro’s two stores will continue to operate as normal. She hopes lawmakers will think twice about instituting a complete ban on THC.
“I feel like we’re better than that, you know, we’re Texas,” she said. “We need to find some middle ground where it’s not a complete ban, and we can still be able to come together.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Trevor Goosby is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. The Texas offensive lineman anchors the group up front for one of the best teams in the country and was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp.
But his football career felt in jeopardy when he was in high school.
“That was kind of my biggest question,” said Goosby. “I was really nervous because would I be the same football player coming back?”
Goosby was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was just 16 years old. He wasn’t sure how this would change his everyday life, including his football career.
“Definitely a lot of nerves just because you’re getting your ribs cracked open essentially and getting your heart worked on…It was a scary moment. I remember driving up to the hospital super nervous.”
Goosby was able to recover and become a great football player. He said not only has he become a person in learning to fight through adversity, but it helped him as a player as well with improved endurance.
Now, the star Longhorn is giving back as much as possible.
Goosby hosted a camp in Austin to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation. The organization works to fund research on congenital heart defects.
The offensive tackle is matching all donations up to $20,000 made to the Children’s Heart Foundation through the event and campaign.
“It means a lot to me just because of the heart condition I did have back when I was 16. That just kind of changed my life. I just want to bring awareness to that.”
The camp was at Hyde Park High School in Northwest Austin. Goosby spoke about what he hopes the young campers took away from the event.
“I think it’s just more than football. Football is a big part of what I do but it’s not who I am…I just want to show all these kids that I’m just another great guy and just someone they can look up to.”
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