Austin, TX

LeRoy & Lewis’s Mega-Anticipated Austin Barbecue Restaurant Is Opening Oh So Soon

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

LeRoy & Lewis’s Mega-Anticipated Austin Barbecue Restaurant Is Opening Oh So Soon

It’s here: new-school barbecue truck LeRoy & Lewis is finally opening its very anticipated barbecue restaurant this month. The new LeRoy & Lewis restaurant is opening in the Garrison Park neighborhood at 5621 Emerald Forest Drive starting on Wednesday, February 28.

LeRoy & Lewis’s new iteration includes the restaurant portion, with counter-service smoked meats by the quarter-pound or as part of plates and sandwiches. The larger space allows the kitchen to make fuller use of whole animals and butchering within its new-school dishes. Behind the restaurant are co-owners and partners pitmaster Evan LeRoy, Lindsey LeRoy, director of operations Sawyer Lewis, and Nathan Lewis.

Think sliced or chopped beef, pulled whole hog, pulled lamb, smoked chicken, and so many sausages such as pork hop, beef chorizo, and lamb kofta. There will be weekend and specific-day-only specials, such as beef cheeks on Fridays, Akaushi brisket and bacon ribs on Saturdays, and pork chops on Sundays.

The chopped beef plate at LeRoy & Lewis.

Jessica Attie

A cheeseburger on a plate. — The burger at LeRoy & Lewis.

Then there are other meaty dishes like burgers; the Loncito taco made with pulled hog, cracklins, salsa macha, and pickled onions; and the Frito Rico taco, which is essentially a Frito pie in a tortilla. There’s also pork hash with rice; potato chips made with beef fat; hog-fat refried beans; chorizo with potatoes, dips and spreads like the pinto-jalapeno hummus, bacon-onion dip, and smoked mackerel; hog-fat cornbread; and the standalone Frito pie made with Texas red chili.

LeRoy also offers a lot of high-quality non-meat dishes. Vegetables such as the truck’s iconic cauliflower burnt ends will be available, alongside vegan miso-glazed carrots. There are also kimchi, horseradish potato salads, and salads. Sweets include a banana pudding tiramisu, German chocolate cobbler a la mode, and that also-iconic cheddar cheesecake.

Two little trays with single tacos. — Tacos at LeRoy & Lewis.

A plate of chips, vegetables, and dips. — The dips at LeRoy & Lewis.

Two little plates of olives and nuts. — Olives and nuts from LeRoy & Lewis.

For drinks, there are beers in draft, can, and bottle forms with plenty of Austin breweries such as St. Elmo Brewing and Austin Beerworks, and other beer staples like Lone Star and Modelo. The tapped bears include rotating light and dark brews. (Originally, there were plans to open the restaurant with a brewery, but that’s been paused for now.)

Then there are glasses of wines, canned wines, and wine bottles. And then there are cocktails like the South Austin sangria made with Azul y Garanza white wine, passionfruit, lime, and a chile-lime rim; the Meat-chelada, a michelada with Modelo and the same chile-lime rim; and a frozen Big Red sangria. And finally, there are nonalcoholic beverages. Nathan Lewis developed the menu with Nicole Cruz, who had been the bar manager of Contigo and the bar assistant manager of Holy Roller.

A plate with chicken and breads. — A barbecue plate from LeRoy & Lewis.

The physical space within far south Austin includes, yes the expected barbecue counter-service, as well as other areas like the bar, the dining room, a lounge/event space, and big outdoor patio. There’s also a takeout room and retail shop. It was designed by Austin firm OPA Design Studio with commercial construction company Solutions General Contracting, branding and design agency Helms Workshop, and interior design studio McCray & Co.

The team opened the original food truck in 2017 with the goal of eventually opening a physical space. It won Eater Austin’s Eater Award for the best new food truck of that same year.

Before LeRoy & Lewis, Evan LeRoy had been the original pitmaster for now-closed barbecue restaurant Freedman’s and Sawyer Lewis was the general manager of Contigo. The team had also run a fry truck, Mama Fried, at far South Austin bar Armadillo Den from 2021 to 2023.

LeRoy & Lewis’s restaurant hours will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. There are plans to expand those hours eventually. The food truck at Cosmic is temporarily closed as of February 26, and plans on opening in two weeks.

A bunch of drinks and beers on a table. — Drinks at LeRoy & Lewis.

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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

23 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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