I was in Austin a few weeks back and noticed for the first time a spot in downtown that looked remarkably and disturbingly familiar -- like, oh, the West Village, say. Turns out, that ain't too far off the mark, and some folks down in the Capitol City aren't terribly thrilled with all the Dallas-based joints clogging up the 2nd Street District, among them Cru, Taverna, Cantina Laredo, III Forks, Paciugo Gelato and Which Wich? Oh, and as the Austin American-Stateman points out today:
One of the key factors in Second Street's perceived Dallas-ification is that the same leasing company in charge of the West Village, Urban Partners, was brought in by AMLI Residential several years ago to recruit tenants for the Second Street block that stretches between Colorado and Lavaca streets. Thanks to that connection, some of the West Village retail tenants -- Cowboy Cool and Octane -- heard about the project and decided to get on board.Keep Austin weird? Not if Dallas has anything to do with it, turns out. --Robert Wilonsky