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Urbanspace opening 2 restaurants in Rainey Street high-rise

Urbanspace opening 2 restaurants in Rainey Street high-rise

‘Top Chef’ winner tapped to helm kitchens; Hot coals no easy feat within a skyscraper

Chef Gabriel Erales, left, with Merrill Alley and Kevin Burns of Urbanspace. The new 44 East Ave tower will soon host Bacalar and Tomalo, two new restaurants.
Photo by Arnold Wells

“Top Chef” winner Gabe Erales will open a restaurant in the Rainey Street district downtown, working with Urbanspace Hospitality.

Urbanspace started as a real estate brokerage in Austin and has continued to grow its divisions, most recently moving into development and the hospitality space. While many may fear jumping into the low-profit-margin restaurant industry — especially in an uncertain economy — Kevin Burns, founder and CEO of Urbanspace, has high hopes for the company’s new effort.

Executive chef and co-owner Erales will be working on two concepts: a two-story, sit-down restaurant called Bacalar and Tomalo, a taco, agua fresca and coffee takeaway window. The two eateries will sit on the ground floor of 44 East Ave, a new condominium tower on the edge of Lady Bird Lake developed by Intracorp Projects Ltd. Flintco is the general contractor and Urbanspace oversees condominium sales.

Burns said the restaurants are slated to open in late spring.

Read the full story at Austin Business Journal »

2023: What’s to Come

2023: What’s To Come

Happy New Year from Urbanspace! As we look back on 2022, we could not be more grateful for continued growth and achievements of both our company and Austin as a whole. Between Wine Down Wednesdays, company outings, over 200 closings, welcoming residents to 44 East Ave, and selling out The Modern Austin Residences, and so much more, “work hard, play hard” has taken on a whole new meaning! And for what we are looking forward to in 2023,

BACALAR

Urbanspace and Top Chef’s Gabe Erales will open our new Mexican-inspired restaurant at the ground level of the brand new 44 East Ave Residences in Rainey Street District! This will be Urbanspace’s 2nd hospitality endeavor after the recent opening of the beautiful Codependent coffee + cocktails space. Bacalar, opening in Spring of 2023, will be a Mexican-inspired restaurant specializing in food heavily influenced by the different regions of the Yucatan peninsula, where Exective Chef Gabe Erales’ family’s roots originated. The name “Bacalar” comes from the Pueblo Magico that is located less than an hour north of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and known as the Lake of 7 Colors. Anchoring the ground level of the 44 East Ave condominium tower, Bacalar will offer a prime location proximal to Lady Bird Lake and the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. The restaurant will transport its guests to Mexico on the shore of Lady Bird Lake.

THE RAINEY STREET TRAILHEAD

With the growth of the Rainey Street District, the connection between the Ann & Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake and Rainey Street is becoming more vital for transportation and access to nature. The addition of Rainey Street Trailhead to the lake’s network of public spaces will be an integral outdoor resource for many downtown residents. Working closely with The Trail Foundation, a non-profit formed to protect and enhance the lake’s trail system, the design team engaged the local community to define the park’s goals. This public input established three key goals for the project: introduce water access, provide for play, and repair the site’s ecological health. We cannot wait for our 44 East Ave residents to be able to soak up these improvements, set for completion this fall.


Austin’s Top Chef competitor to open Mexican eatery in trendy downtown district

Austin’s Top Chef competitor to open Mexican eatery in trendy downtown district


Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley

A taste of the Yucatan is coming to the Rainey Street District, care of an Austin-based top chef.

Chef Gabe Erales, currently a contestant on season 18 of Bravo’s Top Chef and a champion of Mexican cuisine, will open his first restaurant — a Mexican-inspired eatery called Bacalar that will draw influence from various regions of the Yucatan Peninsula, where Erales has family roots.

Scheduled to open in the fall of next year, Bacalar will anchor the ground level of the 44 East Ave Residences, the slick skyscraper currently under construction on the banks of Lady Bird Lake.

Read the full story at CultureMap Austin »

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