☀️ Hi there, Austin.
We’ve got another numbers breakdown for ya today. Check out three of them and what they mean for you.
Then, peep what major natural disaster-related historical event is turning 102 on May 4. And see which Downtown Austin staple we’re remembering today.
By the numbers: What’s up in Austin?
124 — The dollar amount in millions that Austin wants in another federal grant to build out its caps and stitches on I-35.
We wrote about these things a few weeks ago. Caps and stitches are basically parks and green spaces that the city wants to build on top of I-35 after the Texas Department of Transportation sinks the highway below ground level.
Caps (pictured at the bottom of the image below) are plaza-like decks that’d span over the highway between east-to-west streets. And stitches are widened bridges that would connect the east side to downtown.
Well, TxDOT is paying for the $5 billion I-35 project. But the city has to come up with the estimated $868 million to build out the caps and stitches. So these federal grants, including the $105.2 million one it secured in late March, are slowly helping the city reach its goal.
Today, City Council might green-light city leaders to apply for the new federal grant, which could amount to up to $124 million, according to the city.
If Austin snagged the money, it would also match it with $82.6 million from its own wallet. Not a small amount …
25 — What Paperboy on East 11th ranked in Yelp’s list of 100 top brunch restaurants in the U.S.
That’s right, folks. One of the 100 best brunch spots in the country is located on one of the coolest streets in the world.
Paperboy started as a breakfast food truck in 2015. It opened a brick-and-mortar on East 11th in mid-2020, right smack in the middle of the pandemic.
Makes sense why it survived the past few turbulent years: Paperboy’s a mainstay in the city’s brunch circuit. And whatever you do, do NOT sleep on this place’s upstairs patio. It’s one of the best on the east side.
24 — The number of years that The Parlor, which closed on Tuesday, operated on West Campus.
For the uninitiated, The Parlor is (sniffle *was*) a pizza joint/music venue on Guadalupe with a loving fanbase and history stretching back years.
But its demise sadly proves that even that isn’t enough to keep a treasured place’s lights on. The Parlor’s owners couldn’t afford to buy the building that it’s located in, which is why it closed.
The team posted on its GoFundMe page that it was able to secure a $3 million business loan to buy the building (woo!) but couldn’t afford the $600,000 down payment (not woo). It’s asking for $100,000 now so it can “close gracefully” and pay off business expenses and staff.
“Yet, dreams often meet the roadblocks of reality, and ours is a path currently shadowed by financial hurdles we cannot overcome alone,” the Parlor team wrote.
Austin’s affordability crisis rages on …
— Katie Canales, Editor
Temperature: 83 degrees | Sun: Hidden | What to Expect: Pack the rain gear
Stormy weather will be the norm for today with overcast skies and a few rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Some storms could contain large hail, high winds and heavy rain. Stay weather-aware throughout the day.
Mary’s Tip: Get artsy by checking out the “Animal Nature” art exhibition in South Austin. Latin American visual artists, Ender Martos and Patrick Fagerberg, are putting on an epic event for their last showing.
That one May day over 100 years ago when two tornadoes hit downtown ...
May 4 isn't just Star Wars day in Austin. It's also the anniversary of a wild weather event.
The city was hit by an extremely rare weather phenomenon a little more than 100 years ago, on May 4, 1922. Two tornadoes formed and cut a path of destruction in the city on both sides of the Colorado River. They moved in a direction that’s rare for tornadic supercells. Instead of going from southwest to northeast, which is typical, they moved northeast to southwest. They were a couple of rebels, if you will.
The western tornado developed in North Austin and traveled south toward UT, and eventually moved down to the Colorado River, damaging a state building and destroying cabins at Deep Eddy Pool. It was later rated an F2 on the Fujita Scale. Such twisters can produce winds as strong as 113 to 157 mph.
The eastern tornado first touched down in East Austin and took a south-southwest path as it intensified. It crossed First Street, toppling a moontower (not the moontowers!!!), then traveled over St. Edwards University, continuing down Congress Avenue. It finally turned west over Menchaca Road and ended in Oak Hill. This tornado was later rated an F4, which can produce 207 to 260 mph winds.
Among the 13 people who died in these storms were a few members of the Bargsley family, who owned a farm near what is now William Cannon Drive, between West Gate Boulevard and Davis Lane in South Austin. History buffs can check out the small cemetery adjacent to the Longview Neighborhood Park, where two headstones have the date: May 4, 1922.
— Mary Wasson, Meteorologist
Austin Graveyard: Chez Nous
We’re back with another installment of Austin Graveyard, where we mourn our favorite places around the city that have shuttered.
Today’s was brought to us by Thom Singer, the Austin resident of 33 years and CEO of Austin Technology Council that we featured on Tuesday.
His choice? Chez Nous.
The downtown French bistro was open for 39 years before temporarily closing in March 2020, when pandemic-driven shutdowns started wreaking havoc on local businesses across the nation.
But the owners told folks in an email newsletter June 14, 2021, that the closing would be made permanent, as Eater Austin reported.
For Singer, the joint was near and dear to his heart.
“It was a standby that my wife and I went to for anniversary dinners probably for the first 30 years of our marriage,” Singer told us. “We probably, at least 10 times, had our anniversary dinner at Chez Nous. So it’s gone, and that’s sad.”
— Katie Canales, Editor
⚜️Good Times
Today’s clue is for 11 Across: How you’d describe all the people that have moved to Austin within the last five years or so.
What'd you think of today's issue?
- 👍 10 points to Gryffindor. Y'all killed it.
- 😐 Meh. Wasn't bad, wasn't great.
- 👎 Yeah it's gonna be a no from me, dawg.
We’re so glad you found us. Find our bios and contact info here, or reach out at hello@austindaily.com. Behind today’s send: Katie Canales and Mary Wasson.
