Deadline nears for Starbucks on Bee Cave Road

Site plans for new location must be renewed with City Council by Dec. 2.

Starbucks holds site plans for a new location at 3509 Bee Cave Road, though representatives might have to come before the West Lake Hills City Council soon if the business owners want to renew their 2014 agreement that expires Dec. 2, city staff said.

A vacant building sits on the property in question, close to where Thai Kitchen was located. Site plans for 3509 Bee Cave Road show a 1,300-square-foot Starbucks, complete with a drive-through, with a 2,999-square-foot office building behind the Starbucks building further back from the road. Starbucks, through Texas limited partnership OLFP-1, gifted the right-of-way of the property along Bee Cave Road to the city in 2014.

“They had a timeline to complete that project, and they’re considerably behind on that,” Mayor Linda Anthony said in an interview, “so they will need to file a request to amend that. They’re aware. They know they need to do that.”

City planner Ashby Grundman said an architect for Starbucks had reached out to him recently, and said he believes a team for Starbucks will be coming forward to present a new plan to the council soon.

Thai Kitchen on Bee Cave Road, which has been closed for more than four years, was demolished about a month ago to make way for Sway, a Thai restaurant, which received its building permit from the City Council on Sept. 27. City staff said Sway projected construction time to take seven to eight months, though restaurant representatives hesitated to give an opening date for the location. It would be the third location in the Austin area.

Starbucks representatives did not respond to requests for comment.