Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery makes Central Texas debut
Schlotzsky’s, the sandwich chain that got its start on South Congress Avenue nearly 50 years ago, is embracing its Austin roots with a new restaurant concept that debuted locally Thursday.
The new Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery, at 3944 S. RM 620 in Bee Cave, features an open kitchen, interior walls made of recycled wood, corrugated metal and other eye-catching materials, and funky design elements such as an “Austin Born & Bread” lighted sign in the dining room.
“Nothing really matches,” Schlotzsky’s president Kelly Roddy told the American-Statesman. “It looks very much like an independent.”
There also are a number of new menu items, many inspired by Austin’s food truck culture.
The sandwiches diners know and love are still there, he said, but visitors will also find sliders and street tacos for sale, among other offerings.
“Everything we’ve done has been inspired by the culinary spirit of Austin and the culture of Austin,” Roddy said. “It’s the same Schlotzsky’s it has always been, but we’re really claiming we’re an Austin eatery. The biggest difference is really the look and the feel of the restaurant.”
The new Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery serves beer and wine — something the chain, which is now largely based in Atlanta, has been rolling out — and has a happy hour, with drinks starting at $4 and food starting at $5.
The beers at the new locations are Austin-influenced, Roddy said, including Austin Amber, Weekend Warrior, Love Street and Austin Eastciders.
The Bee Cave restaurant is the second Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery in the nation built from the ground up, although some existing restaurants already have or soon will switch over to the concept, including one on Research Boulevard in North Austin.
The goal — one of several, actually, according to Roddy — is to
Embattled IHeartMedia is circulating documents for a bankruptcy filing that could come as soon as this weekend for the biggest U.S. radio broadcaster.
Advisers to some of iHeart’s senior creditors have been shown bankruptcy papers that would be used on the first day of court proceedings, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Despite a year of negotiations on a restructuring plan, a formal support agreement still isn’t in place with the most-senior lenders, and the creditors aren’t in restricted talks with the company, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations. Creditors typically agree to restrict some of their activities in exchange for non-public information when talks heat up.
A bankruptcy filing is all but certain, with iHeart and creditors each swapping proposals in recent weeks for a consensual restructuring. But pressure is mounting on iHeart after it missed a Feb. 1 interest payment, with a 30-day grace period about to run out. On top of that, the broadcaster on Thursday skipped payments on two more sets of bonds. If the company files without a pre-negotiated restructuring plan in place, the bankruptcy could turn into a free-fall, with some of the biggest and most contentious specialists in distressed companies potentially tussling for years over about $20 billion of debt.
Billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media stepped in with a last-minute offer to senior creditors that would help salvage iHeart by injecting cash and financing a trip through bankruptcy, but analysts have said the bid isn’t high enough to win over creditors.