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Two Austin eateries setting up shop in the Westbank
Thursday, February 16, 2012 |

Two distinctive Austin tastes are coming to the Westbank this spring and bringing plenty of tempting eats with them.
Blue Dahlia Bistro, which is opening in the former Wild Wood Art Café location at Westbank Drive and Bee Cave Road intersection, is slated to open in April.
“Westlake felt like a good fit,” said owner Amy Ramirez. “I feel like there are not a lot of restaurants to choose from at night.”
The original Blue Dahlia location has been bringing simple and delicious European-inspired food to East 11th Street for nearly five years. Ramirez started the restaurant after moving to Austin from New York and ended up marrying her business partner, Sam Ramirez.
The original location, which seats about 98 people, features two outdoor eating areas with bistro-style tables and a warm and inviting interior, with long communal tables. The couple said they hope to recreate that atmosphere in the new Westlake location.
“I never thought I would want another location,” Amy Ramirez said. “But we heard from so many of our Westlake regulars that we should open out there.”
The new location will seat about 120 people, with half of the seating inside and half outside on a to-be-built patio. A much larger kitchen in the new location will also allow the restaurant to start offering catering at a later date, a longtime goal for the business that wasn’t possible in the tiny kitchen in the original location.
With Wild Wood Art Café, one of the area’s only gluten-free restaurants moving to south Austin, Amy Ramirez said they have heard from Westbankers who still want to gluten-free and vegetarian options.
“That’s something we’re going to keep on the menu,” she said.
Blue Dahlia will also bring live music to the Westbank, with regular appearances by classic guitar players and a strolling accordionist.
“It’ll be very low-key, though,” Ramirez said. “Our goal is to be conversation-friendly.”
Longtime Austin favorite, P. Terry’s Burger Stand will also open its new location this spring, said owner Patrick Terry.
“We’ve been trying to get into Westlake for years and this is a big deal for us,” Terry said. “We have a lot of Westlakers come to the Barton Springs location, and that is not the easiest place to get to for them.”
The new restaurant will be one of the largest of the company’s locations at 3,400 square feet and will be located in the former World Savings Bank in the Village at Westlake shopping center near the intersection of Bee Cave Road and Capital of Texas Highway. The restaurant will feature two drive-through lanes and plenty of interior seating. The original plan for a rooftop patio has been scrapped, Terry said.
“We think with the double drive-through, we’ll be able to get people through the line much faster,” Terry said, noting they hope to alleviate some concerns about traffic snarls. “And with four grills going at the same time, this will be our largest cooking area. We’ll be able to get the burgers out much faster.”
Of all the recently opened locations for the ever-popular organic burger stand, including the recent one in Lakeway, Terry said he’s gotten more calls and emails about the pending Westlake location.
“We just couldn’t be more excited,” he said.

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