Local Foods is opening its second Austin restaurant on Friday, bringing the Houston-born scratch-kitchen brand to a stretch of North Lamar Boulevard that has churned through several dining concepts in recent years. The new spot at 3800 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 170, will serve lunch, dinner, cocktails and coffee, marking the first time the company has paired its menu with a full bar in Austin.
According to a news release cited by Community Impact, the new location will roll out fan favorites alongside expanded entree offerings, with weekend brunch set to debut in September. It follows the brand's first Austin outpost, which opened in the 2nd Street District in 2022. Local Foods is led by Martin Berson, Benjy Levit and Dylan Murray.
What's Different About the North Lamar Menu
The new location will exclusively offer a Borracho Beef sandwich featuring Mexican-style red wine braised beef, served on toasted ciabatta with cilantro and cabbage slaw, sliced tomato, grilled red onion, pickled pepper, provolone, aioli and beef jus. It will also be the only Local Foods spot serving a salmon poke bowl made with sesame-tamari marinated Faroe Island salmon. Those exclusives join the brand's broader menu of salads, bowls, sandwiches, soups and desserts, including staples like truffled egg salad, a Gulf seafood po'boy and red potato salad.
Executive chef Zack Sutton said the new restaurant gives the team room to grow. “The new restaurant gives us the opportunity to expand that vision further with more dinner offerings, new seasonal dishes and a gathering space,” Sutton said. He added that the sourcing philosophy remains central to the concept: “Working with Texas farmers and producers allows us to create menus that evolve with the seasons while staying true to the dishes our guests know and love,” he said.
A Full Bar and Coffee Program Join the Menu
The new location will feature a matcha and espresso bar alongside hot and iced teas and smoothies, plus a curated cocktail menu that marks Local Foods' first full bar setup in Austin. The cocktail list includes blood orange and soft serve margaritas along with a drink called Passion Basil Bliss, made with Tito's vodka, passion puree, soda and passion pearls. The brand continues to lean on Texas suppliers, sourcing beef from Peeler Farms and eggs from Swift Hill Farms, and the restaurant's published materials list additional regional partners including HiFi Mycology, Sprouts Alive, Leven Baking Company and Keeper's Harvest Honey.
A Site With Some Culinary History
The 4,500- to 5,300-square-foot space comes with a 2,000-square-foot dog-friendly wraparound patio, built out under an estimated $1 million renovation designed by Austin-based Chioco Design, according to permit filings reported by Zabalist. The suite previously housed the farm-to-wok Chinese restaurant Wu Chow from May 2023 until October 2024, and before that it was home to Rosedale Kitchen and Bar, a tenant Hoodline covered back in 2019 as part of its roundup of what was heating up Austin's food scene at the time.
Unlike the downtown 2nd Street District location, which relies on validated municipal garage parking, the North Lamar restaurant offers dedicated surface and garage parking at the Lamar Central development, according to WhatNow. That access reportedly played a significant role in the company signing the lease, with executive Martin Berson having spent nearly two years searching specifically for a North Lamar location, the outlet reports.
Roots Going Back to Houston
Local Foods launched in Houston's Rice Village in November 2011, founded by Benjy Levit and chef Dylan Murray as a casual scratch-kitchen concept built around Texas-sourced ingredients, according to CultureMap Houston. The brand grew to five Houston-area locations, one of which Hoodline reported on when it opened its fifth Houston spot in the Heights in 2018. Levit, Murray and partner Martin Berson, who also founded Austin-based Snap Kitchen, are all University of Texas at Austin alumni, and Berson has lived in Austin since 2008, according to KVUE.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire issued a proclamation declaring September 9, 2025 as Local Foods Group Day, honoring Levit's 30-year hospitality career and more than $1 million in community charitable contributions tied to the company. Local Foods leadership has said the Austin market could ultimately support four to five locations of the brand as suitable real estate becomes available, positioning the North Lamar opening as one step in a broader Central Texas expansion along a corridor that has increasingly drawn multi-unit hospitality concepts into its mixed-use developments.
