Fast Friends Beer Co., the South Austin brewery built by an Army veteran to fund mental health programs for other veterans, has a new kitchen partner. Via 313, the homegrown Detroit-style pizza chain, took over food service at the brewery's 18,000-square-foot facility on June 3, swapping out the brewery's original plant-based menu for pan pizza, cheese bread, and cinnamon sticks.
Fast Friends announced the change via social media on the day of the changeover, according to Community Impact. The brewery sits at 7313 South I-35 Frontage Road on a 3.3-acre South Austin campus, an area that had been something of a craft brewery desert south of St. Elmo Road when founder Dave Childress opened it in May 2023, according to Community Impact's earlier reporting. Childress, an Army veteran, built the brewery as an economic engine for DO/LOVE/LIVE, the nonprofit he founded that funds veteran PTSD and suicide prevention resources alongside youth mentorship programs, per Hop Culture.
From Vegan Supper Club to Pan Pizza
The kitchen shift marks a significant pivot for Fast Friends. The brewery's original food program was led by chef Emily Rayburn, who emphasized plant-based dining and hosted vegetable-focused supper club dinners under her Loam concept inside the brewery's space, according to Tribeza's earlier coverage. Under Via 313, the menu now centers on Detroit-style pizza — a rectangular pan pizza known for its thick crust — alongside cheese bread, Brussels sprouts, salads, and cinnamon stick desserts, per the seed facts confirmed in Community Impact's report.
Fast Friends also brought on new brewing leadership around the same period. Craft brewing veteran Sarah Perez was named head brewer in February 2025 to oversee beverage operations across the facility, according to a release cited by PressRelease.com. Perez previously led brewing programs at Maui Brewing Company and Rahr & Sons, the release noted.
Via 313's Rapid Texas Expansion
Via 313 itself has a well-known Austin origin story. Brothers Brandon and Zane Hunt, natives of Detroit, launched the concept in December 2011 with a single $30,000 food trailer in East Austin, according to PMQ Pizza. The brand's growth accelerated after private equity firm Savory Fund acquired a majority stake in 2020, a move aimed at scaling Via 313 from a regional Austin favorite into a multi-state chain, per Nation's Restaurant News.
That expansion has continued at a rapid pace. Via 313 secured $32.5 million in new growth capital in February 2025, led by Asilia Investments and Brightwood Capital Advisors, with a stated goal of doubling its unit count within three years, according to Savory Fund. By August 2025, the chain had grown to 25 systemwide locations across Texas, Utah, and Colorado following the opening of a fifth Houston-area venue in Cypress, per Hello Cypress's report at the time. Via 313 has several other locations around Austin, and operates a website at via313.com.
Brewery Partnerships Fit a Broader Strategy
The Fast Friends kitchen takeover fits a pattern Via 313 has pursued elsewhere. The chain launched a statewide mobile food truck in November 2025 built specifically to tour Texas craft breweries and events, debuting at (512) Brewing Company's 17th anniversary party in Austin, according to the same PMQ Pizza report. The City of Austin later proclaimed March 13, 2026, as Via 313 Day, recognizing the chain's 15-year growth and local economic impact — a date that nods to both Detroit's 313 area code and the March 13 calendar date, per a release distributed through PR Newswire.
For Fast Friends, outsourcing kitchen operations to an established, well-capitalized pizza brand streamlines taproom food service while tapping into Via 313's name recognition, reflecting a broader trend of brewery kitchens turning to outside food partners in the Austin market. The move also comes as Detroit-style pizza continues to gain traction across Texas, a trend Hoodline has tracked in Houston as Via 313 and other chains expand into new markets.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
