A new mixed-use restaurant and retail building is headed for Spicewood, Texas, according to a state filing that reveals a 10,008-square-foot, single-story project planned at 5600 State Highway 71. The development, registered under the name SpiceQ, carries an estimated construction cost of $1.8 million and is privately funded, but the filing offers no word yet on what kind of restaurant concept, menu, or retail tenants will eventually fill the space.
The project surfaced in records filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which as reported by WhatNow lists SpiceQ LLC as the project owner and Austin interventional cardiologist Pavan Karnati as the owner contact. State paperwork shows the project is registered as TABS2027001305, with Austin-based Stacey L. Brewer assigned as its Registered Accessibility Specialist, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The filing lists construction as scheduled to begin January 15, 2027, with a projected completion date of July 30, 2028, though the record itself does not confirm that ground has actually broken or establish a firm opening date for any restaurant.
Who's Behind SpiceQ
Karnati is affiliated with Baylor Scott & White Health and co-founded Quantum Asset Management, a physician-led real estate private equity firm established in Austin in 2022, per MySA. The same firm is simultaneously developing Courtside Social, an $11.3 million luxury sports club and restaurant complex in nearby Bee Cave that also tapped Austin's Col-Lab Studio as its design firm, MySA reports. Col-Lab Studio, which is listed as SpiceQ's design firm as well, operates out of Koenig Lane in Austin and previously designed the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry, a project that earned an Austin Business Journal Community Impact Award, according to W.E. O'Neil Construction.
The $1.8 million estimated construction cost for the 10,008-square-foot building works out to roughly $180 per square foot, a benchmark figure cited by Zabalist's project tracking data. No tenant has been assigned to the development in the TDLR filing, and SpiceQ has not publicly confirmed any details about a cuisine, menu, interior design, operating hours, or anticipated opening date. WhatNow reported that it reached out to SpiceQ LLC for information about the restaurant concept, menu, and anticipated opening date, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Why The Filing Appears Before Any Building Permit
SpiceQ's land is listed as private property intended for private use, and its public paper trail exists this early for a specific legal reason. Under Texas Government Code Chapter 469, covered plans totaling $50,000 or more must be submitted by the relevant professional to the state for accessibility review within 20 days of plan issuance, according to the Office of the Texas Governor. That rule is why TDLR records like this one often become public long before any physical construction begins or a city permit gets pulled. Separate state administrative rules also set a deadline of no later than one year after construction wraps for an accessibility inspection.
Because Spicewood is an unincorporated community spanning southeastern Burnet County and western Travis County, it has a distinctive place in the region. The community sits along State Highway 71 roughly 35 miles northwest of downtown Austin and about 9 miles southeast of Marble Falls, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Filings such as SpiceQ's offer an early public signal of what's coming to the corridor.
Other Projects In Spicewood
Spicewood has other planned projects and local business changes. A planned 600-acre Canyon Ranch wellness resort had a target September 2026 opening, and Bella Loma Distillery has a new tasting room. The resort plan and tasting room come as older local staples have shuffled: La Cabaña's Tex-Mex spot went dark along the highway before plotting its own 2026 comeback.
Residential development is also in the picture, with a 307-unit Velocity apartment project planned. For now, though, SpiceQ's exact identity — what it will serve, who will run it, and when diners might actually walk through its doors — remains an open question that neither the state paperwork nor the company itself has answered.
