What's New on South Lamar in Austin This Fall 2026

Most of what opened on South Lamar between August and early October 2026 puts two uses under one roof. At one new spot, the morning espresso bar turns into a cocktail bar by evening. Another is a coffee counter inside a vintage car showroom, with an antique shop on the same lot. Half Price Books moved out of 3001 S. Lamar, and a bank and a yoga studio are splitting the building. Taken one at a time, these look like ordinary business news. Together they show that the corridor's new spaces are being leased to serve more than one purpose and more than one part of the day.

Three addresses, each split two ways

Going north to south along the boulevard:

1. 2323 S. Lamar, The Code. Cuvée Coffee has been open inside The Code hotel since Aug. 3. The Austin-based company has been roasting in Texas since 1998, and this café is set up to run all day. It starts the morning with espresso and cold brew and moves into wine, local beer and craft cocktails by evening. The bar menu includes an espresso martini and a drink called the Paperwork, which Cuvée describes as its take on the Paper Plane. Founders Mike and Rashelle McKim held a two-day welcome party Aug. 15–16.
2. 2706 S. Lamar, Alloy Autohaus. This vintage-car showroom soft-opened Sept. 5 and held its grand opening Sept. 19. The coffee bar inside is run by Second Wind Coffee Co., and Roadrunner Relics, an antique store, shares the property. Community Impact reported that Second Wind is the first permanent concept from PourTwentyFour, a mobile bar service. The menu covers locally roasted coffee, espresso drinks, matcha, chai and teas. Hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
3. 3001 S. Lamar, the former Half Price Books. Frost Bank opened its South Lamar Financial Center on Sept. 28 in part of the space Half Price Books left in March. CorePower Yoga is taking the other half of the building. Half Price Books is relocating to South First Street, according to an earlier Community Impact report.

The bookstore building is the clearest example. A single retail box that used to hold one store now holds a bank lobby open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a fitness studio. Frost's Bill Day told Community Impact the bank kept opening branches after 2018 while many banks were closing theirs. Blake Leffingwell, a private banking officer at the new location, put it this way: "Not a lot of banks are here in 78704."

Not every opening follows the split model. Mendocino Farms opened its third Austin restaurant on Sept. 22 at 1100 S. Lamar, Ste. 1125, as a single sandwich-and-salad concept. The season also brought a loss. El Naranjo, chef-owner Iliana de la Vega's restaurant with co-owner Ernesto Torrealba, closed its South Lamar location on July 18.

The Code is filling its ground floor around the clock

Of the three, the 2323 address has the most still to come. Cuvée covers mornings and evenings. Three more tenants have been announced for The Code's ground floor. Manhattan Cowgirl, a boutique and hat-customization shop owned by Kyleigh Nethery, is forecast for fall 2026. Pure Sweat + Float Studio, owned by Rachel Flowers, and ISI Elite Training are both forecast for winter 2026.

Once they open, one hotel frontage will hold coffee, cocktails, retail, a float studio and a training gym. If you live within walking distance, that's a single stop covering what used to take several. If you drive, parking is where you'll notice the change. For Cuvée's opening weekend, parking was free with a validated ticket in The Code's garage, which you enter from Bluebonnet Lane.

That Bluebonnet entrance is also where most of the city's current South Lamar construction is happening.

Bluebonnet Lane is where the busiest block meets the work zone

The City of Austin's Del Curto storm drain project covers the southeast side of South Lamar near Bluebonnet, Del Curto and Thornton. Crews are installing or upgrading pipes on Bluebonnet, Del Curto, Delcrest, Iva, Kinney and Southland, and on properties toward West Bouldin Creek. The work started in November 2025 and is expected to finish at the end of 2027. The same project adds a shared-use path on Bluebonnet between South Lamar and Del Curto, plus a new roundabout at Del Curto and Bluebonnet.

Here's where each piece stood as of the city's latest updates:

The Thornton closure is over. In its Sept. 30 update, the city said flaggers will guide traffic around the remaining work, and crews will be installing a headwall inlet on the west side of Thornton. Final repaving near Thornton is expected around the end of 2027. The city's South Lamar project page still listed the roundabout as pre-construction in its Aug. 27 update. The Sept. 30 update didn't say whether roundabout work had started, so check the page before planning a trip that uses Bluebonnet. Santa Clara Construction holds the combined storm drain and intersection contract. That contract calls for traffic-control signs, roads reopened each day, maintained driveway access and advance notice whenever access will be limited.

The southern stretch is next

The bigger project is the full corridor rebuild, which the city has split at Montclaire Street. The southern segment runs from Montclaire to US-290. The bid scope includes ADA shared-use paths, sidewalks, bike lanes, signal improvements, relocated and new bus stops, drainage and utility work, rain gardens, landscaping and intermittent medians. It doesn't list dedicated transit-only lanes.

Bids opened Sept. 24. The city's preliminary bid tabulation lists Joe Bland Construction LLC as the apparent low bidder at $24,996,955.50. The city notes that a bid tabulation is not an award, so no contractor has been confirmed. The city hasn't published a duration for the southern segment either.

One connection is off the table for now. The city asked Union Pacific Railroad for approval to connect Treadwell Street to South Lamar with either an overpass or an underpass. Union Pacific turned down both, so the city removed that connection from the project. The Mary Street roundabout is already finished. It added pedestrian crossings on every leg and shared-use paths for walking and biking, which shows the kind of street design the rest of the corridor is getting. If you're getting around the boulevard without a car, our guide to walkable living in South Lamar covers the blocks that already work on foot.

Still on the calendar

Several openings have been announced but don't have firm dates:

• CorePower Yoga, 3001 S. Lamar. The studio manager posted in June that it would open this fall. A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing lists tenant-improvement work starting Aug. 3, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 3, 2026.
• Manhattan Cowgirl, The Code. Forecast for fall 2026.
• Pure Sweat + Float Studio and ISI Elite Training, The Code. Both forecast for winter 2026.
• Tumble 22, 2929 S. Lamar. Hot chicken arriving sometime in 2027, with no month announced.
• Bartlett's, 301 W. Riverside Drive. MML Hospitality and the owners of Bartlett's are planning a second location near the north end of the corridor. A project filing estimates construction starting in early 2027.

By winter, the 2323 block alone could hold six businesses. Meanwhile the city will be building a roundabout and a shared-use path on the street that leads into its garage. If your mornings start with coffee at The Code, the Bluebonnet entrance is the part of the routine most likely to change over the next year.

At Sage Space Real Estate, we follow South Lamar block by block, from which storefronts are turning over to which side streets the city is digging up next. If you'd like to talk through how these openings and the corridor work affect your street or your plans, schedule a neighborhood consultation with our team.