↓ South of Slaughter north of Buda · 78748 · 78749 · 78739 · 78747
The neighbor who's lived here forever, writing it down. What's opening on Menchaca, what closed at Southpark, whether Slaughter Creek Trail is underwater, and what's worth leaving the house for this weekend.
The Thursday dispatch
One email a week. Everything way south.
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The sign at the edge of way south · Sep 16
Slaughter Lane is just the warmup for that parking lot.
Leave the house
Austin Public Library - Southeast Branch · McKinney Falls & Goodnight Ranch
The Far Out Lounge & Stage
Armadillo Den
Austin Public Library - Southeast Branch · McKinney Falls & Goodnight Ranch
Hampton Branch at Oak Hill, Austin Public Library · Brodie & Slaughter
Austin Public Library - Pleasant Hill Branch · Southpark Meadows
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The tracker
Lustre Pearl South poured its last round on Saturday, August 2, 2025, after a farewell party that ran all day rather than the 6pm the flyer promised. The Menchaca Road bar is gone for good, and its owners, Dunlap ATX, now list it as permanently closed.
The Local closed early in 2026 and Phoebe's Diner opened in the same Shady Hollow Village suite on April 7 — 9901 Brodie Lane, #120. It's the fourth Phoebe's in town. Breakfast is the point, with a smokehouse streak running through it. If you used to drive out here for The Local, this is what's in the room now.
Same corner at 10700 Menchaca, new name and a new idea of what to order. The beer-garden run ended and the room reopened as Clara's Day Dive, built around cocktails instead of the sixty taps. Wednesday trivia survived the change. The old southaustinbeergarden.com now sends you straight to the new name.
TABC license status changed to "Surrendered" on Aug 7, 2026.
TABC issued a BG license on Jul 14, 2026 (Active). Usually means newly open or about to open.
TABC issued a MB license on Apr 24, 2026 (Active). Usually means newly open or about to open.
The weekly rhythm
Live music every night
Armadillo Den · Menchaca Corridor
Kids welcome til 6pm
Armadillo Den · Menchaca Corridor
Pub trivia 8pm
Vincent's · Brodie & Slaughter
Happy hour 3pm–6pm
Vincent's · Brodie & Slaughter
Wine down Wednesday 4pm–10pm
Switchback Coffee and Beer · Southpark Meadows
Happy hour with live acoustic set 4pm–6pm
The Hive · Menchaca Corridor
Happy hours, trivia, live music — the stuff that happens every week without a flyer.
Read
The Thursday dispatch for the week of September 2.
Utilities, schools, the Menchaca thing, flood maps, pools, and the paperwork of becoming a far-South Austinite — verified against official sources.
Where exactly is "way south"?
Every micro-hood gets its own page: quick stats, the places, what's on, and what's changing. If yours is missing, say so.
The strip: saloons, beer gardens, and the best patio density south of the river.
Master-planned, tree-lined, and home to the Wildflower Center and the Veloway.
Acre-ish lots, live oaks, and streets that still feel like the country.
Golf-course streets, a huge park, and McKinney Falls a short drive away.
The big-box heart of way south — with more surprises than you'd think.
Trailheads out the back gate — greenbelt living on the edge of the city.
Olympic Heights, Southland Oaks, Village at Western Oaks — the everyday middle.
FM 1626, San Leanna, and the last stretch before Hays County.
New rooftops next to a state park and the old Onion Creek bottomlands.
Regulars' picks
The way-south Alamo. Same no-talking rules, same queso, way easier parking.
Food trucks, string lights, live music, and a playground — the family-hour beer garden.
Sprawling live-oak beer garden with a stage, sand volleyball, and half of 78748 on a Friday.
284 acres of native Texas plants, an arboretum, a family garden, and the best spring bluebonnets in the city.
Two waterfalls, limestone swimming holes, nine miles of trail, and campsites — inside the city limits.
Five-mile crushed-granite loop through juniper and oak — hikers, runners and mountain bikes share it politely.
Community-owned data
A taco truck that moved. A pool that closed early. A trail that floods every time it rains. Every tip gets read by a human who lives here.
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