AUSTIN, Texas — After nearly 60 years, local late night restaurant Stars Café – known to many as Star Seeds – is closing up shop and moving to a new location away from Interstate 35.
For several years, KVUE has reported on the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) controversial I-35 expansion project, which is meant to alleviate traffic woes near Downtown Austin but will also displace long-time businesses and residents. The battle over the expansion first started brewing around 2021 and has led to numerous protests and a lawsuit from advocacy groups like Rethink 35.
Most recently, an Austin-based attorney said in June that TxDOT was suing displaced businesses along the interstate to acquire their land.
The staff at Stars Café have known for a while that their days at their I-35 location were numbered.
"I hate to say it, but Keep Austin Weird. Stars is definitely weird. We've always been that place where we even hire people where they might not get these jobs at their fancier restaurant because they might not fit the mold," Manager Jetara Robertson told KVUE in February 2023. "You want Austin to change, you want Austin to expand, but you also want to be able to keep your heart."
Now, more than a year later, the end of an era has come for the restaurant.
Stars Café says goodbye to I-35
In a social media post on Oct. 10, the café announced its Nov. 10 closure and relocation, stating that the I-35 expansion led it to make the "difficult decision" to move from its location of 58 years.
In the post, the staff waxed poetic about its decades in business.
"Stars Cafe has always been more than just a place to eat; it has been a gathering spot of the Amazing and the not so amazing, a haven for friends and families and mortal enemies, and a backdrop for countless memories and 'I can’t believe that happened' times," the post reads. "Whether you loved us, hated us, were sick of us, or would give up a spleen to see us remain, we appreciate you for ever gracing your presence through our doors."
Stars Café thanked its customers, vowing to serve "one last pancake or one last cup of coffee or one last chicken fried steak that you will cherish" during its last month of operation on I-35.
The restaurant said it will announce plans for its new location after Nov. 10.
"Thank you for 58 wonderful years," Stars Café said. "We look forward to creating new memories with you in our new home."
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.
