AUSTIN, Texas — After nearly 60 years, local late-night restaurant Stars Café – known to many as Star Seeds – is closing up shop this weekend. After Sunday, Stars Café is moving to a new location away from Interstate 35.
It is among the many long-time businesses and residents being displaced by the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) controversial I-35 Expansion Project, which is meant to alleviate traffic woes near Downtown Austin.
An Austin-based attorney said in June that TxDOT was suing displaced businesses along the interstate to acquire their land.
In a social media post on Oct. 10, the café announced its Nov. 10 closure and relocation, saying the I-35 expansion led it to make the "difficult decision" to move from its location of 58 years.
Customers say Stars Café has always been more than just a place to eat – it has been a gathering spot
Vic Ramirez has been coming to Stars Café since he was a college student. He and his friends would come to the 24-hour diner at all times of the day and night.
"Lots of memories, some of them clearer than others," Ramirez said. "It was just some place to come and gather, talk, eat and have fun."
For Ramirez, walking through the door this weekend is like entering a time machine.
"It's that old Austin vibe," he said. "When you walk in here, you kind of automatically go back to earlier days, revisit those and remember things."
They are memories and moments Ramirez and his friends still treasure decades later, like the booth they would always sit in. They always had to squeeze in because the café was so packed.
"I remember a couple of us coming in here, and we would sit on those stools and hang out at the bar," Ramirez said. "It's just a different vibe. You don't see that anymore."
Ramirez and his family were among the many customers who stopped by on Saturday for a final meal of pancakes or chicken fried steak and to relive memories or nostalgia. He ordered his go-to: an omelet and a side stack of pancakes.
For Ramirez, it was bittersweet to experience it one final time and say goodbye. He and his wife brought their 15-year-old daughter so she could experience it as well.
"We wanted to show her what this place is and give her a little taste of what it was back then so she can feel that vibe because you don't see that anymore," he said.
TxDOT has released a project timeline, with work tentatively planned from Lady Bird Lake to MLK Boulevard over the next decade. The project will add two non-tolled high-occupancy-vehicle managed lanes in each direction from U.S. 290 East to State Highway 71/Ben White Boulevard and will also remove the upper decks, add boulevard-style segments through downtown and enhance pedestrian and bike paths.
The "university" segment of the project, where Stars Café is located, is scheduled to start construction in 2027.
The I-35 Capital Express Central Project is expected to cost $4.5 billion.
Crews have already begun rebuilding the MLK Jr. Boulevard bridge. The next step will begin at Holly Street in early 2025.
As crews rebuild the heart of Austin, Ramirez and his family remember and reflect on the good old times.
"There's not very many places of old Austin that still exist," Ramirez said. "It's a distinct time frame and snapshot in my life and our lives."
The restaurant said it will announce plans for its new location after Nov. 10.
While he is sad to see it go, Ramirez said he looks forward to the future of Stars Café.
"Hopefully, they find a spot, and they can rebuild it exactly like this," Ramirez said. "If they can keep the décor and the vibe, that would be the best."