Restaurant Updates 8/7/26

🆕= new this week

🆕Short Mama's Bistro is turning an 1899 historic home just off Mercer Street into a European-inspired restaurant and bar — and it's getting close.

🆕Gennaro's Ristorante Italiano just opened in Wimberley, serving Naples-rooted, made-from-scratch pasta and pizza around a big live oak.

🆕Whiskey Ridge in Driftwood is our Featured Spot — coal-fire Texas steaks, Gulf seafood, and a serious whiskey wall with a wrap-around porch.

🆕Short Mama's Bistro (Dripping Springs) — A European-inspired bistro taking shape inside "Short Mama's House," an 1899 historic home just off Mercer Street, with a full bar, a brand-new kitchen, and an outdoor dining porch. It's named for longtime resident Beulah "Short Mama" Crumley Haydon and shaping up to be a relaxed neighborhood gathering spot.
📆ETA/Opened: Opening soon (2026)
📍Address: 101 S. College St., Dripping Springs
🌐Website: https://shortmama.com
📞Phone: 512-858-1800

🆕Roxie's (Dripping Springs) — Southern comfort from the Salt Lick BBQ family, named for founder Scott Roberts' grandmother "Miss Roxie," with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs topped with fried-chicken bites, family-recipe pies, and a covered patio bar. The Buda sibling is already open; our Mercer Street location has been years in the making thanks to the building's historic zoning.
📆ETA/Opened: 2026
📍Address: W. Mercer St., Dripping Springs
🌐Website: https://www.instagram.com/roxiesbuda
📞Phone: TBD

Gennaro's Ristorante Italiano (Wimberley) — A family-owned Italian rooted in the traditions of Naples, serving made-from-scratch pastas, pizzas, and classic dishes. The dining room is built around a live oak with seating indoors and out, in the former RR 12 Supper Club space.
📆Opened: Opened June 24, 2026
📍Address: 13900 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley
🌐Website: https://gennaroswimberley.com
📞Phone: 512-637-8898

Also worth a first visit if you haven't been yet:
Cousin Louie's, the family-style Italian-American spot from the Tony C's team, is now open in Belterra Village (cousin-louies.com); Rice & Oak is serving handcrafted Thai in downtown Dripping Springs (the smoked brisket fried rice is the move); and Wimberley's new Tea Nook just opened on the Square for a cozy cup.

🆕Wingstop (Dripping Springs) — The wing chain is finishing out a spot in the Drifting Wind Run center off Hwy. 290, and with permits pulled and crew hiring underway, cooked-to-order wings and fries look to be landing any day now.
📆ETA/Opened: Opening soon
📍Address: 136 Drifting Wind Run, Ste. 107, Dripping Springs
🌐Website: https://locations.wingstop.com/tx/dripping-springs/wingstop-3227-dripping-springs-tx-78620
📞Phone: TBD

🆕Gabrielides Coffee Shop (Dripping Springs) — A new 2,900-square-foot building on RR 12 will pair a coffee shop with a postal facility — the owners are teasing "something that has never been done before." State construction filing is in; keep this one on your radar.
📆ETA/Opened: 2026
📍Address: 28485 Ranch Road 12, Dripping Springs
🌐Website: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tbd
Phone: TBD

We're also watching a restaurant build-out taking shape at 131 E. Mercer St. in Dripping Springs — no name on it yet, but we'll share it the moment the sign goes up.

The Vibe — Right at the gateway to the Hill Country in Driftwood, Whiskey Ridge is the polished-but-easy spot you take out-of-towners to show off what Texas does best. Think coal-fire cooking, a deep whiskey wall, craft cocktails, and a wrap-around porch made for a slow sunset. It comes from the crew behind Austin's Cover 3.

Must-Order Items — The chicken-fried steak is built on a hand-cut aged ribeye, and the braised beef short rib with jalapeño cheese grits and a molasses-guajillo glaze is pure Hill Country comfort. Seafood lovers should start with the broiled Gulf oysters and the raw bar before the coal-fire mains land.

Pro Tip — Belly up to the bar and let them steer you to a Texas whiskey you haven't met yet, then grab a porch table for the golden-hour view. It's an easy detour on your way to or from the Driftwood wineries.

📍8750 W. Ranch Road 150, Driftwood
🌐https://www.whiskeyridgetx.com
📞512-262-0222

Oakwood Public Market (Driftwood) — The food court and artisan market off Hwy. 290 — home to a pizza kitchen, coffee shop, soda shop, and bar — closed July 3, less than a year after opening. The owners hinted at "recalibrating and reimagining" the space, so keep an eye on this one.
📍Address: Off US Hwy. 290, Driftwood

RR 12 Supper Club (Wimberley) — The Italian supper club at 13900 Ranch Road 12 has closed — but the space didn't sit empty long, with Gennaro's already moved in and back open for business.
📍Address: 13900 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley

🆕Beerburg Beer Garden (Dripping Springs) — The Fitzhugh Road brewery just opened a brand-new all-outdoor beer garden on its 15-acre spread, with open-air pours, native-plant garden talks, and Sunday Dance Hall nights.
📆Status: Now open (debuted May 2026)
📍Address: 13476 Fitzhugh Road, Dripping Springs area
🌐Website: https://www.beerburg.com

🆕Beer Ranch Project (Wimberley) — A husband-and-wife ranch-house brewery with a downtown tasting room and a boutique inn on RR 12; the full ranch-house brewery a few miles out is coming soon.
📆Status: Tasting room open; brewery coming soon
📍Address: 13510 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley
🌐Website: https://www.beerranchproject.com

🆕Rebecca Caroline (Hye) — A new Texas sparkling-wine tasting room from William Chris Wine Co., set inside the historic 1886 Hye Post Office right on US 290 just west of Dripping Springs.
📆Status: Now open (summer 2026)
📍Address: 10261 US Hwy. 290, Hye
🌐Website: https://rebeccacaroline.com

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✌️ Until next Friday,

Nolan K.

P.S. Corrections welcome. If I got something wrong, email me at [email protected] — I try to double-check everything, but I’m human.