Celebrity chef and cookbook author Joshua Weissman is preparing to open his first restaurant, bringing a new fried chicken concept to East Austin on Sept. 12.
Ben & Lynn’s will open at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St., according to the restaurant’s newly launched social media accounts and website. The restaurant is centered on Texas-style fried chicken and marks Weissman’s move from digital food personality to brick-and-mortar restaurateur. The Austin Business Journal reported Tuesday that it will be Weissman’s debut restaurant.
Weissman has built a large online following through cooking videos, cookbooks and social media content. State alcohol-permit filings list him as the managing member of Ben & Lynn’s Chicken Austin LLC, confirming his involvement in the new restaurant.
The menu is intentionally small. The B&L Classic features Texas fried chicken, house-made dill pickles and B&L sauce on a butter-toasted bun for $11.95. Customers can have the sandwich dipped in the restaurant’s sweet and lightly spicy YamYum sauce for an additional $1.95.
Ben & Lynn’s also will offer fried chicken nuggets for $9.95, extra-crispy fries with sea salt for $4 and seasonally rotating soft serve for $6. House-made sauce choices include B&L Sauce, ranch, YamYum and honey mustard.
The restaurant has described itself in hiring materials as a quick-service concept built around a fried chicken sandwich and has indicated plans to expand to multiple locations in the Austin market.
Ben & Lynn’s has already drawn significant attention ahead of opening. Its Instagram account had more than 18,000 followers despite having only three posts as of Tuesday night.
The company has also applied for a mixed beverage permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Public records list the business as Ben & Lynn’s Chicken Austin LLC at the East Cesar Chavez address.
Ben & Lynn’s is scheduled to open Sept. 12 at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St. in Austin.
Texas Reporter 