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Bouldin Creek Cafe began in 2000 as a tiny, funky coffeehouse on Elizabeth Street, started by UT grad and longtime waitress Leslie Martin with a small budget, a lot of help from friends and family, and a desire to hold onto the creative, independent spirit that made Austin feel like Austin. What started in a 700-square-foot, slightly beat-up house with a 200-square-foot kitchen and mostly outdoor seating gradually turned into a full-fledged restaurant as people came for the food as much as the coffee. Ten years later, Bouldin moved into a beautifully restored 1940s garage at South First and Mary Street, giving us room to grow while keeping the personality, art, weirdness, and community spirit of the original. More than 25 years later, we’re still woman-owned, still making our food from scratch, still serving badass handcrafted coffee, and still trying to be the kind of place where people feel at home.

We’re a vegetarian and vegan restaurant, but you definitely don’t have to be vegetarian to eat here. One of the things we’re proudest of is the wonderfully mixed-up crowd that walks through our doors every day—students, artists, parents, musicians, business folks, ranchers, lifelong vegans, curious first-timers, and everyone in between. We believe food is a pretty great way to bring people together, and that showing people a different way of eating and living works a whole lot better when you lead with good food, genuine hospitality, and a good time. We support local artists and organizations, work to reduce waste, and try to put our money and energy back into the community that has supported us for all these years. Bouldin has been recognized as one of the country’s best vegetarian restaurants, featured on *Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives*, and become a favorite stop for generations of Austinites—but what really keeps us going is our staff, our regulars, and the feeling that we’re still part of the Austin community we set out to protect back in 2000.