According to recent reporting, international restaurant chain Moxies is already working on a second Austin location before making its downtown debut.
Moxies confirmed in July its plan for a restaurant at 600 Congress Ave., and now the Canadian restaurant chain is bringing a second location to The Domain at 3309 Esperanza Crossing, in place of the former Microsoft Store that closed in 2020.
Moxies will undergo extensive construction to turn the former tech hub into a restaurant and add a second story with rooftop seating. The restaurant will likely open in the first quarter of 2027, according to Drew Smith, vice president of Eatz Hospitality, the franchisee that has opened many Moxies locations.
“Austin, in general, has been on our roadmap,” Smith said. “When we think about Austin, the downtown location — where we’ve already signed and are starting construction very soon — was one of our targets. The second target we had in mind was The Domain. For years, we’ve been thinking on that and waiting for the right opportunity to pop up.”Moxies inked a 10-year lease with two five-year renewal options about two weeks ago, working with Travis Robertson of JLL, Smith said. The restaurant will hire about 150 employees per location.
“Moxies, which boasts a globally inspired menu serving burgers, pastas, fish dishes, steak and vegetarian options, has extensive plans for its location at The Domain. It will build a 5,000-square-foot rooftop patio with an interior dining space that can be used for private events and a bar on the second floor. Its first floor will be about 7,400 square feet with 1,000 square feet of patio,” the report states.
“It’ll be our first true rooftop patio that we’ve built in the U.S., so we’re excited to do that,” Smith said.
“Generally, Moxies has a $9 million budget per project for construction, furniture, tech, equipment and more, but this location will trend higher because of the additional roof, elevator and other updates. Moxies is working with Trinity Constructors for its downtown Austin location, with the intent that they will also submit a bid for its space at The Domain. The company tapped Fusion AE to design both its Austin locations.”
Moxies already has several locations near Sixty Vines and the company finds that the two businesses complement each other, Smith said.
