Java News

Austin favorite picks Dallas for first cocktail bar-coffeehouse combo

Whiskey being poured from a bottle into a glass

Houndstooth Coffee will open a companion bar concept at Sylvan Thirty.

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Houndstooth Coffee, the hipster coffee concept from Austin, will open its first cocktail bar-coffee shop combo in Dallas. Called Jettison, it will open at Sylvan Thirty on October 21.

Houndstooth founder Sean Henry says in a release that his goal is to create intimate spaces for genuine connection. He also uses a phrase called "table culture."

"Whether over coffee or dinner and drinks, we want to create a table culture that is both authentic and unique," he says. "We want to give a particular character to our experiences at Houndstooth and Jettison — one that speaks to the broader social aspect of being brought together in a particular moment that is both venerable and memorable."

That is a million-dollar quote.

Houndstooth is the Austin coffee shop that expanded to Dallas in 2014, when it opened a branch on Henderson Avenue. It's part of the so-called third wave of coffee, wherein operators pay careful attention to details such as the source and grind of the coffee bean. It debuted in Austin in 2010, with a second branch that opened in April 2013.

In July, founder Sean Henry launched a coffee roasting side business; he uses the beans in Houndstooth stores, and he sells them to other shops and restaurants.

In contrast to the coffee bar, which occupies a larger airy, sunlit space, Jettison offers a darker, more intimate retreat for cocktails and conversation.

The bar program is headed by George Kaiho, of Parliament and Tei-An, who has created a menu of cocktails.

Jettison is a new endeavor, but it stays true to the Houndstooth brand and ideal by using design elements from the other locations, and by providing an intimate space for personal connection over handcrafted beverages. You're not just drinking this stuff, you're practically dating it.

To mark the opening, Houndstooth Coffee will preview the space with a dinner series that offers beverage pairings highlighting global cuisine, in collaboration with chefs from around the city.

The schedule is as follows:

September 19: Thai with white wine, Mateo Roberson
October 3: Interior Mexican with mezcal, Francisco Terrazas of Mezcal Vago
October 10: Southern French with wine, Julien Eelsen of Whisk Creperie
October 17: Italian with Italian amaro and wine, Cody Sharp
October 24: Spanish with sherry, Cody Sharp

You can buy tickets at Squareup.com.

coffee openings

PIZZA PROBLEMS

Plano-based Pizza Hut to close 250 restaurants as U.S. sales plummet

Pizza Hut/Facebook

Pizza Hut will close 250 restaurants by mid-2026.

By the middle of the year, the country will have fewer Pizza Huts. Yum! Brands, the parent company of the almost 70-year-old chain, announced it plans to close an estimated 250 restaurants — about 4 percent of Pizza Hut's massive global footprint.

The closures were revealed during Yum's fourth quarter earnings call on February 4. While Yum! Brands is based in Louisville, Kentucky, Pizza Hut is headquartered in Plano.

Yum! representatives said that U.S. Pizza Hut store sales slid 3 percent as value initiatives, like the $5 Crafted Flatzz personal pizza, have failed to take hold with customers, who are increasingly spending their pizza budget at rival Domino’s.

In November 2025, Yum! Brands announced that it would launch a “formal review of strategic options,” a program called “Hut Forward,” which officials said could result in a global reduction in the number of Pizza Hut outlets or an eventual sale of the concept.

“The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” said Chris Turner, CEO of Yum! Brands, in a previous press release.

It’s unclear how any such sale would affect the franchise’s Plano headquarters. The corporation is currently in the process of moving KFC, which has been experiencing its own financial struggles, from Kentucky to its Plano home base.

In recent years, the overall pizza landscape has been rocky for national chains. Concepts like Papa John’s, Blaze Pizza, and Mod Pizza have closed units as dining shifts increasingly to favor more “interesting” concepts like Nashville-style hot chicken. In early January, the Wall Street Journal reported that pizzerias are no longer the second most popular chain format in the U.S., plummeting below Mexican restaurants and coffee shops to sixth place.

Although Pizza Hut has not disclosed exactly which locations would be shuttering, it did say it expects to wrap up the closure round by the middle of 2026.

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