Austin Chinese American restaurant Old Thousand is closing its Brentwood location next month. The last day for the 4805 Burnet Road restaurant will be on Sunday, December 3.
Old Thousand had to close its Burnet Road restaurant because of an increased rent and dealing with equipment breakdown, according to a newsletter it sent on November 24. “Considerable setbacks this year have made moving forward at this location untenable, namely the catastrophic failure of major equipment, and the pending 80 percent increase in the renewal of our lease,” it notes.
And the shutter of its second location will allow the team to focus on the original Central East Austin restaurant on East 11th, which is staying open. The newsletter teases more events and extended hours.
Old Thousand, under executive chef Jeff Brown, focuses on Chinese American dishes with Texas inflections. There’s the brisket fried rice, mala fried chicken, smoked salmon rangoons, and mapo fried tofu. There are also cocktails like the Old Thousand gin and tonic, Long Island iced teas, and Aperol spritzes.
Old Thousand, under owner Ben Cachila, opened on 2016 on East 11th Street. The team expanded with this second location, taking over what had been notable restaurant Noble Sandwich Co. (which closed in 2019). The expansion opened in September 2020.