Quickie Pickie has been a neighborhood institution for more than 25 years, newly updated to keep pace with 11th Street’s revitalization.
Part convenience grocery, part café, part beer joint, we are a hybrid uniquely suited to our neighborhood in the same way the bodegas of the northeast, the packed little colmados of Latin America, and the bar-tabacs of Paris and Marseille are uniquely suited to theirs.
Fast when you’re in a hurry and chill when you want to hang out.
History
Beginning around the turn of the millennium, the City’s urban renewal plan sought to revive and revitalize the once vibrant retail and entertainment district along the 11th and 12th Street corridors. As a part of that plan, block 19—the section whereupon Quickie Pickie and the East Village Lofts now sit—was slated for total demolition to make way for an office building with ground level retail. Progress, however, was slow.
Then, just as East Austin was beginning to come into its own as an up and coming neighbourhood, fears about the economy caused the redevelopment process to all but stop. When some of the small businesses that had been part of the initial development phase began to struggle, it became clear that what was missing was customers.
Thus was the East Village Lofts project born and the Quickie Pickie saved.
Owner: Zahir Prasla
GM, Grocery, Beer + Coffee buyer: Asmita Prasla