Austin Republic is open in North Palm Beach

Its barbecue will come from the West Palm Beach location where another restaurant is planned.

Editor’s note: In May, operators of the North Palm Beach restaurant posted a note on the door saying it would be closed for renovations until Aug. 15.

There’s a new ‘cue in town. Chef James Strine is bringing his Austin Republic barbecue to North Palm Beach in the old Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse location.

Strine partnered with John Webb, owner of Roxy’s Pub in downtown West Palm Beach and a Texan, to bring “authentic Austin barbecue” to North Palm.

The furniture and final touches were being set up during our interview. The restaurant opened Saturday, July 26.

Austin Republic is an offshoot of the original that is now going through permitting in West Palm Beach next to Phipp’s Park on South Dixie Highway. Strine operated from a mobile kitchen there before applying for a building permit to house the permanent restaurant. 

Strine, who said they haven’t done any advertising yet, said he wasn’t expecting the response from diners who have mobbed the restaurant nightly since opening. 

“I didn’t know any of the people at our ‘friends and family’ soft opening. They just came. It was chaos. We sold out by 8 o’clock.”

It’s been that way daily since then, he told Stet News on Friday. “A lot of people were mad because we had to turn them away. But we ran out of food. We’re open just one week.”

Strine reported that to keep up, “we cook more each day.” 

As for launching the restaurant in North Palm Beach, he said, “We had been looking for a location up here, and this was available.”

Working with the Village of North Palm Beach proved much easier than West Palm, Webb said, so it came about first.

“We’ve had nothing but positive comments about working with them. We were warned it would take a long time, but that didn’t happen.”

Strine is a fixture in the county’s culinary scene. The Maryland native has worked at several restaurants in Palm Beach, including The Breakers, Buccan and Cafe Boulud, as well as opening Grato for Chef Clay Conley in West Palm Beach. 

He now is focused on making Austin Republic a brand.

Something for the whole family

The former steakhouse is a large space redesigned with several elements — many family friendly.

Strine, chef of the operation, said the main dining room would have about 120 seats, with a free video game cave for the kids. The portico will be gated off for outside dining as well as giant Jenga, corn hole, Foosball and Ping Pong tables.

“I used to have young kids. There was nowhere to take them. We have the space so we decided to be family friendly. This is a big family community. So here, you can send the kids outside to play, and Mom and Dad can eat in peace.”

In a separate room, the 60-foot oval bar seats 38 and features a wall of TVs, along with room for darts and a pool table.  Austin Republic will stay open till 2 am — serving customers “in the biz,” Strine said. Hospitality workers in the area have few places to go after their shifts, he said.

“The dining room is open till 10; that’s when we can get weird,” he said, laughing. “The theme is Keep Austin Weird, like the city, so we’re going with that.”

Hand-painted murals on the walls carry the theme, with aliens beaming up cows and coyotes howling alongside desert scenes. “It’s got a very Austin vibe.”

The menu will be expanded from the original. Along with smoked brisket — and its burnt ends, ribs and chicken from the smoker, come a variety of Tex Mex favorites: birria burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos and a wide variety of sides.

“We’ll have a lot more apps and shareables — bar bites,” Strine said. “We added smoked wings for the bar. We’ll have a tortilla machine to make tortillas here.”

Locations will work together

Austin Republic’s barbecue smokers will be set up at the West Palm Beach location, and the North Palm Beach restaurant will become the commissary for the remainder of the menu.

“The beauty of this menu is I don’t have to have cooks. All this is assembly work. All the dishes are prepared; we’re just building tacos and burritos and slicing meats. No shaking pans,” Strine said. “I know my recipes: They’re simple and straightforward.”

Rather than a large menu, however, the chef is going for something more important, he said.

“We want to be consistently good.”

At start up, they serve dinner only, then ease into a lunch service. A walk-up window for carryout will be in place, and may be open all day as they are established.

“Eventually, since there will be someone here 24/7, we’ll serve breakfast sandwiches and such from the window.”

Expect more Austin Republics in the county and beyond.

“We’ve looked at several other locations,” Strine said. “We’re trying to create a brand.”

Austin Republic is at 661 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to note the restaurant opened July 26.