Elephant Room, Parker Jazz Club team open Nica on 4th cocktail jazz bar
Kris Kimura and Aaron Frescas, the duo behind Elephant Room and Parker Jazz Club, opened new jazz bar Nica on 4th in downtown Austin Sept. 18.
The overview: The Prohibition-style cocktail lounge features live jazz performances from 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The bar serves a selection of cocktails, premium wines, craft beers and nonalcoholic options.
Did you know: Nica aims to capture the essence of the 1920s in Chicago and pays homage to jazz Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who was known as "The Baroness of Jazz."
The backstory: Nica on 4th is the newest jazz venture by Kimura and Frescas. The former college friends studied music at Texas State University and spent many years performing with artists and bands throughout Austin, according to Nica information.
Kimura opened Parker Jazz Club off Fourth Street in 2018 and brought on Frescas to run food and beverage operations. In 2021, Kimura became an equity owner at Elephant Room alongside Frescas, who became the jazz club's operator and chief decision maker.
Considering private education? Here’s the tuition, offerings and classification of several private schools in the Central Austin area. This list is not comprehensive.
AHB Community School Type: microschool Grades served: K-8 Religious orientation: N/A Enrollment: 100 Extracurriculars: athletics, fine arts, STEM, etc. Tuition: $13,950 annually
1509 Dartmouth Ave., Austin
Austin Jewish Academy Type: Pluralist Jewish day school focused on project-based learning Grades served: K-8 Religious orientation: Pluralistic Jewish Extracurriculars: competitive athletics (grades 4-8), art club, musical, chess club, Kids Connection, other activities via Shalom Austin Enrollment: 101 Tuition: $20,800 (K-5), $21,200 (6-8) annually
Austin moves to slow displacement, preserve thousands of affordable units with new fund
Public dollars could be matched with private and philanthropic dollars in a new effort to preserve existing, less expensive housing units for lower-income earners across Austin.
The details: Council members voted Sept. 11 to broaden the city's efforts to maintain naturally occurring affordable housing, or units that are available at cheaper rates without any government subsidy. That housing is often older and in need of repair, making it a target for redevelopment that can bring more costly and luxury-oriented units to the market while pushing out original residents.
Modeled after similar programs that have seen success in Dallas and other major cities, Austin's new housing preservation fund could offer financial support to property owners in exchange for a commitment to keep housing costs low. The fund will also be opened to investments from outside entities to quickly expand on an initial city investment, likely totaling several million dollars.
