It’s not often that restaurateurs get into real estate development, but Pinthouse Pizza Holdings LLC is taking that on. Its latest project in Cedar Park is bringing two local restaurants in addition to a new Pinthouse location.

“It is really a recognition of how hard it is to find good real estate and how dangerous it can be if you’re not set up for success on the real estate side — particularly with Austin in the market growth, the property tax growth — it’s really easy to get caught upside down if you’re not in a strong, tenable, long-term position,” Tyler Norwood, co-founder of Pinthouse, said about why he got into development.

Austin’s real estate market has not shown mercy to restaurant operators in recent years as rents and property taxes increase. The conditions have made it difficult for mom-and-pop restaurants to do business. Some recent examples include struggles by Brentwood Social House, Yard Bar, one Chi’Lantro location and Vince Young Steakhouse. And on the other side of it, some restaurant owners take years before they’re able to make a move from a food truck to brick and mortar, find creative solutions for real estate or struggle to expand.

 

Pinthouse Pizza Holdings LLC, the parent company to Pinthouse Brewing and Pinthouse Pizza, is taking on the real estate so it can do more.

 

Pinthouse is expanding to Cedar Park with a new brewery and restaurant located at 1605 E. New Hope Drive. It’s slated to open in the second half of 2027, according to an announcement. The project will feature a full-service Pinthouse Pizza plus an outdoor beer garden. It will also increase Pinthouse’s brewing capacity.

“We’ve watched Williamson County continue to grow and evolve over the years, and we’re incredibly excited to finally bring Pinthouse to the Cedar Park community,” Kyle Detrick, president of retail operations for Pinthouse, said in a statement. “This project allows us to expand our brewing capabilities while creating one of the most ambitious hospitality spaces we’ve ever built. The outdoor beer garden especially is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and we think it’s going to become a true gathering place for the community.”

 

 

Pinthouse

The new project will also bring in Austin-based Jack Allen’s Restaurant Group’s Salt Traders Coastal Cooking and Day Maker Half Day Cafe.

Pinthouse is open to a variety of development opportunities in the future with the possibility of bringing in other friends and peers, Norwood said.

“It gives us more flexibility to pursue maybe bigger pieces of land or development opportunities that, if we were just isolated to ourselves and couldn't bring the whole team together, we couldn't pursue. I wouldn't say it's necessarily an aspiration to repeat this over and over again, but if we get an opportunity that makes sense and we've proven we can do it, we absolutely will,” Norwood said.

Developing gives Pinthouse more flexibility on finding good locations and working with the people it wants to work with, Norwood said. If done right, it provides growth opportunity and security. In ABJ's Austin Icons series, many of the longtime successful businesses in the city have attributed longevity, at least in part, to owning the real estate.

Pinthouse stepped into development around 2017 through its Round Rock location that opened in 2019. Then it was followed by Pinthouse Brewing on Ben White, Norwood said.

Getting to owning real estate and development takes a lot of bandwidth, experience and access to capital, Norwood said. Pinthouse has two partners who were involved in architecture and general contracting. The company has also built its business over 20 years to 13 projects, giving it a lot of experience. Over the years, the company was also able to build trust with banking partners and an investment group, helping with the capital side.

Pinthouse banks with Dallas-based Susser Bank. Norwood declined to share investor names but said there are three core investors that have been helping the business grow.

The company would like to continue expanding, but it wants to be thoughtful in its next steps, especially in a difficult environment, Norwood said. That entails not overwhelming the team so Pinthouse can continue executing at a high standard without losing its core values, he said.

Thoughtful growth also means staying in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. Pinthouse opened its first San Antonio location in late March and has already seen positive results.

The plan is to also grow outside of these two markets in the long term, but the timeline on that has not been decided, Norwood said.