Brittany Kelley
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Sarah Miller and Dallas Miller are hoping to bring back family opportunities to Dripping Springs with the reopening of Oakwood Public Market near the end of August.
The pair are entrepreneurs and business owners in Austin, with Sarah working in events and hospitality and Dallas being a director of operations. After living in Dripping Springs for three years, they were looking for a chance to open their own company in the city when Oakwood Public Market, a venue they visited often, announced its closure at the beginning of July.
They reached out to the owners to bid on the project, won and received the keys last week, said Sarah.
“There’s a coffee shop in it that we would stop at in the morning, after we dropped the kids off at school. They had a market that we could get our essentials and buy milk and grab wine on our way home for the evening and then, there was a soda shop, [where] the kids could get ice cream and milkshakes. Then, obviously, a bar and restaurant where we frequented to let the kids run around and play and look out over the hill country,” said Dallas. “We were here all the time for multiple different reasons and that’s why it just spoke to us.”
The 10-year lease on the building will keep the structure, name and concept the same, but with added additions the new owners hope will serve as a one-stop shop for families.
Sarah explained that with Wildwood Elementary School that recently opened up in the Headwaters subdivision last year, a space for children to have fun at was needed. So, an arcade will be added to the building.
Returning to Oakwood will be a menu featuring American and Southern Tex-Mex dishes created by chef Charles Dowd, who previously ran kitchens at North Italia, Haymaker and Black Sheep Lodge, said Dallas.
“We [also] have plans in the coffee shop on Friday and Saturday night to stay open late and make it a little bit more moody and then, that offers our chef the opportunity to explore even further on what he can do with a supper club, while we make craft cocktails and do draft beer and just have a place that’s 21 and up out here because that’s kind of lacking,” he continued, adding that this can be a date night for couples in the area.
Sarah and Dallas shared that they hope families can visit together and find something for everyone — additional televisions and drinks for dad, nice wine and food for mom and an arcade for the kids.
Although the previous vendors will not be staying in Oakwood, there will be an opportunity to have feature shelves for local business owners to sell their products in the future.
There is currently not a set date for opening, Sarah said, but the coffee shop is aiming to begin services at the end of the month, with the other amenities coming in September.
“We live here in Headwaters, so we are part of the community and we really just want to make this a place where families can gather and … the community can make memories. The best part is we’re one of them, as well,” said Sarah. “We’re not these outsider people trying to run a business in a place that we don’t know and love and that’s why we want to take on this project because our roots are here and we’re not leaving anytime soon. So, we want to grow with the community.”
To learn more, visit www.exploreoakwood.com.
