LOCAL BUSINESSES
Root Cellar Cafe is celebrating their 20th anniversary by going back to their roots. Brunch is the name of the game and will be the cafe’s main focus for the future. Although the dinner menu will be missed, the bread pudding is here to stay. The cafe is open seven days a week now with their new hours being Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Espresso drinks have been added to the menu as well as a revamped brunch menu, offering their famous eggs benedict every day of the week. The restaurant space will be available for event rentals in the evening. The restaurant’s speakeasy Uproot will still be offering unique cocktails Thursday through Sunday and event rentals including the option for private dining.
“The Root Cellar was created 20 years ago solely as a brunch restaurant,” said Kyle Mylius, founder of The TapRoot Restaurant Collective and creator of the Root Cellar Cafe. “It’s exciting to get back to where it all started as we look back on 20 years of business.”
The cafe had their last dinner service on Sunday, Feb. 16. A return to form, the restaurant plans to “focus on what we think we do the absolute best,” Mylius said. “Which also helps us stand out and is a little more unique.”
The Root Cellar has always ventured into unique territories with seasonal selections and daring drinks. Mylius is excited for the opportunities ahead to try new menu items and refine their brunch experience. One of the first changes is the reintroduction of their espresso bar. Guests will be able to enjoy a variety of lattes, cappuccinos and espresso in their underground dining room or on their street-side patio. Mondays are back as well, allowing guests to dine seven days a week. Egg lovers will rejoice with daily offerings of eggs florentine and eggs benedict. Fan favorites from the dinner menu, such as the bourbon pecan chicken and the bread pudding, will make its way onto the new brunch menu. One dollar from every bread pudding goes to the Hays County Food Bank.
The evenings at the cellar will still be activated by private parties and special events.
“With the space now available nightly for event rentals, we look forward to hosting many more events to continue celebrating your anniversaries, engagements, graduations and so much more,” Mylius said.
Their main event space for rent has been the speakeasy Uproot, which is above the restaurant.
“In the short amount of time that we’ve had Uproot, we’ve done a whole host of parties, everything from tea parties to weddings to rehearsal dinners and graduation parties,” Mylius said.
Now with the restaurant’s dining room open for rentals there are options depending on one’s event needs. The Uproot offers an intimate space for smaller gatherings while bigger parties now have the opportunity to host larger events in the main restaurant area. There will be options to rent just the space or to have your event catered by the restaurant with a select private dining menu.
“We still have unbelievably talented chefs here, so we’ll be able to do anything from small hors d’oeuvres to full plated dinners for private parties,” Mylius said.
For two decades The Root Cellar Cafe has been a staple in the San Marcos restaurant scene. It has served as a place to gather and celebrate while dining on made from scratch delights. Kyle Mylius has been there the whole way, growing his restaurant into a core of the community while fostering an amazing team. Mylius showed his appreciation to the San Marcos community by saying, “A huge, huge thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. As a terrified 25 year-old kid starting this restaurant 20 years ago, it’s surreal and beautiful to be sitting here and talking about it 20 years later and to think about all the beautiful people that have worked so hard to get us here 20 years later and all the support that we’ve had by this community.”
His entrepreneurial spirit and love of hospitality is what drove him to maintain quality and community at The Root Cellar Cafe. Fans of the San Marcos staple can explore the restaurants, which are a part of his company and will all remain under The Taproot umbrella, a hospitality group providing direction, design and management to seven uniquely crafted concepts. This includes the Root Cellar Catering Company, Rhea’s Ice Cream and The Coffee Bar in San Marcos. As well as Tin Top in New Braunfels and Gruene Grove & Goodwin’s Speakeasy in Gruene. Along with their newest concept Wurst in Gruene, which opened in 2021.
One can visit The Root Cellar cafe seven days a week for brunch at 215 North Lyndon Baines Johnson Drive and follow their instagram for updates at @rootcellarcafe.
