Food-O-File

A drive down the Drag revealed the demolition of the restaurant building at the corner of Guadalupe and 20th Streets. Though the most recent tenants were ill-fated regional chain outfits, for many years the site was home to the campus-area Night Hawk restaurant. That particular Night Hawk location saw many study dates, former student reunions, and pre- and post-game meals before its popularity faded in the Seventies. The often-remodeled site of one home-grown restaurant company was demolished to make way for another Austin-based business. The building under construction is a new 2,700-square-foot prototype Schlotzsky's restaurant with a drive-thru window, reports Schlotzsky's PR director Laura Bernstein. The company is changing the identity of its outlets from sandwich shops to restaurants, and the new company-owned store on Guadalupe will also serve as a training facility for new franchisees. According to Bernstein, Schlotzsky's has bought out the store owner currently doing business nearby and the smaller Schlotzsky's will close when the new restaurant opens sometime in the fall.

More wedding cake news: One of Austin's most talented wedding cake creators has returned. Bro Betts, formerly the award-winning pastry chef at Green Pastures, brought his young family back to Austin after a stint managing a grocery store bakery in St. Louis. Betts is currently the instructor for an advanced pastry arts program he developed at Le Chef College of Hospitality Careers, which should be welcome news to local bakeries and pastry shops who have openings for qualified pastry production people. Customers interested in Bro Betts' wedding cake artistry can order cakes from him through Cafe Armageddon (2015 Manor Rd., 478-4857).

Ice cream is always a reliable summer sweet treat, but what about a frozen wedge of creamy cheesecake encased in a dark chocolate coating? I discovered this divinely decadent chilled confection at Russell's Bakery (1500-B Spyglass, 329-6388) while picking up my regular supply of his addictive schnecken and cinnamon rolls. The Frozen Cheesecake ($3) comes on a stick and won't melt while you eat it. Perhaps a lighter way to beat the heat would be a visit to Austin's newest Smoothie King (10900 Research, 342-9800). Partners Stuart Tucker and Nancy Howard have been in business near the new Randalls at Research and Braker for almost three months. Smoothie lovers and fitness fans who recognize the franchise name from Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and points east have been making their way to the new flagship store. Austin had been without a Smoothie King outlet since the campus-area location closed. The new northwest store is the first of 12 that Tucker and Howard have planned for this area, with the next slated for Lincoln Village.

Consider this: Owners of a successful Italian family restaurant in Dallas moved to the shores of Lake Travis and opened a restaurant/store in April, 1996. Their first summer, the lake was devastated by a parching drought. Things looked up for 1997, then excessive rain closed the lake as a tourist attraction for a crucial part of the summer. Margaret Cunzalo, owner of Roscoe's Food Mart & Italian Kitchen (13825 FM 2769, 257-7192), is understandably worried about the prospect of locusts for next year. Make a mental note to check out her cozy little Italian spot on Volente Road at the Cypress Creek Park near Lake Travis as soon as the lake reopens.