Hillside Farmacy in the Heart of East Austin
Hillside Farmacy has been a charming fixture in East Austin for eleven years, providing good food, great atmosphere, and one of the most popular brunch destinations on the Eastside. The team behind Hillside Farmacy (Jade Place-Mathews, Greg Mathews & Sonya Cote) had a vision for what they could add to their neighborhood, and, as Jade explains it, “The evolution of Hillside Farmacy was a serendipitous one.”
The building itself has been lovingly restored to what you see today – a throwback to its original life as a neighborhood pharmacy from the 1950s called Hillside Drug Store. When the restaurant team found the space, it had been run-down and turned into three different store fronts, just a remnant of what it once was. Even before discovering that the space was originally a pharmacy, they had already envisioned a similar theme, and had purchased the large apothecary cabinets you see in the space from an old drugstore in Elgin. When they realized the history of the historic property they had set their sights on, they knew it was meant to be and ran with it. Jade explained, “Once we learnt the history of the building, it very quickly turned into a restoration & preservation & project.”
The space was lovingly restored, with a small budget and a lot of ingenuity, or as Jade puts it, “with a small budget but a large amount of stubbornness.” They took on much of the work themselves, scouring local vintage and antique stores and building out the space over the course of a year, with a lot of trial and error. The project was well worth it, and their efforts to restore the space while honoring its history earned Hillside Farmacy an award from Preservation Austin in 2012, and in 2019 the building earned the designation of Texas Historical Landmark. Over a decade later, the team is still in love with the space and the neighborhood.
When Hillside Farmacy was in its inception, the Eastside of Austin was not the bustling restaurant scene you see today. Jade and team wanted to really add value to the neighborhood, and provide a much needed supply of fresh food to the neighborhood. “11 years ago East Austin was a bit of a desert island for quality groceries. We opened with the concept of bridging the gap between farms & consumers on days farmers markets weren’t open by providing farm eggs, fresh bread, milk & local cheeses, alongside a simple dine in menu.” As the neighborhood grew over time, so did the restaurant’s offerings, expanding their menus. Their business model was beneficial for the neighborhood, Hillside Farmacy, and local farmers during COVID, and continued to keep everyone prosperous during the uncertainty. As Jade recalls, “Our connections to local farms proved invaluable during COVID when we pivoted back to local grocery sales, turning our wine room into a farmers market for online orders.”
Hillside Farmacy’s dedication to local farmers (both their sister farm in Bastrop and countless local sources) as well as valued Austin vendors is a large part of their success, cementing their spot as a neighborhood fixture. Embodying sustainability and local history, they’ve managed to create a community gathering space with local food, neighborly love, all while honoring history. “We feel so lucky to be in this beautiful historic space, it is not without its quirks, constant repairs & maybe a ghost or two. Unfortunately, we have seen so many generic trendy big budget places opening, being in a building like this takes heart and I feel like it shows in our interior & food, making for a truly unique dining experience.”
