Good morning Buda. If you attended Buda’s birthday last month then you already know we’ve turned 145 this year. Missed the party? Don’t worry there’s another great celebration Red, White, and Buda coming up on July 4th — so don’t forget to mark your calendars. Here’s to a cooler, rainy week that we can all appreciate 🌧️

In this week’s Buda Gazette:

Let’s dive in.

-Eric

The newest gem added to downtown Buda is Astra - Restaurant & Bar, one of the most ambitious openings the city has seen in a while. Launched in February, Astra comes from Texas restaurateur Matti Bills, cofounder of Mum Foods, with a vision of creating an elevated but approachable neighborhood restaurant centered around scratch-made food, local sourcing, and a wood-fired cooking program, blending a polished dining experience with the relaxed feel of a downtown gathering spot.

Menu highlights include wood-fired sourdough pizzas, handmade pastas, redfish crudo, and house-cured sandwiches featuring Three Six General butcher shop meats like mortadella, coppa, and oak-smoked turkey.

📍Astra - Restaurant & Bar
404 Main St, Buda, TX 78610

⭐ Eric’s Pick: Don’t sleep on the grilled broccoli plate, it’s one of the best appetizers you’ll ever experience.

Catch some live music downtown this week: Sun Radio’s Southbound Concert Series returns to Meridian on Main Street in Buda on Thursday, May 22 from 7:00–9:00 PM, bringing live Texas music to the heart of downtown as part of its monthly concert series. This week’s featured act is Mayeux & Broussard, known for their gritty blend of Texas country, blues, and outlaw rock. Tickets are $10 and the show is a fundraiser for the Sun Radio Foundation.

📍Meridian
200 Main St, Buda, TX 78610

Someone dropped a building off on Main Street. Literally. Buda’s original historic train depot—first built in the late 1800s and once the center of town’s railroad activity—was relocated back to downtown last November after spending decades on private property between San Marcos and New Braunfels, where it had been at risk of demolition.

Now it’s being transformed into The Depot on Main, a new retail incubator and marketplace for local makers and small businesses, with portions of the plaza potentially opening as early as December 2026 and the broader concept rolling out after that.