Emmer & Rye

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Restaurant Built Around the Farmer's Haul

Opened in 2015 on Austin's Rainey Street, Emmer & Rye is organized around a simple but demanding premise: the menu follows what farmers, ranchers, and foragers bring in. That means it changes daily. Heirloom grains are milled fresh on-site for house-made pastas, breads, and desserts. Whole-animal butchery happens in-house. An extensive fermentation program captures flavors at their peak and holds them through the off-season. The result is seasonal cuisine that is genuinely tethered to place and time rather than to a fixed recipe card.

The Name Tells the Story

The name is not decorative. Emmer wheat is one of the oldest domesticated crops known to humanity — gathered wild by hunter-gatherers long before it was farmed — and its flour carries an earthy, slightly spicy character with an aroma of mushrooms. The kitchen's fascination with emmer grew into a broader exploration of heirloom and heritage grains, working them through pastas and breads and discovering the nuances of flavors that modern agriculture largely set aside.

"Rye" arrived by way of Copenhagen. Chef Kevin spent time in a kitchen there, and Denmark's approach to cooking left a clear mark: the celebration of produce at its peak, the use of acid and bitter as seriously as sweet and salty, and the iconic Scandinavian rye bread as a symbol of that philosophy. Together, the two grains frame what the restaurant is about — ingredients that deserve more attention than they typically receive.

The Team and the Table

Chef de Cuisine Alexa Mejia leads the kitchen today, supported by Executive Sous Chef Robby Bauer. General Manager Valentina Navarro and Assistant General Manager Amber Goodwin oversee the dining room. For larger groups, the kitchen crafts set menus for parties of seven or more, ensuring every table gets the full experience the restaurant is known for.

The beverage program earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2023 — recognition that the list is as considered as the food it accompanies, with menus that shift alongside the kitchen's daily offerings.

Commitment Beyond the Plate

Emmer & Rye holds carbon-neutral status, working with Zero FoodPrint to offset its emissions. It is also a member of Good Work Austin, an organization focused on professional development and equitable practices in the local food and beverage industry. The seasonal cuisine philosophy here extends to how the restaurant operates as a business — with a clear-eyed sense of responsibility to the people and land that make the cooking possible.