Austin chef Grae Nonas is working on turning his popular Italian pop-up Le Cowboy into a full-on restaurant at some point. It’ll be found at 2919 Menchaca Road in the South Lamar neighborhood eventually, even though he and co-owner/director of operations Chelsea Nonas are struggling with funding for the business. In the meantime, Nonas has been filming as part of the chef team of the reality television series Kitchen Nightmares and is running a pop-up residency at East Austin wine bar Apt 115 now through the end of January 2025.
With Le Cowboy the restaurant, the couple wants to open a bistro-style neighborhood place that works for any occasion, from solo diners to family outings to special occasions. “It’s not meant to be astronomical. It’s not meant to be a trend, it’s not meant to be just for today. It’s meant to be every day,” Nonas says.
Grae Nonas came up with the name Le Cowboy as a way to refer to himself — a New Jerseyite in Texas, or as he puts it, “a person who started living in cowboy country.” Menu-wise, expect the executive chef’s Italian and Italian American dishes — or as he describes it, “grandma Italian” food meant to “warm your soul.” This leads to plentiful handmade pastas and hearty entrees, available at affordable prices.
They wanted to open in South Austin, especially because they wanted to offer something different for the area. This location was perfect since Chelsea Nonas grew up in the nearby Barton Hills neighborhood. The physical space will feel cozy, with a bar, dining room, private dining room, and a chef’s table in the kitchen.
The orecchiette at Le Cowboy. Le Cowboy
However, the couple has hit a snag in their restaurant plans. While the first construction phase is finished, the second portion is on pause because the couple doesn’t have the funds to continue.
Grae Nonas started Le Cowboy in the summer of 2020 with a temporary location on Manor Road with the goal of opening a physical restaurant. Before that, he was one of the co-founding executive chefs of Austin Southern restaurant Olamaie (for which he won a joint Chef of the Year award from Eater Austin in 2015 and was a finalist in the Rising Star category in the 2016 James Beard Awards), the opening executive chef of Minneapolis Nordic hotel restaurant Tullibee, and the opening executive chef of New American hotel restaurant Carpenters Hall. Chelsea Nonas started helping him in 2022; she previously worked in various restaurant positions, including making waffle cones at Amy’s Ice Cream, opening Brooklyn hotel restaurant Reynard, and hosting at Bufalina.
After the Manor Road spot closed in February 2021, he held pop-ups around town while working on that plan, but paused to help reopen wine restaurant Bufalina in a new East Cedar Chavez address in November 2022.
When the Bufalina position ended, the two went back to their restaurant plans, but the city’s economic and real estate scenes changed greatly. Chelsea Nonas recounts the number of investors who promised funding but either dropped out or ghosted, as well as potential locations that either became too expensive or were no longer available.
So the couple decided to secure their own space, landing on the former Pizza Hut restaurant on Menchaca Road. There had been a person earlier who offered a space in a building they were acquiring who had ghosted them but then came back again with an investment offer. They agreed, but then the person stopped responding to them during the lease deal. The couple was frustrated. “We knew that you don’t have the money in the bank until it’s in the bank,” Chelsea Nonas says. “But we also didn’t think that we would have people go so far as to be like, ‘I am literally at the bank, what is your bank information?’ And then just go radio silent.”
“Do we just abandon this again, or do we just go for it,” she continues, “and just say, ‘Screw it, we’ll figure it out.’” So with self-funding and the help of some investors, they went ahead and signed the lease.
So now the couple is looking for more reliable investors to help finally open Le Cowboy, but it’s been difficult again, with potential investors not wanting to contribute because of rising costs, the uncertain market, and/or the upcoming election. “Is this even possible to do if you don’t have a corporation or a restaurant group behind you?” Chelsea Nonas questions. “People don’t want to invest until other people invest, but other people aren’t going to invest if others aren’t investing,” she says. “We’re stuck in this perpetual thing.”
But still, they are determined it’ll happen. “Help a true mom-and-pop place get on their feet,” Chelsea Nonas asks of people, “so we can start seeing more authentic restaurant openings that don’t feel so formulaic and stale.”
Until Le Cowboy physically opens, the restaurant is undergoing a pop-up residency at Apt 115. Originally, it was pegged to end at the end of 2024, but it’s been extended through Friday, January 31. There are a la carte and $75 prix fixe menus, previewing dishes from the restaurant. That includes pasta such as squid ink tagliolini, ragu alla bolognese with garganelli; chicken parms with fettuccine alfredo; and bread. Rounding out the meals will be wine pairings (a daily for $50 or fancy for $100) chosen by Apt owner Joe Pannenbacker. (Also, since the pop-up started in late October, the wine bar was named a Michelin-recommended restaurant in November.)
Le Cowboy’s hours at Apt 115 are from 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Reservations can be made online; there is some room for walk-ins.
And then, also, Grae Nonas has been busy this fall. He was part of the culinary team for celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s reality television show Kitchen Nightmares, where the celebrity chef helps revamp struggling restaurants. The show has been filming in the greater Austin area. Nonas helped cook, create, and develop dishes for the unnamed restaurant and trained its current staff.
Update, November 20: This article, originally published on October 31, has been updated to include Le Cowboy’s residency extension at Apt 115.