Shocker: Another Austin Eatery Bites the Dust

Well, well, well, look who's thrown in the towel now. Mike Smith and his partner-in-crime Chris Ragland just couldn't hack it in the big bad world of high-end dining. After snagging Aviary Wine & Kitchen last summer, these geniuses managed to keep it afloat for a whole year. Slow clap.

The duo, who probably thought they were the next Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, pointed fingers at "economic challenges" and "external pressures." Yeah, right. We all know it's because they couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag.

"Between the cavernous financial hole we inherited and other external pressures... we had to make the difficult decision to cut our losses and cease operations," Smith whined in a statement. Oh, you poor things. Maybe if you had actually served edible food, people might have shown up.

I mean, come on, they managed to screw up a perfectly good wine bar. Even the rats wouldn't touch that place.

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And now, these clowns are scrambling to set up payment plans for their vendors and employees. Good luck with that, losers.

Fun fact: Aviary was originally a home décor shop by Marco Fiorilo and turned into a bar in 2017. Maybe they should have stuck to selling candles. Meanwhile, Fiorilo's still running Wham Bam Bagels food truck, though who knows how long until that goes belly up too.

This is what happens when you let hipsters run a business. Sorry, Austin, looks like your dining scene just took another hit. Mic drop.

This is a developing story.