Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday and participated in the conversation!

it was my first time participating in a Socratic Discussion (at least formally, knowing that’s what it was). Here are some of the topics we discussed

Also for a summary of Updates from the City, visit our linkedin article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/updates-city-austin-make-easier-faster-more-small-operate-saunders-uikzc

Feedback to the City:  https://publicinput.com/smallbiz2025 

Developer:

What is the biggest bottleneck or time-suck in the development process? (permitting/city,

banking/investments)?

What is the biggest challenge in getting a commercial-use or mixed-use deal to pencil for

you?

Restaurant/Bar/Cafe Owner-

-What is the biggest bottleneck for you?

-Designing the dream and bringing the perfect restaurant to life takes time and is often a

complicated process. Oftentimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen in the process of

designing and building that dream. To those with experience in the construction of restaurants,

what can someone expect during the design process

-Fine Dining only? Explain-

We have heard that there is a reason why most new restaurant concepts tend to be more fine

dining vs. more casual concepts, it was said that with the costs of opening a restaurant, you

would have to sell an exorbitant amount of $10 sandwiches, what do you think is the biggest

driver for what food concepts open in Austin

Small Business Owner

-What are the biggest experience gaps in starting a business- What skills would small

business owners like to learn or get expertise on?

Real Estate

Landlord and Tenant - Friend or Foe?

It is a delicate balance because there are two parties that have mutual interests as well as

divergent interests. Each are running a business. In order for a deal to get it done, it requires

compromise. However, Austin is known to have super low vacancy for retail/second gen spaces,

how can we provide opportunities for more buildings to be occupied and not left vacant and

create more opportunities for small businesses...

One idea I have is more small scale development (single lot, lower investment, quicker time

from ground to open) more local funding that allows opportunities for small businesses