Austen Kroll and Craig Conover’s bromance has been one of the steadiest relationships ever on Southern Charm, and that’s saying something. The two best friends have been through it all — relationships, break-ups, business ventures, and more. They infiltrated Summer House as a duo, even though Austen managed to cause the most damage in the Hamptons. Hell, they even were both in a love triangle with Kristin Cavallari for about a minute. They’ve been through it.
Austen and Craigy’s relationship has been a little tense during the current season of Southern Charm. Austen and Shep Rose seem to be unable to celebrate Craig’s wins. He has a steady relationship with Paige DeSorbo and a thriving business, and they aren’t very supportive of that. It caused tension, but Austen and Craig have seemingly found a way to make up and move on. Austen’s even in a serious relationship with Olivia Flowers now, so let’s hope he’s taking a page out of Craig’s book (literally).
Austen and Craig have announced their latest business venture, and it sounds like a storyline straight out of Vanderpump Rules. The pair announced they will be opening a restaurant called Carriage House in New York City, according to Bravo. It will be in the West Village and is set to open in October.
NYC is notoriously one of the toughest cities to crack into the restaurant business, so it’ll be another test for Craig and Austen’s relationship and business savvy. While the idea seems out of the blue, the idea for the cuisine is a whole other choice. The menu will be “reimagined childhood classics” such as peanut butter and jelly, duck TV dinners, and tuna casserole. Again, New York City is the food capital of the U.S. with some of the best restaurants in the world. Austen and Craig are going in guns a-blazin’ with Trop Hop, cute themed pillows, and some reimagined dishes that their moms made them when they were little. Shep might not be the ultimate Peter Pan after all.
Sure, they don’t plan on serving your run-of-the-mill throwback dishes. The plates will be elevated with quality ingredients and innovative techniques, yadda yadda yadda. I’m sure LoverBoys will be served iced cold and Paige will help curate the vibe. Overall, this venture is giving me major Schwartz & Sandy’s vibes, even though Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval have succeeded in the restaurant business. Good luck to Austen and Craig on this massive undertaking — they’re going to need it.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT AUSTEN AND CRAIG ARE OPENING A RESTAURANT? DO YOU THINK THEIR RESTAURANT WILL SUCCEED IN NEW YORK CITY?
[Photo Credit: Brianna Stello/Bravo]
