After devastating fire, Texas French Bread reopens as a food truck

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After being destroyed by a fire in January, Texas French Bread is now operating again on a smaller scale.

The bakery opened a food truck on its property at Rio Grande and West 29th Street, keeping its legacy alive after more than 40 years.

The Austin Fire Department said in January the fire caused $1.1 million in damages to the bakery's original building at 2900 Rio Grande St. and $500,000 in damages to what was inside.

The new food truck incorporates the old sign and doors of the old building and has tables under a canopy of vines and plants.

"You know, there was so much support in the community for what we wanted to do here," Murph Willcott, the owner of Texas French Bread, said. "I felt like we should do whatever it took to try to continue. You know, it's going to be different at this point, but I'm really excited to have us open again and to invite people back into our space."

In May, the bakery announced it leased commissary space in northeast Austin to set up a commercial kitchen and bakery, according to reporting from the Austin Business Journal.