Walk up West Lynn Street on a weekday morning this October. Medici Roasting is open. The Daniel Johnston mural is still on the brick wall of the old Nau's Enfield Drug building, which still carries the drugstore's canopy and signage. A block up, the lot where Sledd Nursery sold plants for almost 50 years has been quiet since spring. Fresh Plus is still selling groceries a few doors past it.
Both landmarks at this corner have closed, and both have announced plans. The plans keep different things. Nau's will come back as a facade, with the pharmacy gone. Sledd will come back as a name on a restaurant, with the nursery gone. Through the next few years of change, the corner's continuity comes from the businesses that never closed.
Two closings, three years apart
Nau's Enfield Drug stood at 12th and West Lynn from 1951 until 2023, according to KVUE. The Labay family owned it from 1971. The station reports that the pharmacy and former soda fountain closed after the family could not renew its lease.
Sledd Nursery closed more recently. James and Melissa Sledd founded it in 1977. The Austin American-Statesman reported that it wound down in early 2026 and held a final sale in mid-May.
Those two closings left a gap of about three years between when each site went dark. The schedules now on file close most of that gap. Both sites are expected to change within months of each other in 2027.
What Nau's keeps
The Nau's site is planned as The Westlyn, a $70 million, five-story mixed-use building by Austin-based Zydeco Development. KVUE's report describes 102,900 square feet for 27 residences and amenities, 13,400 square feet of retail, and a 48,800-square-foot parking structure.
Most of the Nau's building would be demolished. The brick wall with Johnston's mural stays. The storefront is in poor condition, so it will be rebuilt with matching materials to keep the canopy and the historic signage. The century-old house where Medici Roasting operates will also be kept and folded into the project.
The mural is the reason one wall survives demolition. Johnston painted "Love is the Question; Love is the Answer" in 2014 to promote Superhero Kids for Dell Children's Blood and Cancer Center, according to Spectrum News. The mural went up 63 years after the drugstore opened, and it will now outlast the drugstore building.
This direction was set some time ago. When the Historic Landmark Commission reviewed the project at its December 4, 2024 meeting, the backup materials described partial demolition and a five-story building that would keep the mural and the north brick wall. Staff recommended approval with comments. The Austin Business Journal reported in July 2026 that the developer had released new details and renderings showing how the building could fit with the surrounding neighborhood.
Records give the address in different ways. Zydeco's project page and the state filing use 1111 West Lynn, while earlier Statesman coverage gave the number as 1114. Everyone in the neighborhood calls it 12th and West Lynn.
What Sledd keeps
McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality bought the property and plans a Greek restaurant at 1211 West Lynn. It will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and its name will include "Sledd," which the group licensed from the family. Co-founder Larry McGuire told the Statesman that the design will reflect the nursery's history with an abundance of live plants.
It will be MML's first Greek restaurant. The group's closest existing concept is The Peacock, the Mediterranean restaurant at the Austin Proper. In June, Community Impact listed the expected opening as spring 2027 and reported that the full name had not been shared. The Austin Business Journal returned to the project in August 2026.
The owner matters because MML is already part of this corner. According to the Statesman, the group runs Jeffrey's and Josephine House across the street from the nursery site. It also runs Clark's, Pecan Square Cafe, Howard's, Rosie's, and Swedish Hill at Sixth and Blanco, where it is developing a hotel-anchored mixed-use project. Once the Sledd restaurant opens, one hospitality group will operate restaurants on both sides of West Lynn at 12th.
The block this fall, by address
For now, here is what is on the corner, in order of street number, plus the restaurants just off the strip.
- Medici Roasting, 1101 West Lynn. The café opened in September 2006 and posts daily hours on its site. It sits on the Nau's site, and its house is one of the structures the Westlyn plan keeps.
- The former Nau's Enfield Drug, 1111 West Lynn. The drugstore closed in 2023. Its canopy, signage, and Johnston mural are the parts the redevelopment plan keeps or rebuilds.
- The former Sledd Nursery, 1211 West Lynn. The nursery held its final sale in May. The restaurant planned for this site has a spring 2027 target.
- Fresh Plus, 1221 W Lynn St. The grocer lists its Clarksville store at this address, alongside its Allandale, Hyde Park, and Crestview locations.
- Jeffrey's and Josephine House. Jeffrey's is across West Lynn from the Sledd site, and Josephine House is around the corner on Waterston Avenue. Both are run by the group building the new restaurant.
Medici has been on this block for 20 years, and its house is written into the Westlyn plan. Fresh Plus is still on the block too. While both landmarks are dark, these two are the businesses that keep the corner busy every day.
How the schedules overlap
The dates come from two kinds of documents, so they are not equally firm. The Westlyn's registration with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation was filed June 23, 2026, and its status reads "Review Complete." It lists a construction start of January 15, 2027 and a completion date of January 15, 2029. The restaurant date is a projection from its operator.
| Milestone | Date on record | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| Nau's Enfield Drug closes | 2023 | News report |
| Historic Landmark Commission review of Nau's project | December 4, 2024 | Commission meeting materials |
| Sledd Nursery final sale | Mid-May 2026 | News report |
| Westlyn state registration filed | June 23, 2026 | TDLR filing |
| Westlyn construction start | January 15, 2027 | TDLR filing, scheduled |
| Sledd restaurant opening | Spring 2027 | Operator projection via Community Impact |
| Westlyn completion | January 15, 2029 | TDLR filing, scheduled |
If both schedules hold, the corner's next two-plus years, through early 2029, follow a clear order. Construction on the Nau's site would begin in January 2027. The new restaurant would open a few months later and spend its first two seasons beside an active job site. The reconstructed canopy and signage would return in early 2029, about six years after the pharmacy closed.
None of these dates means work has started. Today is October 11, 2026, and the state filing still lists the Westlyn's start as a future date. The Sledd restaurant's 12-to-18-month window was given in May, so it reaches from roughly spring to late fall of 2027.
Preservation-led redevelopment like the Westlyn changes how a whole block looks and works, from the rebuilt canopy to the retail at street level. If you live near 12th and West Lynn and want to talk through what these two projects could mean for your corner of Clarksville, Leslie Gossett follows both closely and is glad to share what she knows. Let's Connect.
