Kevin Durant has never forgotten where his brief college career took flight. Now, he’s deepening his connection to Austin with a new business venture that reflects both his evolution and enduring bond to the city.
Thinking Beyond the Court
The former Texas Longhorns star and current Houston Rockets forward is teaming up with a group of high-profile partners to open Austin Sports Club, a new restaurant planned for downtown Austin. The project marks Durant’s first foray into the hospitality world alongside his longtime business partner Rich Kleiman, under their company Boardroom Hospitality.
The restaurant will occupy space at 205 E. Third Street, just steps from the heart of the city’s entertainment district. Durant and Kleiman are developing the concept with Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and the local restaurant collective Lobos Hospitality, known for Austin favorites such as Toasty Badger, Manny’s, and the Powder Room cocktail bar.
A spokesperson for the group described Austin Sports Club as “a timeless restaurant reimagined for the modern athlete, executive, and tastemaker,” though specific menu details are still being finalized by the Lobos team.
The restaurant is scheduled to open in spring 2026, just around the corner from the Vince Young Steakhouse, another nod to Austin’s rich sports and dining crossover — though Young no longer holds a stake in that establishment.
For Durant, 35, the project is about more than business. It represents a full-circle moment for a player whose single season at the University of Texas left an indelible mark on both the basketball program and the community that rallied around him.
During the 2006–07 season, Durant became one of the most electrifying freshmen in college basketball history, averaging 26 points and 11 rebounds per game. His on-court dominance and off-court humility made him an instant fan favorite, even as he departed for the NBA after one season.
Yet, his ties to the city never faded. In 2018, Durant donated $3 million to the University of Texas to help fund a new practice facility that now bears his name next to the school’s Moody Center arena.
“Austin always felt like home,” Durant said earlier this year during a visit with the Phoenix Suns, his former team, at the Moody Center. “When you’re 18 and running around with your teammates, the city just becomes part of you. That camaraderie, those connections they made Austin special.”
Durant often reminisces about his college days fondly, recalling how he and his Longhorn teammates used to explore downtown Austin together between practices and games. “Every Saturday night we were hanging out on Sixth Street,” he told the Austin American-Statesman. “We did everything together — it was perfect.”
That same energy of connection and community seems to inform the vision behind Austin Sports Club. The restaurant aims to blend the nostalgia of classic sports culture with modern design and hospitality, appealing not only to fans and athletes but also to Austin’s growing population of professionals and creatives.
For Boardroom Hospitality, the venture signals a broadening of scope beyond media, sports, and entertainment into experiential ventures, a direction Kleiman and Durant have hinted at in interviews as they look to leverage their brand into lifestyle and culture spaces.
Durant joins a growing number of athletes turning entrepreneurial attention toward Austin’s booming food scene. Nick Foles, the Super Bowl LII MVP and Westlake High School graduate, is part-owner of Mexican restaurant ATX Cocina downtown. The city’s mix of loyal sports fandom, expanding culinary tourism, and deep local pride has made it an attractive landing spot for athletes looking to make a mark off the field or court.
