September 2020 was another strange month in Austin.

The city was still dealing with COVID-19 restrictions, live events remained severely limited, and many of the restaurants, bars and venues that helped define Austin’s personality were trying to figure out how to survive.

But if there was one thing Austin’s restaurant scene proved during that month, it was that the food business wasn’t going to simply disappear.

New places were still opening.

Old favorites were finding ways to adapt.

And unfortunately, some Austin institutions were closing their doors.

One of the month’s more interesting openings came from Carabao Express. The Filipino food truck expanded into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, bringing dishes such as chicken adobo and pancit noodles to a permanent location. The concept also offered Dole Whips, giving customers another reason to check out the new restaurant.

For a city that has always embraced food trucks, the move from truck to restaurant was significant. Austin’s food-truck culture had become one of the city’s biggest culinary calling cards, and seeing a successful truck graduate into a restaurant was a familiar Austin story.

But September also brought one of the saddest announcements of the year.

Maria’s Taco Xpress announced that its longtime South Austin location would close.

For years, Maria’s had been much more than a place to get tacos. It had become part of Austin’s wonderfully strange identity, complete with its famous giant dancing statue. The restaurant’s closure represented another piece of old Austin disappearing during an already difficult year.

There was at least a possibility that the Maria’s name would continue. Owner Maria Corbalan planned to give the name to her employees so they could potentially open a Maria’s trailer somewhere else in Austin.

That was one of the themes of 2020: businesses were closing, but people weren’t necessarily giving up.

Old Thousand was another example of a restaurant continuing to move forward.

The Chinese-American restaurant announced an expansion into Brentwood, adding another location while the hospitality industry was dealing with unprecedented uncertainty.

Of course, September wasn’t all openings.

Austin’s nightlife and entertainment industries continued taking some of the hardest hits.

Buffalo Billiards, a longtime downtown bar, closed permanently during the month. Easy Tiger also closed its original downtown bakery and beer garden, although the company was preparing to open its South Lamar location.

Those closures demonstrated just how dramatically the pandemic had changed downtown Austin.

Businesses that depended on office workers, tourists, conventions, nightlife and large gatherings suddenly had far fewer customers.

The problem wasn’t simply that people weren’t going out.

There weren’t many places for them to go.

Live events were largely gone. Concerts had been canceled. Large gatherings were restricted. Tourism had slowed dramatically.

And restaurants were operating under capacity restrictions and constantly changing rules.

Even catering companies were suffering.

Pink Avocado, a longtime Austin catering company, shut down in September because the lack of live events had devastated its business.

For Austin, that was particularly painful.

Catering is closely connected to the city’s event culture. Weddings, conferences, festivals, corporate parties, concerts and private events all create business for caterers.

When those events disappear, the impact spreads throughout the hospitality industry.

Yet there was still plenty of creativity.

La Barbecue, one of Austin’s most recognizable barbecue names, was experimenting with a completely different product: hot dogs.

The restaurant launched the Red Rocket Wiener Wagon pop-up, showing that even established Austin barbecue businesses were looking for new ways to operate and generate revenue.

September also brought Lola’s Donuts, a new doughnut shop from the owner of Sugar Mama’s. The shop was named after the owner’s grandmother and planned to serve brioche doughnuts and aguas frescas.

That combination — traditional Austin food culture mixed with new ideas — was still very much alive.

And perhaps that is what made September 2020 worth remembering.

Austin wasn’t normal.

Far from it.

But the city’s food scene was still moving.

Some businesses were closing while others were opening.

Some restaurants were moving from food trucks into brick-and-mortar spaces.

Others were expanding.

Established restaurants were experimenting with completely new products.

And businesses that depended on events were trying to find ways to survive without the events.

Looking back, September 2020 was a snapshot of an Austin caught between two worlds.

The old Austin was disappearing faster than anyone expected.

The new Austin was beginning to take shape.

Nobody knew exactly what the city would look like once the pandemic was finally over.

But September made one thing clear:

Austin’s food scene wasn’t giving up.