Formula 1 weekend in Austin brought more than just high-speed racing to the Circuit of the Americas, transforming the city into a bustling hub of high-profile entertainment and hospitality. Billed as the biggest sports weekend in local history, the city hosted a Friday night NBA game between the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, a Saturday night college football matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Ole Miss, and the marquee Grand Prix event on Sunday.
Amidst the packed sports calendar, a prominent new venue captured the attention of celebrities, athletes, and racing executives alike. Guest House at Turn 20, an exclusive trackside restaurant and lounge presented as a collaboration between inKind and RDM Hospitality, quickly established itself as a premier destination during the race weekend. Diners at the trackside pop-up enjoyed luxury menus featuring caviar cones, shrimp cocktail, spicy rigatoni, lobster tails, and caviar-topped chicken tenders, paired with espresso martinis and bloody Marys.
The venue was created by a leadership team led by inKind CEO Johann Moonesinghe and RDM Hospitality CEO Raj Kumar as an extension of Austin’s existing Guest House restaurant brand. The hospitality concept has already expanded to Las Vegas and Scottsdale, with additional locations slated for Dallas and Aspen. DJ Cedric Gervais performed at Turn 20 and later headlined an exclusive Sunday night afterparty, and Gervais is also a partner in the upcoming Aspen location.
A star-studded crowd packed the restaurant throughout Saturday and Sunday. Notable attendees included sports figures Chuck Liddell, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith, alongside actress Emma Roberts and model Nicole Fox. Wine offerings curated by sommelier John-Clement Johnson featured vintage bottles such as 1982 Château Margaux and 2004 Oddero Barolo DOCG, while musician Bipolar Sunshine performed his hit single “Stay” for late-night guests.
Other notable figures made appearances across the city’s pop-up dining and nightlife scene. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown dined at RDM Hospitality’s Ember restaurant on Friday night, while Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly attended the private inKind dinner and afterparty at Guest House on Sunday night.
The weekend’s nightlife landscape also featured a pop-up by David Grutman’s LIV at Mayfair, and Phillip Frankland Lee’s Scratch Restaurants operated an omakase counter inside Guest House at Turn 20 while also catering an exclusive Clarins event. Other prominent hospitality figures, including Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Mario Guddemi, and Juan Padro, observed the race from the Turn 20 location.
For the business minds behind the operation, the high-profile weekend served as a gathering point for key stakeholders. Backers and partners including Roger Hochschild, Peter Pham, and Vasanth Williams traveled to Austin to connect with inKind, a firm that has raised more than $1.2 billion and provided funding for over 10,000 restaurants.
The brand’s rapid expansion will continue in the coming months. A new Guest House location is scheduled to open in Dallas in early November, followed by an Aspen opening on New Year’s Eve. Further growth is planned with a Houston venue slated to debut in the first quarter of 2027, with additional locations expected to be announced soon.
