Austin Civic Solutions
Empowering Austin through community
Our
Story
We are Austin-based analysts, engineers,
and community leaders.
Austin Civic Solutions was founded on a simple premise: the people closest to the problems are the ones best equipped to design the solutions.
We identify systemic, unaddressed challenges in our city, and then architect "shovel-ready," community-owned enterprises to solve them. Our job isn't just to write reports; our job is to build the trust that empowers neighborhoods to build their own, more resilient future.
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About the founders
Paul and Liz Baharet are a husband-and-wife duo.
He’s a data analyst and she’s a creative director, united by entrepreneurship, practical problem-solving, and a deep love for Austin.
The Pilot: "Common Loaf" Kitchen
A Solution for Food Deserts
In many Austin neighborhoods, fresh food is hard to access. Common Loaf brings a walkable, community-run marketplace offering healthy, locally-made meals and staples.
We don’t just bring food in but support local growers and makers, restoring dignity, health, and real food security to
the neighborhood.
An Incubator for Local Entrepreneurs
Common Loaf removes the biggest barrier for new food businesses: access to a certified commercial kitchen. We provide entrepreneurs with professional equipment, storage, and retail space.
Through hands-on business training and certification support, we help turn family recipes into real, sustainable, generational-wealth-building companies.
The Closed-Loop Neighborhood Economy
Here, money stays local. When residents purchase from a Common Loaf maker, that income supports local workers and suppliers, keeping dollars circulating in the community.
This closed-loop model grows real neighborhood wealth by investing in your neighbors instead of faceless businesses.
The New Town Square
Common Loaf is a safe, welcoming third place—a neighborhood “living room” for gathering, sharing meals, and building connection.
This strengthens social ties and even reduces crime. In emergencies, the kitchen becomes a resilience hub, providing food, power, and support. It’s not only a marketplace, it’s community infrastructure.
Our Model Is Trust And Execution
A Civic Atom project from austincivicsolutions.org is a guarantee of integrity. It's a "seal" that proves the project is hyper-local, the money stays in the neighborhood, the process is 100% transparent, and the mission is locked.
Why This Will Succeed?
This project will succeed because it is not just a plan; it is a complete system built on a new "Trust Architecture," where an independent steward guarantees 100% financial transparency and locks in the mission. We are not just building a kitchen; we are launching a self-sustaining business incubator that empowers local entrepreneurs to build real, community-owned wealth.
The Problem: Good Ideas Fail
Good civic projects fail every day. They are derailed by mismanagement, a lack of oversight, or a loss of mission. A "yes" vote or a grant check is not a guarantee of success.
Our Secret Sauce:
Good intentions are not enough, but a good system is. That's why our projects are built on a simple, two-part model of checks and balances to guarantee success.
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The Operations Team: This is a dedicated, professional team whose only job is to handle the day-to-day work and execute the project with excellence. They are the ones responsible for building the kitchen, hiring the staff, and making sure it runs perfectly.
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The Independent Steward: This is a separate, independent non-profit that acts as a community watchdog. Its only job is to protect the project's public mission. This group ensures the team stays on track and provides 100% transparent, auditable oversight of every dollar spent.
The Platform: A System Built to Scale
The "Common Loaf" KitchenCo is our first "Civic Atom." This model is a replicable, scalable "operating system" that can be deployed to solve other systemic problems: local manufacturing, community logistics, and more. We aren't just building one kitchen; we are building the platform for Austin's new, community-owned local economy.