Plebe
La verdad no peca pero incomoda
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2016
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- 19,417
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I've been in mourning this entire week since I found out Threadgill's will not be reopening even when the current restrictions are lifted.
Threadgill's is — or was
— more than just an eatery or live music spot. It was a cultural institution.
Perhaps its biggest claim to fame was as the hangout spot of Janis Joplin when she was a student at UT in the early 1960s. Back then it was just a filling station and beer joint owned by local music legend Kenneth Threadgill, located beyond the city limits, which hosted Wednesday night "hootenannies" (informal open mic sessions).
In the 1970s it was bought by music promoter Eddie Wilson of "Armadillo World Headquarters" fame, and in 1981 it was converted into a restaurant serving traditional Southern cooking, which it remained until the current pandemic.
I don't know what I'll miss more, the live music or the chance to enjoy comfort favorites like chicken fried steak, collard greens and fried green tomatoes at a very affordable price.
COVID-19 perhaps only accelerated the inevitable. Wilson was already preparing to retire, and the gentrification of Austin and exorbitant property taxes made the business model difficult to sustain. But still, the inevitability doesn't cure the sadness of the loss.
Threadgill's is — or was
— more than just an eatery or live music spot. It was a cultural institution.Perhaps its biggest claim to fame was as the hangout spot of Janis Joplin when she was a student at UT in the early 1960s. Back then it was just a filling station and beer joint owned by local music legend Kenneth Threadgill, located beyond the city limits, which hosted Wednesday night "hootenannies" (informal open mic sessions).
In the 1970s it was bought by music promoter Eddie Wilson of "Armadillo World Headquarters" fame, and in 1981 it was converted into a restaurant serving traditional Southern cooking, which it remained until the current pandemic.
I don't know what I'll miss more, the live music or the chance to enjoy comfort favorites like chicken fried steak, collard greens and fried green tomatoes at a very affordable price.
COVID-19 perhaps only accelerated the inevitable. Wilson was already preparing to retire, and the gentrification of Austin and exorbitant property taxes made the business model difficult to sustain. But still, the inevitability doesn't cure the sadness of the loss.
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