Making live music history
Remembering: Johnny Holmes and the historic Victory Grill
- "The East Side Blues Syndicate" featuring Roland Lawes, Johnny Glass, CliffordMcMillianPhoto by Frank Mills
- "Still Standing" mural pays homage to Austin's own sould queen Layelle Whitealong with blues pioneers Johnny Holmes, founder of Victory Grill, and Roosevelt"Grey Ghost" Williams, the first musician Holmes booked.Artist: Trust Your HustlePhoto by Frank Mills
- Matthew RobinsonPhoto by Frank Mills
- Clifford Gillard, Victory Grill leaseholder and manager.Photo by Frank Mills
- Brenda and Clifton Ladd, celebrating their 31st anniversary at The Victory GrillPhoto by Frank Mills
- Slyvester "Sly" Campbell and Jeff JustPhoto by Frank Mills
- Luis "Sweet Lips" Ruiz (harmonica) Matthew Robinson (guitar) and Roland Lawes(drums)Photo by Frank Mills
- Johnny GlassPhoto by Frank Mills
- Burley Manor waiting for his turn to go on.Photo by Frank Mills
- Drummer Roland Lawes.Photo by Frank Mills
- "Still Standing" mural pays homage to Austin's own sould queen Layelle Whitealong with blues pioneers Johnny Holmes, founder of Victory Grill, and Roosevelt"Grey Ghost" Williams, the first musician Holmes booked.Artist: Trust Your HustlePhoto by Frank Mills
The house lights are dim; my mind wanders in a different era— the sounds of B.B. King, T.D. Bell, Ike & Tina Turner, Billie Holiday surround me …
I sit in the Kovac Room, the Victory Grill’s famed Chitlin’ Circuit venue. Unfortunately, it is 2011, not the 1950’s.
What would it have been like, I wonder, to see these Blues greats perform in the Kovac Room?
My mind wanders to the late Johnny Holmes (July 19, 1917-February 10, 2001), the visionary behind the “Grill,” who some say initiated Austin’s music scene.
Later, I visit with Holmes’s daughter, LaFaye Holmes-Wilson. “Faye,” who grew up working the “front” of the Victory Grill and shares story after story about her father, family, and the performers.
Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B King, Gatemouth Brown — all Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees — got a start at the Victory Grill. Some became lifelong friends.
We meet at the same Whataburger where Holmes and his pastor, Rev. N.H. Johnson and others use to meet — The Grill being open seven days a week from 6am to 3am. It is here and nearby Dan’s where Holmes received spiritual direction while handing over his tithe. When I leave, the seeds for a documentary have been planted. Two concurrent, intertwining stories: Johnny Holmes and the Victory Grill, and Johnny Holmes the promoter. Faye tells me, “[The Grill] was his livelihood, but it was also his passion.”
August 16, 1945— Japan surrenders. Black soldiers returning to Austin from the war find little opportunity to let off steam. Segregation is at its height, there are virtually no Black USO’s, Threadgill’s and Liberty Lunch are “No Colored Admitted” establishments.
Enter Johnny Holmes, convincing his wife, Basyle, to cash out her retirement funds.
Holmes, trained as a cook, purchases a tiny ice house on E. 11th St. and opens a two-table burger joint, with the goal of providing a place for Blacks to hang out and socialize. Looking for a name with market appeal to the returning soldiers, Holmes settles on “Victory” — The Victory Café.
At first the café is just that, a café. In 1947 Holmes a couple of doors over (his original purchase included four buildings), opens what will in time become the “Kovac Room.” It's nothing more than an field behind the building, with a stage, some tables and chairs, “all painted blue,” Faye recalls. It wasn’t until around 1950 that the space became enclosed. Not until Holmes returned from Alaska in 1965 did it become the “Kovac Room,” named after Ernie Kovacs who he claimed to have met while working as a cook in Alaska.
“Dad never ‘came by’ an interest in the blues,” Faye tells me. “I always say that if he had to sing for his supper, he would have never seen the age of twenty-one. Dad’s interest in the Blues had nothing to do with his interest, it was the interest of his customers. "Everything for the people!”
No matter the source of the interest it is not far fetched to say that without Johnny Holmes the Blues scene in Austin, Texas — and even the United States — would not be the same.
Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B King, Gatemouth Brown — all Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees — got a start at the Victory Grill. Some became lifelong friends. Holmes served for years as B. B. King’s Texas road manager. A steady stream of Blues greats, and other well-know entertainers frequented the Kovac Room; legends Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry and even Janice Joplin.
It wasn’t long after opening that the Victory Grill became the place for Black soldiers to socialize. They came from as far away as Fort Hood, many were also budding performers. “If you wanted to test the waters, this was the stepping-off place,” Faye noted.
"The first time I put on a guitar and played in public as a professional was right here," says W.C. Clark, the "Godfather of Austin Blues.”
The Harlem Cab Company, located across the street from the Grill, was often called upon for a Fort Hood run, to get the men and women back to the base. Sometimes, Holmes, himself, provided the taxi service. Behind the Victory Grill Holmes owned a boarding house where those without accommodations were often put up.
In spite of the fame of the Victory Grill as a performance venue — and this is what we know it for today — the real activity took place in the front café. Performances happened only on the weekends; the socializing took place seven days a week. Full breakfasts, lunches, dinners, late night burgers and fried chicken, along with the Grill’s tongue-burning “Chili Bowl of Red” and enchiladas were the draw. According to Faye the Victory Grill was able to pay all of its expenses for the week from three days worth of meals. On performance night, Holmes took only 10% of the (back) house, the rest of the ticket income going to the performers.
Over the years, Holmes stayed involved in the management of The Victory Grill until his death, although his involvement varied. From 1945 until 1952 Holmes managed the Grill. From 1952 until 1965, while Holmes was living in Odessa — and introducing Blues to West Texas — and Alaska, he contracted with others to manage the Grill. Faye recalls that the first person to do so was known to everyone as “Big Mary.”
In 1965, when Holmes returned from Alaska he said that he barely recognized East 11th St. Integration had taken place, and many affluent Blacks had moved to the suburbs, leaving the neighborhood in decline.
Still, Holmes and his cousin, Cedell Robinson, expanded the grill by merging into the former Robinson's tailor shop next door In the late 70’s the Kovac Room closed, although the café still flourished. On the Juneteenth, 1987 weekend, the Kovac Room came back to life. Blues once again flowed as former musicians, friends, and fans returned for a reunion.
On October 10, 1988 fire engulfed the Grill, causing major damage. Fund raisers were held to help reopen the Grill, most unfortunately raised little. A year later, R.V. Adams a longtime friend of Holmes helped restore the Grill, reopening in 1990, initiating a cultural rebirth of E. 11th St.
Although the café is currently closed, blues can be heard in the Kovac Room on Monday and Tuesday evenings (9pm).
The Victory Grill, still owned by the Holmes family, is now under the passionate management of Clifford Gillard who has plans to revive the Grill’s former grandeur, as well as continue Johnny Holmes’ legacy of helping aspiring musicians.