Kicked Out
Swiss running store reportedly set to stamp out last shreds of Austin soul on South Congress
We've been waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since Lucy in Disguise closed in 2022 after 38 years in Austin.
Well, we knew it was bad news for South Congress when Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds announced it was closing in 2022. We just didn't know it was this bad: According to other tenants in the neighborhood, Swiss sportswear company On Running is set to take over the iconic space.
Emily Hoover, owner of Feathers Vintage, shared the news in a post on her boutique's Instagram page:
"Personality, folks," she writes, "[the] personality of historical Austin businesses is being gobbled up by corporate, vanilla, algorithm approved blandness."
She also shared that corporate businesses have been contacting local landlords offering to pay [three times] what current tenants pay.
CultureMap got in touch with Hoover to verify the source of the On Running news, which came in a shared group email on the South Congress Merchant Association.
"I'm doing my best to voice real concerns for myself and other small business owners," she tells CultureMap. "We're all going out of business right now and it's honestly worse than the pandemic."
For native Austinites — or really anyone who's been here for more than ten seconds — watching the change on South Congress has been like catching a late-stage cancer when it's almost too late to operate. Of course, the development of the area started out as progress: The renovation of the Austin Motel and arrival of new properties like Hotel Saint Cecilia and South Congress Hotel have attracted all manner of businesses — local and otherwise — that largely helped Keep Austin Weird ... for a while.
In the last year alone, South Congress Bookstore, Tesoros, and Lucy in Disguise all announced they were closing. In the best case scenario, homegrown brand Tecovas took over the Tesoros space; South Congress Bookstore moved to cheaper pastures; Lucy's is gone for good.
Hoover opened Feathers Vintage on South Congress in 2005, and the business will celebrate its 18th anniversary in 2023.
"I'm hellbent on turning 20," she tells CultureMap. She says the number one thing Austinites can do to help keep businesses like hers around is shop small. While Hoover was able to secure a lease for another three years, the renewal came with a massive rent increase.
Hoover is currently brainstorming ways to make that work, but shares in her original post that customer support is the number one way they will survive. (She also shared a special SUMMERLOVE codeto get $20 off a purchase of $50 through the end of August; and yes, they ship!)
"With your support we can stay put on the best street in town, and continue to keep some of that personality that makes Austin so great," she writes.
