Pour one out

Long-running West Sixth Street bar goes dark after decade in business

J. Black's has served its last beer.

One of bars that transformed West Sixth Street into a bustling entertainment district is now closed. On February 17, J. Black’s Feel Good Lounge announced on Facebook it was throwing in the towel after more than 10 years in business.

After opening in 2007, J. Black’s quickly became popular as a downtown destination for brunch and dinner, as well as a home bar for local Philadelphia Eagles fans. But like other bars in the West Sixth district, it has faced increasing competition from other hubs like Rainey Street, East Sixth Street, and Rock Rose in Domain Northside. In 2016, a group of area business owners formed the West Sixth Business Association to help revitalize the area and combat the district’s hard-partying reputation.

Owners Manera Restaurant Group did not give a reason for the shutter, instead using the post to thank patrons and former and current employees. The company has had previous struggles with the J. Black’s brand. The Dallas location closed in 2015 after less than five years in business, and the Houston outpost closed in January 2017 so the company could focus on their Austin properties.

The shutter leaves newly opened Lamar Union seafood concept TLC as the only restaurant operating under the Manera banner. Partner Sean Fric (who also co-owns South Austin's The Golden Goose with wife Ashley Fric) also recently branched out with Colleen’s Kitchen, but the Mueller eatery is not part of the hospitality group.

Read the full Facebook statement below:

Farewell West Sixth,

Since we opened in the summer of 2007, it's been our absolute pleasure to serve the thousands and thousands of patrons we were lucky enough to have come enjoy our space. From the crazy packed weekends and UT game days to simply enjoying, alongside our hundreds of dedicated regulars over the years, the experience of watching West Sixth grow along with Austin. It's been a true privilege.

As much as we appreciate Austin and all our guests over the years, we couldn't have done it, been as successful, nor lasted for over a decade without the blood, sweat and energy (and a few tears) put into our place especially by our dedicated managers and also our employees, that numbered in the hundreds. They were the engine in front and behind the scenes that made J. Black's so special to so many. We sincerely thank you.

So please, come celebrate with us one last time this weekend. There will be plenty of familiar faces around to toast and reminisce with over a drink or two.

Cheers Austin. Feel Good. Now.

The J. Black's Family

closings

Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

bars live music concerts comedy