Noteworthy sale

Austin's iconic Threadgill's sends 50 years of music memorabilia to auction block

One of the iconic pieces up for sale.

Photo courtesy of Burley Auction Gallery

A treasure trove of Austin music history — pieces from the iconic Threadgill’s restaurant in North Austin and the Armadillo World Headquarters venue in downtown Austin — is going on the auction block June 27.

Items up for sale include Austin music memorabilia, vintage Texas beer signs, and Janis Joplin items. The original Threadgill’s on North Lamar Boulevard launched Joplin’s blues-inspired rock ’n’ roll singing career in the 1960s.

In all, more than 500 items will be available, including:

Janis Joplin photos
Original back bar from 1933
Concert posters
Porcelain oil and gas signs
Half-century-old collection of artwork

The auction items are from the now-closed restaurant at 6416 N. Lamar Blvd., as well as from Eddie and Sandra Wilson’s private collection of Armadillo World Headquarters and Austin music memorabilia. Eddie Wilson founded Armadillo World Headquarters, a hub of the city's live music scene from 1970 to 1980, and owned both Threadgill’s locations, which specialized in comfort food.

The Threadgill’s housed in the now-demolished Armadillo World Headquarters at 505 Barton Springs Rd. shut down in 2018. The North Lamar restaurant permanently closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Braunfels-based Burley Auction Gallery is conducting the auction. The auction house also ran similar auction for Threadgill's in 2015 and 2018.

“The first auction we did for Eddie turned out so well that he put us in the last chapter of his memoir,” auctioneer Robb Burley says in a June 18 release.

The bidding will start at 10 am June 27 at the former North Lamar location. Bids also will be taken online. Auction previews will be held noon-6 pm June 25 and June 26, and 8-10 am June 27.

music

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.