Drink Up

Liberty Tavern reopens with fresh Austin vibe and focus on Texas-made brews andcocktails

Michael Creecy, general manager, pours a Thirsty Planet Buckethead IPA.
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Michael Creecy, Liberty Tavern general manager.
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Welcome to the new Liberty Tavern.
Photo by Matt McGinnis

A lot of people complain about the “Dallasification” of Austin. Oh how people go on about big oil moneyed, overly made up, aesthetically-challenged Dallasites (or is it Dallasonians?) crossing the border into our city with the reprehensible intent to plow through our "weird." One only has to go to the Domain to understand just how insidious this threat is to our way of life.

When will it stop? The Hilton Austin just brought in a new general manager from Dallas to run its recently renovated Liberty Tavern. But wait: Dallas transplant Michael Creecy is bringing an Austin focus to a previously non-descript restaurant that was mostly just a breakfast buffet place. Now that’s a twist.

The Liberty Tavern reopened its doors this month with the newly added Austin vibe, which includes a new bar with a menu of seven Austin craft brews out of the 12 beers on tap and 20 bottles. CultureMap had a beer with Creecy to get a feel for the reborn Liberty Tavern, learn what Creecy brings to the table and hear what guests can expect from the new menu.

CultureMap: What brings you to Austin and the Liberty Tavern?

Michael Creecy: I left banking several years ago for a more exciting and dynamic career in restaurants. I love the fast pace and dealing with new customers all the time. I worked at the stylish Neighborhood Services in Dallas under Nick Badovinus, who was nominated for the Outstanding Restaurateur James Beard Foundation Award. He was a great mentor and taught me a lot about having an attention to detail. Every picture must be straight and not a crumb on the floor.

I had a great four-year run with Nick, and then we decided to relocate to Austin because we wanted to raise our son here. The timing was right for Liberty Tavern, and the owners and I met just before the remodeling started. The renovation brings a great new atmosphere with the Texas beer theme, but the bar is still evolving to meet my high standards.

CM: What's new at the Liberty Tavern?

MC: The first thing that's new is the bar. Although it was called “Tavern” before, it didn’t have a bar. We know that people who come to Austin want an authentic taste of what the town has to offer, so we have introduced a menu focused on Austin and Texas-made beer, cocktail and bar food.

We have a great bar menu with our Beer Dinner, a roast pork shank served with cheese spaetzle and a flight of Austin beers, as well as Texas inspired dishes like our seafood ceviche made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. We also have installed three long communal table and 14 high-definition TVs. The vibe is younger and more exciting, particularly with the focus on beer. Our evening crowd has really picked up.

CM: What local beers are you serving?

MC: We have one draft beer tower that is completely dedicated to Texas craft brews like (512) Brewing Pecan Porter, Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap, Real Ale Fireman’s 4, Thirsty Planet Buckethead and Austin Amber, Stash IPA and Saison from Independence Brewery. We also have Hops and Grain Pale Dog in cans, Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug by the bottle and Jester King Noble King and Drink’in the Sunbelt in the 750ml bottles.

The reception for local craft beer has been really good in the past couple of weeks since we reopened. Our guests have loved our emphasis on local beer, have explored a wide selection of beers and have delved into the exotic bottle selection. In fact Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap has been a best seller beating both the traditional big sellers, Bud Light and Blue Moon sales.

CM: What are you most excited about with the newly refurbished Liberty Tavern?

MC: I’m most excited to bring new attention to service to the Hilton Austin; I’m bringing my experience in four-star dining service to the Liberty Tavern. Our staff will pay a lot of attention to aspects of refined service to make sure customers have a good experience.

I’m also excited about introducing new creative ideas from the stand-alone restaurant world, such as unique signature cocktails that change to meet the fast moving desires of guests. I experienced the craft cocktail explosion in Dallas and have a passion for making excellent drinks with Texas spirits.

At the Liberty Tavern, our cocktail menu features Texas spirits like Dulce Vida Tequila, Rebecca’s Creek Whiskey, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Treaty Oak Rum. We also have a selection of 15 Scotches and 10 small batch bourbons. We plan to refresh the cocktail list seasonally month to match the weather. As soon as we get the first cold snap, we’ll introduce heartier cocktails and heavier beers like stouts.

Liberty Tavern is located in the Hilton Austin downtown. The tavern is open from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily with a special reverse happy hour from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. featuring $2 off Texas specialty cocktails and beers.

Reservations are available by phone (512) 682-BREW (2739), or through Opentable.com.

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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