With word that Hole in the Wall, the longstanding campus dive bar, may or may not close down early next year, it was time to spend the night at the iconic establishment for Eater's Cocktail Week. Since 1974, the venue and bar has been host to cheap drinks and all sorts of indie and punk rock musical acts, including Townes Van Zandt, Spoon, and Gary Clark, Jr. The man working at the soundcheck booth mentioned that they would find out "real soon" about the fate of the bar.
The nights at Hole in the Wall are spent drinking, chatting, and watching live music amidst the backdrop of old walls covered in neon beer signs and layers of band stickers. Out in the back, younger folks were slurping down ramen at the East Side King extension or enjoying the cool air on the patio. Take a tour of a recent Friday evening spent at the bar, shot by Eater photographer Robert J. Lerma.
Current owner Will Tanner (who also co-owns Stay Gold) told The Statesman that the campus bar was in danger of shutting down because of an impossible rent increase. His landlord, Weitzman Group and Cencor Realty, responded that the building wasn’t being properly maintained. The bar's lease ends on January 30, 2016.
