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Threadgill’s World Headquarters, the Riverside location of the iconic restaurant, will likely close after SXSW 2018, the Chronicle reports. The restaurant, near the former Armadillo World Headquarters building, has been open since 1996.
Though owner Eddie Wilson had hoped to reach an agreement with landlord Moton Crockett for a few more years in the space, he claims that the property is already for sale. Per the Chronicle story:
“Moton says the land’s gotten too valuable to be supported by meatloaf and chicken-fried steak,” chucked Wilson. “In the last five years, the cost of being on that location has increased 600 percent to $38,000 a month [for the lease, insurance, rent, and tax]. I can’t even pronounce 38 grand a month.”
Threadgill’s is known for its Southern menu (including a massive chicken fried steak) and paying homage to live music with gospel brunches and concerts. Wilson has a book coming out about his time as proprietor of the legendary concert hall Armadillo World Headquarters, where Janis Joplin was a regular performer.
Wilson reports the North Lamar location of Threadgill’s, which opened in 1981, maintains a secure lease. There is a small possibility of Threadgill’s maintaining its presence, if a developer chose to keep the restaurant in place.
