Threadgill’s Is Actually Closing in South Austin

Iconic South Austin spot Threadgill’s, known for music and chicken fried steaks, is finally shuttering its 301 West Riverside Drive location, as reported by the Chronicle, after owner Eddie Wilson tried to keep the restaurant alive for several years amidst increasing rent, property taxes, and insurance costs. It will close sometime after Thanksgiving in November.

This shutter doesn’t affect the original Threadgill’s location up on 6416 North Lamar Boulevard, which will remain open.

Wilson revealed that the southern Threadgill’s was in danger of closing sometime this year, according to the Chronicle in 2017, but then he signed a new lease that was supposed to keep the restaurant on West Riverside for the next three years, which would’ve meant the restaurant was safe until 2020, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

Wilson even floated the idea of keeping Threadgill’s at the bottom of what could’ve been a mixed-use high-rise building, as well as relocating the restaurant completely, but nothing panned out.

Wilson recently talked about what may come of Threadgill’s with the Statesman, noting that its future was unclear.

The North Lamar Threadgill’s opened under Kenneth Threadgill in 1933 as a gas station and beer bar, transforming into a music venue in the 1970s. Wilson took over in 1981, when he added the restaurant portion. He followed that with the South Austin location in 1996.

This is the latest classic Austin restaurant shutter within the past several months. First, there was the last remaining location of the Night Hawk diner chain, the Frisco, which closed in July. Then there is iconic South Austin restaurant Hill’s Cafe, which is hosting its last day today, though there are eventual plans to relocate and reopen the restaurant into a mixed-use development nearby in the next two years. While west campus barbecue restaurant Freedmen’s hadn’t been open for that long comparatively when it shuttered in August, it was located in a historic building.

• Threadgill’s WHQ Will Close After Thanksgiving [Chronicle]
• All Coverage of Threadgill’s South Austin [EATX]
• All Coverage of Threadgill’s [EATX]