Unpaid Salaries Lead Red River Bar Employees to Strike, Despite New Ownership

Red River Club Sale and Strike
Red River music venue and bar Beerland Texas has been sold to a new owner, though that person/s or company hasn’t been revealed, according to Austin 360. The new owner doesn’t know what it will ultimately do with the space, but it will remain open in the meantime and host its scheduled shows. Previous owner Richard Lynn and his company Austin Jukebox Holdings bought Beerland from founders Randall and Sonya Stockton in 2018.

It also turns out that Beerland staffers were planning on striking this week under Lynn because of unpaid salaries and bounced checks since South by Southwest in March. The strike is still happening despite the sale.

Barbecue Memory
Padma Lakshmi reminisced about all the smoked meats she had at Franklin Barbecue this week.

South Congress Italian Restaurant Renovations
Now that both Vespaio and Enoteca Vespaio are under new ownership (executive chef Ryan Samson and Licha’s Cantina’s Daniel Brooks), the twinned restaurants will undergo renovations this summer. This means both will close temporarily in June for kitchen changes and new floors. The shutter will run from Sunday, June 9 through Thursday, June 13.