The Long-Empty La Bare Space on South Congress/East Riverside Is Turning Into a Night Club

That long-vacant building on the corner of South Congress and East Riverside is going to turn into a nightlife venue this year. Superstition at 110 East Riverside Drive will open on Thursday, December 29.

Superstition is supposed to feel like a 1970s club with major Studio 54 vibes. It’ll include a big dance floor, bottle services, and VIP areas, with plans for live music and DJs. The club will also include a dedicated lounge, the Gold Room, with cocktails and a patio, which is set to open in 2023. The drinks menu will include takes on usual 1970s drinks like Tequila Sunrises, Melon Balls, and Blue Hawaiians.

NoCo Hospitality is running this project, which is the same group behind the downtown bar Higher Ground and the newly opened Central East Austin bar Skinny’s Off Track (which also has a whole 1970s-vibe thing going on). It consists of Charles Ferraro (who also co-owns East Austin bars and venues Hotel Vegas/Volstead/LoLo) and Paolo Soriano (who had been the co-owner of now-closed Rainey Street bar Reina).

Hosting music makes sense since concert promotion company C3 is also providing funds and will book the space. The space is being designed by architect Fred Hubnik (who also worked on essential Austin bars like Whislers and Nickel City) and interior designer Rebekka Glass.

Before this project, the Riverside address had been home to the male strip club La Bare, which opened in 2006, but moved to North Austin in 2007 (it closed in 2010). It’s been empty ever since.

Also funding the project is the real estate development company Elevate Development Partners. NoCo Hospitality opened Higher Ground in 2021.

As part of the bar’s opening week, Superstition will host Chromeo who will play a DJ set on that Thursday. And then on Friday, December 30, Dillon Francis’s is playing a DJ set, and then for New Year’s Eve on Saturday, December 31, Justice will do a DJ thing.

Its hours are from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Superstition

Superstition

Superstition

Update, Thursday, December 1, 2:21 p.m.: This article, originally published on April 11, has been updated to include the club’s name and details and its opening details.