AUSTIN, Texas — Last week’s closure of Austin’s iconic restaurant and music venue Threadgill’s marked the end of an era in the city’s history.

• Scholz’s Garden, Texas' first music venue, was built in 1866
• Kenneth Threadgill obtained first beer license issued in Travis County
• Janice Joplin sang at Threadgill’s in the ‘60s

The “Live Music Capital of the World” was born in 1866 when Scholz’s Garden was erected as the first venue in the state, but it didn’t earn that nickname until much later when a few pioneers began building a musical empire in the middle of Texas. The strength of that empire is being tested in unprecedented ways as the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll continues to wreak havoc on many of Austin’s cultural institutions.

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In 1933, a welder and country singer named Kenneth Threadgill waited in line all night to obtain the first beer license in Travis County, immediately after prohibition was repealed. He purchased the gas station he was working at, and he converted it into a beer joint on North Lamar Boulevard, right outside Austin’s city limits. It became a welcoming spot for locals and touring musicians to gather during the Great Depression. The opening of Threadgill’s marked the beginning of a nearly century-old tale about a modest, little tavern that would change Austin forever.

In the 1960s, Janice Joplin was attending the University of Texas, and she began singing at Threadgill’s every Wednesday night. Mr. Threadgill was a big fan of Joplin’s and ultimately helped launch her career. The owner had a lot of fans of his own, as many people admired him for his progressive ideas and welcoming character. He became known as the “Father of Austin Country Music.”

“Mr. Threadgill was very dear to Janice [Joplin] because, for one reason, he was her source of beer when she was underage!” laughed Eddie Wilson, the current owner of Threadgill’s. “My version of his turnaround from being a redneck to a cultural icon was her sittin’ on his knee and whispering in his ear that if he wouldn’t use the n-word anymore, he would always have a pretty girl sittin’ on his knee.”

Photo of Eddie Wilson, the current owner of Threadgill’s (Tara Petitt/Spectrum News)

As he was speaking to me, Wilson was sitting in an old chair on the empty stage of Threadgill’s “Old No. 1.” Above him, hung a large, wooden sign with the words “Kenneth Threadgill’s Place” and “Austin Texas” inscribed in cursive lettering. The walls were draped with vintage concert posters from the ‘70s, portraits of Janice Joplin and Kenneth Threadgill, an old trombone next to an old stereo, and an old juke box sat in the corner. Countless other pieces of Texas music memorabilia could keep you busy looking around the restaurant for hours, and it all pointed to the stage where Wilson was sitting. Everything around him reflected his life’s work — half a century of preserving the history of Austin’s cultural music scene. Kenneth Threadgill’s influence on Wilson was nothing less than remarkable.

“He was quite the godfather of progressive thought,” said Wilson. The two raconteurs met when Wilson was in high school, and he made a failed attempt at courting Mr. Threadgill’s daughter.

“I was a sophomore at McCallum? and she was a Senior,” said Wilson. “I knew the old joint, and I came over here looking for her, and Mr. Threadgill was here and told me that she had gone off with a guy who had a car. So my next objective in life was to get a car!” laughed Wilson. It didn’t work out with Miss Threadgill, but the 16-year-old Wilson continued to stop by and spend time with her father. For decades, Wilson soaked up every joke, story, piece of history, culture and musical influence Kenneth Threadgill bestowed upon him, and the unlikely pair ended up lifelong friends.

After his wife Mildred’s passing in 1974, Kenneth Threadgill closed the business, and it sat empty until 1981 when he sold the property to Wilson, who was just coming off a 10-year whirlwind of success running the Armadillo World Headquarters in downtown Austin.

“I was just trying to invent a job for myself!” said Wilson.

He did much more than create a job for himself. He created jobs for hundreds of people over the span of 50 years and continued the legacy of his mentor by nurturing live music and giving a platform to Texas musicians. As the owner of Threadgill’s, Wilson has become a fixture in the Austin music scene and has helped shape what many refer to as “the sound of Austin.”

Over the last week, musicians, booking agents, promoters, former employees and patrons from all walks of life have reached out to Eddie and his wife, Sandra, to share their favorite memories of Threadgill’s. Like Wilson, many people are still trying to wrap their heads around the reality of the historic landmark no longer being part of the Austin landscape.

Wondering if there was one particular family secret that kept Threadgill’s afloat for so many decades, I asked Wilson what made it so successful. Not to my surprise, he laughed at the question.

“Threadgill’s has never been successful, Tara!” he laughed and said, “It’s just endured.”

I followed up with, “Do you feel successful?”

Without hesitating, he responded, “I feel blessed. I feel honored and humbled by how many sweet people are saying really sweet things to me about what I’ve done with my life. I mostly just wanna thank everybody, you know? This is the reason that I love being here. It’s not the facility. I have been blessed to know most of the really great visual artists in town, a lot of the music makers. I’ve had a wonderful life in Austin, and it wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t know all the people that I know.”

The Threadgill’s property is currently for sale. The Wilsons are hoping to sell the property to a local nonprofit that will provide for the local music community. Eddie and his wife will be hosting an auction to sell the memorabilia inside the venue, similar to the one they held in 2018 after closing Threadgill’s World Headquarters. Tentatively, Wilson says the auction will take place in late June after Father’s Day.

The Austin Museum of Popular Culture’s Executive Director, Leea Mechling, says she has begun the process of finding a new location for the museum. It has been housed inside the Threadgill’s facility behind the restaurant since late 2019.

As the Wilsons finish the final chapter in the history of Threadgill’s, there’s no doubt that the proof of its existence will live on through the deep appreciation for local music that it helped instill within the DNA of Austin culture.