Come visit our office space and makeshift exhibit space for FREE! We will have our permanent items all over the walls, as well as a small collection of items from the Liberty Lunch days. Come say hi and let’s share stories about Austin cultural history!

For a brief history of Liberty Lunch:

Liberty Lunch was one of Austin’s most famous and beloved live performance spaces that used to exist at 405 W. 2nd St. (where Toy Joy is now), from 1975-1999.

First a wagon yard, then a lumber yard, then a WWII-era cafe named “Liberty Lunch,” which alluded to Liberty bonds at the time.

Acquired by the city of Austin, the property was first leased as a cultural venue to Michael Shelton and Shannon Sedwick (from 1976-79), creating a lasting precedent of artistic variety and keeping the name they found under layers of paint. Sedwick and Shelton would eventually relocate and morph their artistic baby into the now locally-famous Esther’s Follies!

In 1979, new partners Mark Pratz and J’net Ward leased the venue and in 1981, brought roof beams from the famous Armadillo World HQ in order to build a covered patio stage, which helped keep shows going on rainy nights, whereas previously they would have been cancelled.

In order to keep getting lease offers from the city, (which constantly fought its’ existence through-and-through), more improvements were made in the 90’s to include a better stage, dance floor, and other necessary code requirement upgrades.

What made “the Lunch” great you ask? First, the bar owners. Never allowing pat-downs of their patrons, Mark and J’net made the place welcoming, eclectic, and appeasing to both artist and fan alike. Most importantly they pushed culture over profit. Secondly, the variety of artists: Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Run DMC, The Flaming Lips, Toadies, Rammstein, Wilco, Townes Van Zandt, John Lee Hooker, Ben Folds, Ween, Foo Fighters, Oasis’ first-ever show in Austin, Dolly Parton, and many many more.

Per the waves of change common in Austin, in 1999 and after 23 years in operation, Mayor Kirk Watson closed The Lunch for re-development, and gave owners 6 months to vacate before demolition.

On July 23rd, 1999, the last day in operation, a fond farewell known as “Gloriathon” ensued for 24 hours straight, with local artists singing various versions of “Gloria” by Van Morrison.

The Lunch may one day be re-born elsewhere, but it can never be replaced. As any Austinite of the time will tell you, 405 W. 2nd Street was truly unique.

As summarized by Mark Pratz, “Liberty Lunch was as much a time as it was a place; it was a convergence of many things."