Changes to Come On Austin's Most Schizophrenic Street

In less than one month, the incoming class at The University of Texas will start walking the sidewalks of Guadalupe Street, listening to Nick Drake on their shiny iPods and buying every Bob Marley poster within a mile radius. These sidewalks, between 19th and 29th street, are affectionately known as The Drag, an area in a constant state of flux as businesses attempt tirelessly to keep up with the perpetual flakiness of an 18-24 year old market.

For better or for worse, they will never know the days of Mojo’s, Peet’s Coffee, Denim Edge, Leopard Lounge, Baja Fresh, Le Fun Arcade, Nomadic Notions, Sunglass Hut, Rick’s Salon and Legs Diamond, all stores that join the countless others that have tried their luck on The Drag and failed.

As businesses move in and out, the street itself is long overdue for a makeover. Over a decade in the making and almost a year behind it's scheduled start date, The Guadalupe Street Improvement Task Force has big planes for The Drag--maybe too big. The $4.8 million project looks to expand the sidewalks, update and enhance lighting and sprinkle 43 shading trees up and down the street's West side between 21st and 24th street. The crosswalks of 21st to 24th street will also be emblazoned with Texas star emblems, as well as be expanded and updated for greater accessibility. "Scheduled to be completed in 2007," it is likely that The Drag will be entirely shut down for months, something that will likely affect all Austinites. Be it uneasy reluctance or unpredictable events, the renovation's tardiness is a direct product of an intense project in need of intense planning.

In the meantime, some fairly recent businesses—Moe’s, Austin Java and Kasbah Café--will be taking a collective sigh of relief as they survive the summer, while some of the heavy favorites—Cream, Blue Velvet, Goodall Wooten and Fast Sophia’s—slowly resist the change around them. No, The Church of Scientology doesn’t look like it’s going to budge any time soon; yes, Burger King now has wi-fi and the domination of The Co-Op continues to spread like an overpriced, burnt-orange wildfire.

So, for the fresh meat, or for those who just avoid the drag all together, we offer you a short photo tour, just in time for the school year, of what Austin’s most schizophrenic street is looking like this month.

Click the Expand-O-Tron to continue...

A familiar sight for the past few months, The six-story Almetris Duren Residence Hall is slated for completion in early January and will help ease the heavy tension the university has with on-campus housing. However, with The Villas On Guadalupe, The Scottish Rite Dormitory and the almost completed Venue On Guadalupe already sharing the block, be prepared for increased traffic...drunken freshmen sidewalk traffic.

A sign of the times? Although faded and barely noticeable, you can see the prices of her speedy discount haircut shop have increased from 5.99 to 6.99 and now, a ridiculous 7.99 per cut. And if you've ever been there before, you'll know Fast Sophia actually charges seven dollars and ninety-nine cents, with no tax? But she will cut your hair faster than you can say "mafia-run, money laundering."

It's Slices And Ices meets Pipes Plus. No, not another generic head shop, The Mellow Mushroom, is a national pizza chain that sells hoagies, salads and even has a section on the menu devoted to the "munchies."

This store may be cursed? The Gap couldn't even survive in this space and Denim Edge, now just ultra-trendy Edge, couldn't survive long with their quite overpriced vintage clothing--just because it's a concert t-shirt doesn't mean it should cost twice as much!

Alliteration reigns! Which Wich and Pita Pit are neighbors. Fast Food. Healthy. National Chains. Enough Said.

Baja Fresh was cool when they announced they would not destroy Daniel Johnston's famous Hi How Are You painting, but after only a few years, Baja Fresh leaves the city of Austin with only a Tex-Mex frame we wish we could destroy.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By patrickdentler in News on August 10, 2006 5:27 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

gregoryb

Does anyone remember the Chinese buffet that was under the Scientology building next to Le Fun? Hardly anyone knew about that place when they were open. Now, The only buffet anywhere near campus is crappy Mr. Gattis. SAVE THE DRAG!

www.GregoryB.com

kc

tony's vineyard?

ol'pappy

What was the pasta place that was near By George in the mid-90s? Trying to remember the name of that place has been driving me nuts for about a month.

not too old school

Top Games!! followed by Mick's Mix...briefly

What, no one misses Eckerd's?

John Jarzemsky

Hey all, I'm the author of the "Drag Rat" entry on wikipedia, which has since been deleted.

Gotta admit I'm a young Austinite (but native Texan). Still, I have never, not even once, heard the term "Drag Worm" until I came to this website (and somebody updated my entry on wikipedia.

Isn't it kind of pointless to argue over the "correct" slang term to describe a pretty amorphous demographic? I'd say "drag rat" is definitely more commonly used nowadays. And yeah, the entry I put in wikipedia was pretty slap-dash, but I let the reader know at the beginning that I didn't know much about them, not being a drag rat (or worm) and all.

I was hoping that somebody with more knowledge might fill in the gaps instead of bitch about it, but I guess I had a little too much faith...

Chris

I arrived in Austin in 1988 and we used the term "Dragworm". And I do miss Sound Exchange, Les Amis, Technophilia, and Europa Books.

exsoundexex

dragworm was the original phrase. it fell out of fashion in part because it was used perjoratively towards the homeless. there was even a punk band called dragwurm. also, as the drag gentrified and became more like a mall, drag rats alluded to mall rats.

the story about daniel on the sound exchange wall, by request:

in 92 or early 93, i was talking to daniel and another employee about a variety of things (daniel was pretty coherent then); our remodeling came up. i asked him if he wanted to do some artwork for us, and he asked to do a mural. i can't remember whether daniel or i suggested the frog, but it was instantly agreed upon. i bought a can of paint and a brush, and gave daniel something like $150 cash and all the vinyl he could carry home - as well as 1/2 off for life. he was done in an hour and it was perfect.

the next day, the first employee in the door heard the phone already ringing - it was the church across the way, complaining about our 'satanic' images! mike said: "ma'am, it's not satan; it's a FROG" and hung up. oddly, only one or two people ever vandalized the thing over the decade. never anything serious. so, you're saying that baja fresh has high-tailed it? that would be too bad, actually - the painting would be in danger from a future tenant. i tried to get it registered as a city landmark, but the OWNER of the building needed to do that, and the wooten trust was not interested. worried a new tenant might be scared off if told they couldn't paint over it - which, of course, is what happened to baja fresh. it was actually pretty decent (and costly) for the franchise owner to save the mural, when the landlord's agent acted like it was just grafitti (which they KNEW it was not).

thanks for all the kudos to the old soundex... tho saying it 'smelled like a kennel' is being a bit too polite. right before the end, we found out an old sewer vent had been broken back by the office, no doubt adding some extra bouquet.......

anon

Everyday is a weekend day for me. Ah the joy of voluntary unemployment.

patrick

shameless.

banzai-lover

This is to AEW from 8/11: Banzai reopened on N. Lamar last year. You don't have to miss the tastiness any longer.

http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/41601725/austin_tx/banzai_sushi_grill.html

dr. phil

i think you need to go enojoy a three-day weekend, anon. badly.

anon

Okay - this is twice my post has gone missing in the last 30 minutes or so. Anyway, point being - sincle this came up I had been asking around. Usually blind question, "Drag Rat or Drag Worm?" - instant answer from UT alum and past and current professors. Drag Worms, no wuestions though they did say they heard people use Rat and usually corrected them. hell, even the UT wensite sayd Drag Worm.

anon

Not sure why my longer post got dropped or deleted. It was here a few minutes ago. Anyway, I mena to respond to this a while back. i talked to several grad students, alumni and professors from UT ranging from the 70's to the early 90's. I simple posed the question out of the blue "Drag Rats or Drag Worms?" Instant response was Drag Worms. I'm not sure where it turned to Drag Rat, but even the UT website says Drag Worm.

anon

I had forgotten to post back to this. So I've talked with several professors who went to school at UT and a couple that teach there now. I've also talked to quite a few graduates - people who graduated before let's say 92 and after the 70's - the question I posed was simple; I blindly in mid conversation said "Drag Worms or Drag Rats?" - instant response, Worms, where the hell did you get Rats? And what are you talking about?" I've had a few say they heard Rats too, but said they always knew it as Drag Worm.

Julio

I've heard both "Drag Rats" and "Drag Worms", but when I went to UT they were usually called the former.

It sucks to see all my old haunts going one by one. Back when I was a piss poor grad student I used to buy tapes out of the $1.99 bin at Sound Exchange. Or spend hours playing Tekken at Le Fun. I wrote half of my master's thesis at Little City and about a quarter of it at Mojos. It sucks that the business turnover along the street is so high. I hear a lot of people complain about market forces, but they seem to forget about the fickle nature of Drag's clientele.

I don't buy the Wikipedia entry on Drag Rats. It reads like some freshman cut and pasted their first year Sociology term paper.

michflor

The Pita Pit does rock, it doesn't feel like a chain, and I love that they are open till 3am.

Mr Skin

Yum, the Pita Pit rocks!

jessica

someone tell us about the Daniel Johnston painting...

fogelsong

I always knew them as "drag rats".

From time to time, I do miss Quack's, Mojo's(before Wade sold the place), Le Fun, and Sound Exchange. Good times. And yes! I remember the mural in the Gaud complex! It's a shame they had to relocate.

Epoch is looking really nice. The iced mojo is exactly the same as it used to be - the same ice too! It's nice having a coffee shop run by some of my favorite coffee slingers just four blocks away. And 24/7 too!

AEW

I miss Bonsai, I ate there almost everyday my senior year.

anon

Yes, Drag Worm is the original term. I'm not sure how it got transformed into Drag Rat - just guessing that with the demise of the Drag about 10-12 years ago the term lost its value and as UT kids became more interested in what jeans others were wearing or what car they drove they probably just forgot the term all together. As for the Wikipedia comment; I trust Wikipedia about as much as I trust Delay and Abramoff with my money or Bush with making the right decision about the Middle East. Besides, someone can always go change Wikipedia at anytime to reflect Drag Worm as the correct term.

truecraig

I used to sleep at Insomnia, before it was Metro, when I was without a home. It was aptly named. What the hell is it now?

Einstein's was always good for a between-classes Street Fighter bout with strangers.

They were always called Drag Worms AND Drag Rats. "Worms" was an older term which we used with pre-hipsterish irony.

By George was the first fancy-shmancy clothing store on The Drag. It outlived The Gap. Now there's a Diesel. I don't understand any of it.

Les Amis had THE BEST black beans and rice.

Sound Exchange smelled like a kennel and sold some of the rarest vinyl I've ever seen that could actually be touched by any random shopper. It was like High Fidelity in that piece.

Epoch (Epoc? whatever) looks like it might rival the once-greatness of Mojo's in looks alone. Time will tell if it has Mojo's juju.

I avoid The Drag like the plague nowadays. Too much traffic, too little interest.

Great post pd.

Jon

Mellow Mushroom is a chain indeed, but they all seem to have an individual style... I've been to one in Savannah, one in Atlanta, and one in Indianapolis; all three were very different.

Good pizza, too.

more morning quibbling

I don't see anything in the article implying the author *didn't* know why Daniel Johnston's painting was there. We know that Sound Exchange used to be there. Instead of attacking why not share a story - Why did Daniel Johnston paint the wall of the building that used to house Sound Exchange?

There was a cartoonist that did a mural of the drag on the inner stairwell of the old Gaud Complex - it was all torn down by what goddawful stores replaced it. That's a historical shame.

Emily

Hey Josh, what is it about the phrase, "The Mellow Mushroom, is a national pizza chain that sells hoagies, salads and even has a section on the menu devoted to the "munchies." makes you think that the writer of this article DOESN'T know that Mellow Mushroom will sell pizza?

tildhat

Sorry, that comment was re: Sophia's....

tildahat

I have actually gotten up from my desk at work and then been back sitting in it with a new haircut 12 minutes later. If I walk at a slower pace and don't hit the crosswalks right, sometimes it takes 16...

I think one haircut may have clocked in at under 2 1/2 minutes.

drag rat vs. drag worm

Well according to the 'memory bank', Drag Worm as a term originated in the '70's: http://web.austin.utexas.edu/teamweb/cfdir/prowl/memorybank_detail.cfm?FlashVersion=yes&storyid=256

But Drag Rat shows up in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_Rat

Y'all fogies need to update the Wiki sounds like. ;)

the drag needs more cafes

I was here 8 years ago and have been at UT ever since. This is the first time I've ever heard the term 'Drag Worm.' Back in Berkeley we called them 'Gutter Punks' - I always heard 'Drag Rats' as the term since I came here.

I miss Quakenbushes, Fringeware, Mojos and Desert Books. Wish I had been around for Les Amis and Europa books.

JeffTheChef

You totally missed the The Drag's hayday. Do you even know why Daniel Johnston's painting is in that particular location?

The Drag was REAL when Inner Sanctum, Sound Exchange, Quakenbushes, Aaron's Rock & Roll and The Bazzar were all open. That was only ten years ago.

The drag used to be dangerous and fun. It died a long time before Denim Edge showed up.

And yes, the correct term is Drag Worm.

Some snotty, old fart.

matt wright

Drag worms? I've seen some of our writers use it -- but I never once heard it when I was at UT, from '99 to '04. Is it a newer or older term?

pd

It's a sad world when a guy can't trust word of mouth...duly noted.

josh

The Mellow Mushroom is going to be a pizza joint, bub. Besides, who would want to put Pipes Plus out of business?

check it: www.mellowmushroom.com

anon

Drag rats? I think you meant Drag Worms, just an observation. Otherwise, good post about a part of town that hardly anyone but UT freshman frequent anymore.