The iconic South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas continues to lose its long-standing local businesses as rental prices skyrocket. The latest casualties include Mi Casa, a 28-year staple of the area, The Good Company, and the Sunroom, all of which have shut their doors or are about to due to unsustainable rental increases.
"We've really seen a fairly drastic decrease since the pandemic in locally owned shops," said Brandon Hodge, owner of Big Top Candy Shop and Monkey See Monkey Do toy store on South Congress Avenue, in an interview with KVUE. Hodge, who also presides over the South Congress Merchants Association, explained the retail challenge, stating that "Retail is a tough business and, you know, just having your strange little pocket of the commercial space has gotten increasingly harder with rent, taxes and wholesale."
South Congress Books, another long-time business in the area, also felt the pressure of soaring rents. They announced on New Year's Eve that they would relocate from their home of over a decade. "It may not surprise many of you to learn that we have been priced out of South Congress," the store's management posted on Facebook. With a final day of operation set for January 8, the bookstore plans to reopen in March at a new address, 3703 Kerbey Lane, reported KXAN.
While some local businesses are bowing out, newer and more affluent establishments have taken their place. For example, Austin's own Western footwear brand Tecovas Inc. has set up a flagship store on the avenue and is looking to expand further, with plans for 14 more stores by early 2024, as mentioned in the same report. This mix of closures and openings is shaping the once eclectic character of South Congress into a potentially different scene. "I would say it's still quintessentially Austin," Hodge pondered in the KVUE piece. "Is that as funky and weird as it once was? Not quite, but you have to ask yourself if Austin is as weird and funky as it once was."
The area's transformation reflects a broader trend affecting local businesses in rapidly gentrifying urban areas. Hodge disclosed to KVUE that since the pandemic, there has been a "triple-digit rent increase." As a result, Hodge warns that the current 65% of locally owned stores on South Congress Avenue might continue to dwindle, and he cautions that more businesses could follow suit in their exodus from this distinctive stretch of Austin's landscape.
