Todd Sanders, the neon artist behind Austin’s postcard-style “Greetings From Austin” mural, is packing up his tools and heading about 80 miles east to Round Top. His Roadhouse Relics studio will relocate there and is expected to begin operating from the new home base next year, while his Austin work will remain available for by-appointment viewings through the end of 2026. The South First Street property that has housed his studio has been sold and will be repurposed, but the mural’s exterior is set to stay put.
What’s changing at Roadhouse Relics
As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Sanders said River Sharpe purchased the South First Street property and that he will move his studio and gallery operations to Round Top. According to the paper, Sanders expects to run Roadhouse Relics from the new location beginning in 2027, with limited Austin viewings during the transition. The Statesman also notes Sanders’ estimate that the mural draws roughly 75,000 people a year who stop by for photos.
A mural that became Austin’s selfie backdrop
Sanders bought the former fruit-stand building that became Roadhouse Relics in 1997, and he and artists Rory Skagen and Bill Brakhage painted the giant postcard mural soon after. That origin story and the building’s restoration are chronicled in the gallery’s own account at Roadhouse Relics. The mural has since become a mainstay on lists of Austin attractions and is frequently cited as one of the city’s most photographed public artworks, as detailed by Austin Monthly.
Sanders’ neon legacy
Over three decades, Sanders built a reputation restoring marquee signs and creating neon commissions for musicians and venues, helping make vintage-style signage part of Austin’s visual identity. In the mid-2000s he shifted away from commercial sign-making to focus more on fine art, while still using traditional neon techniques. Local profiles and interviews catalog a long list of his projects and commissions and place him among the city’s better-known neon artists, as noted by Axios.
What stays and what changes for visitors
Sanders told the Austin American-Statesman he wants the mural to remain part of Austin’s streetscape and added that “the city’s soul will never go away.” He said the new owner plans to repurpose the building while preserving its history and the exterior mural, and Roadhouse Relics will shift operations to Round Top next year. Fans hoping to see Sanders’ work up close can still book appointments in Austin through the end of 2026, according to the Statesman.
