Outside Antone's, which moved to east Austin in April.
Legendary Austin blues club Antone’s has been purchased by a group of partners who plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin by this spring. The group of seven partners, led by National Geographic explorer-in-residence and geneticist Spencer Wells, finalized the deal with owners Stewart Bates, Frank Hendrix and Susan Antone on Nov. 13.
No sales amount was announced but other parties who had been in negotiations for the club and its popular brand name said the asking price was approximately $700,000.
The sale continues a tumultuous year for the 38-year-old club, which reopened in its fifth location in April. That move, to a still-developing section of east Austin on East Riverside Drive just south of downtown, saw the club struggle. Its liquor sales dropped by approximately 30 percent according to tax receipts from the state comptroller’s office.
"We're doing this for the fans, the music lovers," Wells said. “Antone’s has always held a special place in the music history here in Austin and our aim is to keep that going. We believe in being good neighbors - good stewards of the brand - and look forward to many more years of bringing great music to Austin.”
Since its founding by Clifford Antone as one of the first of the city’s hundreds of music venues, Antone’s has specialized in blues, roots and rock acts and was the launching pad for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr.
“Austin music is in my family’s blood and this is about restoring an iconic brand in the Austin music community," Wells said. "We want to move it back downtown by South By (Southwest), if not much earlier, and restore it to its moorings.”
Wells said his partners intend to move the club to the city’s acclaimed 6th Street music and entertainment district, at least that would be their first choice. Wells’ partner Tayloe Emery said the group is in negotiations with owners of multiple properties.
One possible location that has spurred the most discussion in the city that bills itself as the “Live Music Capital of the World” is the empty concert space at the corner of 6th and Red River streets that was previously the home of the punk- and indie-music haven Emo’s, which Hendrix and Bates also owned and also relocated to Riverside Drive in late 2011. That reopening as a 1,700-capacity concert hall also produced mixed results and in February of this year the venue was sold to Austin-based concert and festival promoters C3 Presents for an undisclosed amount.
Wells’ group purchased Antone’s with the intent to operate as two companies; Gin & Pentatonic, which will operate the club business, and Blues Scalable, which will pursue branding and other business opportunities utilizing Antone’s name. The partners wouldn’t discuss what form those opportunities might take but in recent years Hendrix had said he was in discussions to turn Antone’s into a chain of venues, akin to House of Blues or B.B. King's Restaurant & Blues Club.
Interviewed for this article: Spencer Wells, (512) 332-4433