AUSTIN, Texas — Austinites spent Sunday celebrating one last time at a Rainey Street staple: Icenhauer's.
The bar's owner Michael Icenhauer says all of the construction in the area is taking a toll on the bar's sales.
"We've been losing money since April 2023, and it's just not something we want to deal with anymore," Icenhauer said. "Our best year, our best month was ... we were down 20%. Our worst month, we were down 70%, so the last year and a half has been brutal for us."
Other Rainey Street bars like Reina, Container Bar, Bungalow and Stagger Lee have all closed since 2022.
With this latest closure, longtime Central Texan Shelby Campbell says this is just another example of how the story of Rainey Street keeps changing.
"I remember being down here when it was all just little houses and tiny bars and everybody was just like, that kind of a quaint feeling when you wanted to escape the crazy Sixth Street," Campbell said. "And now, to see so many high rises, it's honestly wild."
Campbell has been living in Central Texas over the past ten years, and still hopes a part of the "old" Austin she knows can be preserved.
"I think it's a booming city and I don't think it has any signs of slowing down, which again, there's a lot of positives in that," Campbell said. "But we got to figure out a way to keep some of the gems."
As Austin evolves, Icenhauer says it will be up to the Austinites to keep the vibrancy of the businesses alive.
"Remember to support the places that they want to go to if they want them to stay there," Icenhauer said.
It all reflects the struggle of keeping up with the spirit of Rainey Street, as the city turns the page on another closure.
"It's always the loudest bar on the street, so it'll be sad to see it go," Campbell said.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.