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Just recently, crowds returned to Sixth Street, a glimmer of hope for the downtown restaurants, bars, and performance venues that had been battered and financially faltering over the past 15 months from the coronavirus pandemic.
But Saturday’s mass shootings – which injured at least 14 people in the early hours of the morning, two of them life-threatening – are now bringing national fame to one of Austin’s most famous entertainment districts and dealing a new blow to businesses in the area just as they were trying to get back on the road grasp.
“I’ve been on Sixth Street for 35 years, and I’ve never heard of anything like this in all the time I’ve been here,” said Bob Woody, who runs 20 bars on Sixth Street. “This is the story people all over the world hear.”
More:Austin Police arrest one of two suspects involved in downtown shootings that left 14 injured
It remains to be seen whether the shooting – and the coverage of it – will have any impact on the Austin hospitality industry, which was beaten up during the pandemic.
The region’s leisure and hospitality sectors cut more than 60,000 jobs in the first few weeks of the pandemic. With only about half the return since then, the sector is making up the majority of the sustained job losses related to the Austin area pandemic.
“Sixth Street is our crown jewel”
Woody, whose bars include downtown Buford’s, Blind Pig Pub and Shakespeare’s pub, believes the shooting will damage Sixth Street. In addition to traditionally local younger audiences, Woody says, Sixth Street also relies on tourists, convention attendees, and international travelers.
“Sixth Street is our crown jewel – this is a global brand,” said Woody. “Any kind of thing that damages the reputation of any part of the city damages our whole city. It damages tourism, it damages the convention business in the future, it damages hotel revenues.”
Michael Klein, president of the Texas Bar & Nightclub Alliance, also fears that bad publicity could harm bars and nightclubs that didn’t survive the harrowing past year.
“What a terrible press to have,” said Klein. “I’ve seen it on every news channel. People vote with their dollars. We know Austin is obviously not a dangerous place, and there have been a lot of shootings in urban areas. But headlines work.”
Klein added, “When someone’s daughter goes to a bachelorette party and mom and dad see 13 people shot dead on Sixth Street, they might say, ‘Honey, why don’t you go to the beach instead?'”
Jon Hockenyos, president of Austin-based economic analysis firm TXP Inc., said such concerns are understandable. However, he doesn’t think the filming in itself will affect Austin’s status as a top tourist and destination destination – unless it marks the beginning of a pattern and such events become commonplace here.
Companies are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic
Still, Hockenyos said many business owners in the region were on the verge of financially exiting the pandemic, so they must worry about the aftermath of the mass shootings.
“The margin of error is much lower,” he said.
“All of these (business owners) are working on much thinner margins and doing everything they had to to get through,” and made it to the other side of the pandemic, Hockenyos said. “I’m sure when you’re a business owner down there you think, ‘Oh my god, no more.'”
Shannon Sedwick, who has owned Esther’s Follies on Sixth Street for 45 years, said it was about to reopen fully after more than “a year of hard work just to stay alive and keep our cast together”.
‘I’m so tired’:Austin awakens and responds to news of 14 people injured in shooting on Sixth Street
Saturday’s shooting “is a very unfortunate blow, just (in terms of) people uncomfortable deciding to come to Sixth Street,” Sedwick said.
Despite the incident, however, she said tourists and local residents alike should consider Sixth Street a safe destination provided they depart before about 1:30 a.m. when the crowd can get noisy. Sedwick also said she usually hired an off duty cop to stand watch over Esther’s Follies and plans to do so again.
Sedwick, who is the president of the Pecan Street Association and co-owns Esther’s Follies with husband Michael Shelton, said Austin police are doing everything they can to keep the popular area in order but think the city should put more money into safety invest. whether that means more patrols or other action.
Woody and Klein agreed. They said Austin officials should increase the city’s budget for pedestrian police patrols downtown.
“It’s easily curable,” said Woody. “When you allow forms of lawlessness, you increase the level of lawlessness.”
Angela Tharp, owner of the live music venue Flamingo Cantina on Sixth Street, said the shooting was tragic, but mass shootings can and will happen anywhere.
“I’ve been here for 30 years and I’ve seen a lot,” said Tharp. “When I first opened it wasn’t considered the best hotel in town, but I could afford it, so I did.”
Tharp said operating a live music venue on Sixth Street, which is currently mostly populated by bars, remains a challenge.
“We want our customers and our employees to be safe – that’s what matters,” she said. “Our customers are very loyal and we know they will continue to support us.”
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