Bars & Saloons
Cloak Room
1300 Colorado St, Austin, TX
The Cloak Room is a basement dive bar tucked into the Goodman Building at 1300 Colorado Street, a late-Victorian building constructed as a grocery in the mid-1880s that's now on the National Register of Historic Places. The bar was the idea of longtime lobbyist Ed Baxter, who wanted the Capitol to have a walk-to bar like the ones on Capitol Hill, and it opened in the late 1970s with a young University of Texas student, Jim LeMond, running it.
Sitting just steps from the Capitol grounds, it's become a natural gathering point for lawmakers, journalists, lobbyists, and staffers during legislative sessions, and it's known around town for one of the longest happy hours in the city. The entrance is easy to miss, a large tree partly obscures the sign, and the low ceiling and dim lighting keep the underground room feeling exactly like the decades-old political hideout it is.
Common Questions
When did the Cloak Room open?
In the late 1970s, founded by lobbyist Ed Baxter.
What building is the Cloak Room in?
The Goodman Building at 1300 Colorado Street, a mid-1880s structure on the National Register of Historic Places.