Reader Mark Goodrich asked about the origins of County Line Grill and the Lost Soap Creek Saloon, both tucked into the first hills of the Hill Country.
By coincidence (or maybe not), County Line celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
“Hi, I was wondering if you had written anything about the original county line building or if you could find information on its history?” Goodrich wrote. “A few years before the restaurant opened, I went to a party in the early 1970s that lasted all night and, as was typical of the era, was made even more exciting by the heavy use of herbs and psychedelic adventures.”
Oh yes, those times. Your “From the Archives” columnist remembers them — in patches.
“The place was packed,” Goodrich continued. A young family with one or two children lived there and held celebrations. I think the husband’s aunt owned the place and let them live there.
“It was mainly a large open area with the tables and chairs gone, and if I remember correctly there was a slightly raised bandstand in the northwest corner of the interior that served as the master’s bedroom. There were commercial kitchen equipment near the southwest corner of the building. There were two very basic bathrooms on the east wall and I think there were a couple of small tables along the wall.”
Goodrich recalls stories of illegal taverns there. Incidentally, he wondered about the original location of the Soap Creek Saloon off Bee Cave Road and the second county line on Lake Austin.
Before County Line, this was a drinking shack
Goodrich was lucky. In fact, I’ve written about all of these things.
In a 2016 American Statesman story titled “Fonda San Miguel, ThunderCloud Subs and County Line Make It To 40,” I returned to where the barbecue joint opened.
“Before it became a barbecue venue, County Line on the Hill was priced at RM 2244 and was located outside the city limits and used to be a speakeasy.
“It was originally built as the Moosehead Lodge and burned down, leaving only the red slate and a mirror of two moose fighting still hanging in the bar,” said Scott Ziskovsky, director of marketing and advertising for County Line. “It was rebuilt as the Cedar Crest Lodge around 1934 and went through several owners and changes before finally closing in 1960. For the next 15 years, it sat empty.”
The place was deserted except for a few parties Goodrich attended. The County Line on the Lake is located at RM 2222, which was once the Bull Creek Lodge. So much drinking in the mountains!
Founder Skeeter Miller, I’m told, remains a great storyteller, and he told me about the origins of his joint, how he and management cultivated customer and employee loyalty, and how the County Line became something of a cultural landmark.
“We have customers coming in every Monday night at 6 p.m.,” Miller said. “They want to sit at the same table with their favorite waiter and two glasses of whiskey on the rocks – one with a straw, one without. They want their desserts to be taken away so they can enjoy them at home. They never look at the menu and don’t have to order. We know exactly who they are and what they want. They feel like royalty and the staff calls them by their first names. In fact, some of them have plaques just for them.
“Many times, I find myself talking to a complete stranger on a plane, at a conference, or even in another restaurant, and they start telling me about their great memories of eating at County Line,” Miller said. “We have regular customers who call their families in their last hours and ask County Line to provide them with one last meal. When we surprise the family and show up at their home with food, they shed tears of joy in their sad time.”
Now the famous Soap Creek Saloon
In 1976, Willie Nelson and Charley Pride hosted a Country Music Association party at the Soap Creek Saloon. Contributed by Scott Newton (Austin American-Statesman)
In November 2017, I submitted a story titled “Austin Answers: Where is the Old Soap Creek Bar?”
If you’ve never visited this legendary music venue, its then-remote location just outside the city is certainly shrouded in the mists of history. Even if you do go – given the heady time it was – you probably can’t quite remember the exact location.
The short answer is: You start out on RM 2244, past Old Walsh Tarlton, to about 3200 Bee Cave Road (the original address no longer exists), then turn left onto a rutted dirt road that leads to a hotel up the hill.
The original building no longer exists. “Where my septic tank was was now a $200,000 apartment,” former owner George Majewski told the American-Statesman in 1996. Imagine what those apartments are now used for.
Longer answer: Soap Creek was a spark of cultural fusion—home to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Marcia Ball, Doug Sam, and others—when musical styles mixed at Armadillo World Headquarters, Castle Creek, and elsewhere.
Soap Creek Salon Calendar. March 1978. Kerry Awn’s Soap Creek Saloon posters have helped establish the club’s visual aesthetic and promote shows over the years. This portrait, based on a photo taken by Ken Hoge, depicts a young Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band of Austin blues regulars. Courtesy of the Wittliff Collection, Texas State University. (Austin360)
Eddie Wilson, keeper of the Armadillo Fire, said: “The reality is that the Soap Creek Saloon has more to do with sinking-era nails (hippies mixed with rednecks) than the Armadillo does.” “We were more like ‘family’ by comparison. Soap Creek wasn’t in the city. Right in front of you, you could see rednecks with long hair coming out of the mountains. It’s the hippie chick’s fault.”
In 1978, Soap Creek moved into town, first to the old Skyline Club, a venerable country spot on North Lamar Boulevard, then to South Congress Avenue and Academy Drive before finally closing in the 1980s. In the Austin Chronicle, the late Margaret Moser called the combination of the final Soap Creek with the Continental Club and Austex Lounge the “South Austin Triple Crown.”
