Outer Heaven to close and be replaced by condos, owner says in social media post

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A popular east Austin nightclub is being forced to close its doors early next year, according social media posts published from its accounts Tuesday morning.

Outer Heaven Disco Club's owner posted the announcement on the bar's Instagram and Facebook pages Tuesday, saying the landlord declined to renew the bar's lease and will instead tear the building down to construct "luxury condos."

The bar's lease ends in March 2025, per the announcement.

Outer Heaven debuted in March 2020 but was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and didn't officially open until May 2021, per Dec. 2022 reporting from the Austin Monthly.

The club, situated on 12th Street in a growing east Austin, has been a popular spot for Austinites over the last few years. Its Instagram account has more than 12,000 followers, with several of them commenting on the announcement post expressing sadness.

"This is devastating," one commenter said. "My favorite bar in the world and my home away from home. Always felt like a safe space to wave my freak flag."

Another person suggested the bar move to south Austin, but the owner made no indication in the post of plans to relocate or reopen elsewhere.

The post included several slides describing Outer Heaven's history and the work the owner put into it, as well as frustration from the owner over the "most 'new Austin' reason" for its imminent closure.

"I only ever wanted to make something that I personally believed in and could stand behind, regardless of if it succeeded or failed," the post read in part.

The owner expressed many reasons the bar is meaningful, one of them being that its patrons came from a word-of-mouth business model and that they never paid for advertising.

"Every single person that has ever been here, has come because another actual human being, recommended it to them. I think that f****** means something in this algorithm based, fake follower hellscape where nothing is ever genuine anymore."

The owner also included details about Outer Heaven's history, which is rooted inside of its 80-year-old building, though the bar itself is only a few years old.

The post expressed frustration over the reason behind the bar's closure, something many Austinites relate to, as the city has seen exponential growth and development over the last couple of decades. The Rainey Street Historic District is a prominent example of similar drastic changes that took place over recent years, transforming small homes and businesses into high-rises and residential buildings as part of a redevelopment project in the area.

The owner continued the post by criticizing how many bars and businesses are run, saying "we live in a world ruled by corporate cynicism that views people not as human beings but as means to an end."

The post concluded with the owner expressing a desire to make the most of Outer Heaven's last six months. "I don't want to use that time to be sad. I want to use it to wage war."

The owner also expressed gratitude for the people who have supported the business.

"For the people that have always supported us and the ones that understand what it is we are actually trying to do here, and made this place a legit community, born from nothing, on a street no one gave a s*** about, I promise to dedicate myself to making these last 6 months something that after we're gone, you will always have with you. Even if they are just memories."