Arguably, no street epitomizes Austin’s aura and culture more than restaurant and retail-lined South Congress Avenue. However, as luxury chains flock to capitalize on the hype, local businesses — often with niche offerings — are starting to look elsewhere.
The latest examples of this are Mi Casa Gallery, Good Company and Sunroom. Each of the three were long-time or local tenets and each has recently made the decision to move to cheaper locations or simply close their SoCo location.
Mi Casa Gallery
With the longest tenure of any of the recently closed SoCo businesses, Mi Casa Gallery, an art gallery and mercado known for its Talavera pottery and bedazzled steer skulls, announced in late April that it would be ending its 28-year run on the street.
“While we are sad to end this chapter, we’re very excited to be starting a new journey,” a post on the business’s Instagram account said. “We want to give all the thanks in the world to every single person who’s supported our store, our artists, vendors, friends and family.”
With the closure of its SoCo location, the post said the business would be moving all of its inventory to a new location in Johnson City. The gallery has not announced when it would be opening its new location, but did say an opening is close.
Good Company
Since 2019, the woman’s clothing and accessories store, Good Company, has been running its location on SoCo. At the beginning of May, owners announced that the store would be calling it quits at the SoCo location to focus on other storefronts.
“We feel so lucky to have been able to open this store in 2019 and be a part of the South Congress legacy. But as SoCo evolves into a more corporate shopping experience, we are one of the many small businesses affected by these changes,” a post on the company’s Instagram account said.
Good Company already has a location on 12th Street and the brand is establishing a presence in Round Top. The business’ space on SoCo officially closed on May 27.
Sunroom
A boutique offering curated jewelry and clothes, Sunroom made the move to SoCo in 2014, a year after opening on South Lamar. In May, the company announced via its website that it would be closing its only Austin location after starting the company in the city.
“That said, we consider it an incredible gift to have landed in this magical city at such a perfect moment in time,” a note on the company’s website said.
The Austin location was one of only two physical locations the company offered — the other is located in Malibu. In a note written on the Sunroom website, the business made no mention of continuing its presence in Austin.
SoCo shuffle in 2024
The slow-burn retail shuffle on SoCo has been in the works for years as major clothing brands like Reformation, Madewell and Lululemon have all made the street home.
However, this year, various homegrown companies have moved out. In April, Austin-HQ’d Outdoor Voices suddenly announced it would be closing all of its retail stores. Also, in December Maya Star announced it would be closing after almost 30 years in its location.
A few months later, it was announced that legendary boot brand Lucchese would be filling that space, adding more ammunition to the already formidable boot selection on SoCo.
Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman. To share additional tips or insights with Salgado, email Bsalgado@gannett.com.