Carousel Lounge is open Wednesday to Saturday, and has nightly, free live music performances. Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman
In this week in "Jim Duncan's Austin," an adaptation of Jim Duncan's histories of dive bars is presented. Dive bars are defined by Duncan as having an atmosphere and attitude — not by genre of music. The music can be anything, including jukebox, rock, blues, country, with cheap drinks, low-key, dim lighting, unpretentious, no frills. In the coming weeks, honky tonks will be featured in a separate category. — Michael Barnes
1963: Little Longhorn Saloon
Billy Dee plays bass at Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon on Burnet Road in 2009. Many clues about the building's history can be found onsite and in the American-Statesman archives. Ralph Barrera/American-Statesman File
Playing a game called “Chicken (Expletive) Bingo” in a building that resembles a church might seem out of the ordinary in most cities, but not in Austin.
Here, it is just another example of “keeping Austin weird.”
For those who have never played it, it can best be described as “where the poop plops pays.”
In 1963, Richard Huskin “Dick" Setliff opened a bar at 5434 Burnet Road and hired Virginia Lee “Ginny” Kalmbach as a bartender. Previously, the building had been home to a veterinary clinic and a beauty salon. After initially calling it the Rustic Lounge, he renamed it Little Longhorn Saloon. In 1983, Dick turned the bar over to Ginny, who made it a popular live music venue, hosting more than 10 bands per week and introducing the poultry game in 2000.
When the bar ran into financial trouble in 2013, Dale Watson, who had played his first Austin gig there in 1993, joined Ginny as a partner. In 2016, Terry Gaona and her husband, David, bought the saloon. The Little Longhorn was named one of the nation’s “most authentic dive bars” by The Washington Post in 2017. It is said that Matthew McConaughey and Joe Jonas stopped by to check out the chicks in 2019. Setliff died in 1993 and Kalmbach in 2020.
1963: Carousel Lounge
The bar at Carousel Lounge wraps around a carousel that fits its circus and carnival theme. Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman
Because of a bread salesman who liked music and wanted a nice place to dance with his wife, Austin has been home to the Carousel Lounge for more than 60 years, which makes it one of Austin’s oldest continuous live music venues.
The idea for the circus-themed watering hole — where a very large pink elephant takes center stage — came from its founders, Cecil Henry and Myrtle Meier, after they visited the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.
On most nights, the bar at East 52nd and Cameron Road near Windsor Park boasts live music and plenty of room to scoot around the dance floor. Travel guru Frommer described the lounge as an “out-of-the-way location and bizarre circus theme — complete with elephant and lion-tamer murals and an actual carousel behind the bar — the Carousel Lounge is a highly popular local watering hole. You never know what will turn up onstage — this place has hosted everything from smaller musical acts to belly dancers.”
An Austin Chronicle reviewer once warned that, despite it having a circus and carnival theme, the Carousel was “no place for kiddos, unless you plan on leaving them in the car.” After Cecil died in 1988, his daughter, Nicki, and her husband, Bob Mebane, took over management of the club.
1972: LaLa’s Little Nugget
Lala's Little Nugget has Christmas decorations year-round, but the longtime North Austin bar is especially busy during the holiday season. Arianna Auber
In a red-brick strip mall on Justin Lane just off Burnet Road is Lala’s Little Nugget, where it’s always “the most wonderful time of the year.”
With its walls decked year-round with boughs of holly, Santa and his sleigh on its roof, and kitschy Christmas decor throughout, Lala’s is a North Pole oasis in Austin.
Lala’s has served as a Crestview and Allandale neighborhood bar for half a century. When Catherine Frances Lala, a Tampa native and avid Buccaneers fan, first opened the place in 1972, it was both a Mexican restaurant and bar. Over time, the bar won out. Since the Christmas holidays were approaching and her walls were bare, she put up some lights and tinsel and never took them down. Lala kept a water pistol under the bar, not for protection, but to wake up dozing drinkers.
In 2015, she sold the bar to a group of Austin restaurant and bar veterans that included Mike Levine, Ryan Garrett, Max Moreland and Matt Luckie. Mounting a sleigh on the roof and adding more decorations throughout the bar as well as regularly scheduled party events, the new owners took it up a notch. “There’s a tackiness to the Christmas decorations that just works,” according to Moreland. Lala died in 2017. In 2024, the owners opened a Lala’s South Pole at 3008 Davis Lane.
1972: Green Acres Lounge / Buddy’s Place
In 1972, Theodore George “Ted” Stathos opened Ted’s Green Acres Lounge at 8619 Burnet Road adjacent to the Green Acres liquor store that had existed since 1955. Legend has it that the building was previously occupied by a bait shop. Over the years, the bar has also been known as Barb's Watering Hole, Hops and Buddy's Place. Among the other owners have been Barbara van Meter, Alfred "Buddy" Lamb and Jackie Smith.
As its website states, “Buddy’s Place bucks the stereotypical Austin hipster vibe in favor of truly Texan roots. It is a dive bar steeped in John Wayne, Lone Star, and live music.” With the Duke’s “Welcome Pilgrim” at the door, pool tables in the back, classic country and western songs on the jukebox, and bottled beer choices hanging from the ceiling, you know that you are deep in a dive bar. Buddy operated the bar until he died in 2008. In 2026, the Chronicle named Buddy’s Place a Top 5 finalist in its Best of Austin “Dive Bar” category. Ted died in 2004, Barb in 2006, Buddy in 2008, Jackie in 2016 and Duane in 2025. Note: This ownership history of Buddy's Place has been updated. Soon, we'll run a column with more history of this old dive.
Three more stories in this series. Please send tips and questions to mbarnes@statesman.com