Hideout Theatre closing downtown Austin location

Hideout Theatre leaves downtown Austin

The Hideout Theatre, a downtown Austin staple, is closing its doors and looking for a new home. It has been at its Congress Avenue location since 1999.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Hideout Theatre, a downtown Austin staple, is closing its doors and looking for a new home. It has been at its Congress Avenue location since 1999. 

Staff say the building has been bought to be turned into a bar.

What they're saying:

"It's a bummer, this place is perfect. It was hand-built by the original guy that built the Hideout, Sean Hill. It was hand-built for improv," Andy Crouch, education director at the Hideout, said. "It's going to be hard to replicate and improve on, but we're also pretty well-positioned to try to figure that out, so that'll be the mission for this year."

The downstairs is a coffee shop, and there are two theaters, one upstairs and one downstairs for improv shows.

They've hosted thousands of shows and trained more than 10,000 students over the years in improv.

In the meantime, they'll still have classes at their annex location at Koenig and Lamar. They're turning one classroom into a little black box theater as they try to find a permanent location. 

Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, will be their last shows downtown. 

Crouch says he hopes it'll be a reminder of the great community at Hideout and "just a chance to be in the space for the last time and see it with the energy and the vibrancy and to soak that up."

Dig deeper:

The Hideout is one of many businesses that have either closed or moved in recent years.

"I love Austin flourishing, but it seems like maybe we're missing some pieces in terms of taking care of the arts community," Crouch said.

"It's sad. I mean, I understand change happens, and I've seen so many businesses come and go over the years in Austin. Hideout definitely feels like old Austin. It definitely has that the wood floors. It's something that's more and more rare in coffee shops these days," Paul Petrosky, a longtime Hideout customer, said. 

If you want to donate to help the Hideout build their new home, click here.