What Does It Take to Be a Store on The Drag?

Strolling down Guadalupe St. in Austin, Texas, an array of shops and stores line the street.  

Known as the “The Drag,” it’s located across from The University of Texas at Austin’s campus, hosting restaurants, coffee shops and clothing stores within walking distance for the 55,000 plus residents nearby. Its placement in between West Campus, home to over 17,000 students, and inner campus buildings makes businesses perfectly placed for vast amounts of foot traffic.

Barefoot Campus Outfitters saw a unique opportunity opening their store a day before the weekend of the Georgia vs. UT football game and The United States Grand Prix F1 races. 

“Being in the location we’re at, we were hoping foot traffic would create a really positive sales weekend for us. And it did,” said Emma Van Ryswyk, manager of Barefoot. “We had tons of people in here, lots of sales, lots of just interest, it was really fun.”

However, Austin’s high foot traffic sometimes isn’t enough for businesses on The Drag to last. Torchy’s Tacos on Guadalupe is set to have their last day Tuesday, Nov. 19. 

A statement posted on the doors of the restaurant reads, “Due to planned changes in the area we made the decision not to renew.”

Some speculate it could be the rise in rent. 

“It’s expensive,” said Bryan McMurrey, managing director of multifamily investment, sales and retail at Transwestern Real Estate Services. “If you think about a restaurant being that size, those are pretty hefty rents, you got to sell a lot of food to make that happen.”

McMurrey explained that base rent for businesses on The Drag range from about $40 to $60 per square foot, plus additional expenses, which includes, “the pro-rata share of the taxes, the insurance and the common area for the building, like trash pickup, dumpster fees, cleaning sidewalks, cleaning windows, lighting, things of that nature.” 

Therefore, a 6,506 square foot building the size of Torchy’s can range from about $21,686 to $40,662 a month. 

After 16 years of business on Guadalupe some are sad to see Torchy’s go. 

“If it’s hard for Torchy’s to stay in business, then how are other local small businesses gonna be able to afford to also plant their business right here,” Chaeli said. 

Experts said the high rent makes it hard to pay employees a high wage. Especially when sales can fluctuate throughout the year.

“You have to think about the seasonality of the students being here,” McMurrey said, “which is one of the reasons why The Drag is a hard place to do business. It’s probably the hardest trade area to do business for retail in Austin, based on the fact that there’s 55,000 plus students across the street certain months of the year and then other months of the year they’re gone, and the foot traffic goes from being incredibly high to almost nonexistent.”

However, the high rent and inconsistencies of business doesn’t completely turn away stores looking to vacate a coveted spot on Guadalupe. 

“We don’t want to be the next one on that list that folds after a year,” said Van Ryswyk, speaking on behalf of Barefoot. “We’re doing everything in our power to really attract business, stay relevant and connect with the community.”

Successful businesses often cater to the students nearby, especially pricewise, and have owners who are active in the store according to McCurrey. “A couple days a week, paying attention to what’s going on, being involved and making sure their employees are attentive to the customers coming in the door.” 

Barefoot seems to have the same idea. 

“The number one thing we do is just stay really locked in with our clientele. We take it seriously when someone comes to the register and they have a suggestion,” Van Ryswyk said. “We’re so lucky we have the resources of a big business with the structure of a smaller business.”