The Lost Well, the 2421 Webberville hub for Austin heavy metal, punk, and rock & roll since 2013, is closing. According to owner Marcello Murphy, the venue’s landlord put the building up for sale, and once it’s purchased, the club crew has 60 days to vacate.
Murphy heard the news from his landlord on Sunday and spoke with the Chronicle on Monday after a night of “mourning.” He laid out the turn of events as follows:
“Well, when [our landlord] didn’t renew our lease, I thought something was up, and then he gave me the first right of refusal to buy it last week. So I kind of tried to get a loan for $2.5 [million] – that’s what I thought it would be worth. But then he said $3.5 million. There’s just no way I could do that. Or we could own or finance for $4.2 million if I had 20% down, that kind of stuff. But I can’t generate that kind of money in five seconds.”
According to the owner, the sale of the Lost Well isn’t a result of bad business. Despite owing a hefty $11,000 a month in rent, “we’ve always paid,” Murphy says.
“We’ve been paying everybody on time this whole time,” he continues. “That’s the sad part. Well, I guess it’s the good part – we didn’t die because we failed. We died because they took it away from us.”
Murphy isn’t sure how much longer the Lost Well will be open for shows. He still has to figure out how long it will take to break down the club and put away 11 years’ worth of inventory.
As for relocation? “I would love to, but it’s kind of impossible in this town nowadays,” he says. He paid $73,000 in key fees to open the Lost Well, and points out that he won’t be receiving a cut of the building’s sale.
With the Parlor and Giddy Ups announcing closures earlier in 2024 – and Club Eternal announcing an “indefinite hiatus” just last week – it’s been a particularly rough year for Austin music venues. After the family-owned pizza shop shuttered in April, Murphy says he saw the writing on the wall.
“When the Parlor went through their thing, I had a feeling,” he says. “Like, ‘Man, I bet we’re gonna have to do this thing in two months.’ And sure enough. … It’s just depressing.”
This article appears in August 2 • 2024.
