Two Venerable Pizza Joints Closing In Austin

AUSTIN, TX — A pair of venerable pizza joints are closing their doors after decades of serving up pies in Austin.

Pizza parlor Hoeks Death Metal Pizza is closing its doors on 6th Street after 25 years in business. On their website, the owners said they opened their eatery on 6th Street in 1993. Given its location along the popular 6th Street entertainment corridor, Hoeks has long served pizza to an untold number of revelers needing to line their stomachs after a night of drinking with heavy musical accompaniment blaring from the joint's speakers. Many clients opt to purchase small and large handmade pizzas and slices with traditional toppings for the trip back home.

Fans of the place will have a final chance of savoring the goods during the joint's farewell party scheduled on Sunday, June 24. Neighbor Dirty Dog Bar will help bid adieu to their longtime neighbor, and patrons are encouraged to secure a drink there to wash down their last slice of Hoeks pizza.

Another pizza place near the UT-Austin campus also will be closing its doors after serving up deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza slices for generations. The campus location of Conans Pizza is closing its doors on July 22 after 42 years in business, staffers there told Patch. Indeed, makeshift signs on the outside windows alert patrons of the imminent closure, with a "for rent" sign posted for would-be future tenants.

The worker told Patch an exponential increase in rent and dearth of patrons had prompted the closure.

The chain that once counted eight Austin locations repotedly will keep its West Anderson and West Stassney sites open even as it shutters its location on 29th Street. Conans is located along a commercial strip off the main drag that contains the Growler USA craft beer pub, Malvern's Books and the Oat Willie's Smoke Shop at the other end of the corridor.

Conans is the latest in a growing list of mom-and-pop establishments forced to close in light of soaring property values in briskly growing Austin that often result in hiked-up rents for tenants as landlords capitalize on the hot market. Just a stone's throw away, across Guadalupe Street, the venerable Ruby's BBQ stands empty after its owner decided to call it quits in February after nearly 30 years of serving up brisket, chicken, ribs and other grilled delights.

Related story:

Ruby's BBQ Near UT-Austin Set To Close

Many see such closures not as merely a shuttering of a business but as an end to a bygone era never to return again. As the real estate market sizzles, some landlords find it difficult to resist lucrative offers for spaces in selling out to speculators. Short of that, some landlords of longtime establishments feel emboldened to raise rents as they capitalize on escalating, development-fueled property values.

Walking into Conans, that old-school vibe is palpable. Cozy wood-lined booths evoke images of young customers from the pizza joint's early days, perhaps now grandparents after having gone to school just up the street. The decor is decidedly throwback, frozen in time from when the business was launched more than 40 years ago.

Soon, it will all be gone, forever, never to return. On Friday, a steady stream of clients dropped in to support the business in its waning days while ordering food. To a person, each customer expressed their dismay in knowing of the imminent closure.

>>> Photos by Tony Cantú/Patch staff