SoCo So Austin

SoCo street sign with a classic Austin twist

South Congress, or SoCo, is the cultural hub of Austin, Texas. It is a little strip of Heaven. There is no  other place in the city where all aspects of Austin’s character can be represented in one place.  People from all walks of life stroll the streets. The hipsters, the starving artists, and even passionate local businessmen all try to maintain the small town atmosphere that can be felt here, which means avoiding mainstream urbanization. SoCo has a gigantic assortment of small rustic shops, food trailers in a dirt parking lot, street vendors, and more upscale establishments that seem as though they were built yesterday. Such a variety of stores draws an interesting pool of people who all congregate together on one of our city’s most popular streets. This diversity is something that really “Keeps Austin Weird” and most Austinites like it that way.

Although there are a lot of parking spaces available on South Congress, they are normally filled up. Therefore, we parked a street over in a little neighborhood where the houses are baby blue with a pastel yellow trim. In this neighborhood the sound from the street is a faint background noise. The birds chirping and the occasional bug that flies by are the only loud sounds that we can hear. Our excitement grew and we could hardly wait to reach the street. We met two guys from Houston who are about twenty years old. They too have come to South Congress to eat the food and look in the kooky shops. Although we caught them at the end of their journey, they were smiling and we knew that South Congress has accomplished its goal of bringing people joy once again. South Congress draws people from all over.

Hey Cupcake trailer located on South Congress*

            As soon as we reached South Congress, the vibrant atmosphere hit us. The smells of food, cigarettes and car exhaust, the noises from the passing cars, peoples’ laughter and the music make walking down this street an experience like no other. We started at Hey Cupcake one of the many vendors that is part of a “trailer park eatery”. It is famous for many of its delicious concoctions some which include the Michael Jackson (chocolate cake on the inside with white icing on top) and the classic Red Velvet cupcake. The line for this shop was long, but people of various ages still waited patiently with the hopes that their favorite flavor will not run out. Eating a cupcake from here is like eating a cupcake straight out your mama’s kitchen, just as much love and care is put into it so that it tastes just right.

Bernadette playing infront of her father

 Right next to Hey Cupcake is a singer song writer from Mount Jolt Tennessee. He has played in that exact location every Sunday through Thursday for the last ten years. He describes his music as “Americana” or comfort food music: grilled cheese for the soul. His music is laid back, singing softly he maintains the calm atmosphere that SoCo creates. He does it because he loves music, he is not driven by the desire to create a fortune. The best thing about this wonderful performance is that he has his five year old daughter, Bernadette, played with milk crates on the ground in front of him. This accurately shows how down to earth and family oriented South Congress really is. People passed by with giant smiles on their faces and stopped to drop tips in his collection jar. He is friendly enough to let us ask him some questions, he too like everyone else on South Congress, likes to get to know people on a personal level.

The resturant hours posted on Wurst Texas

Further down in the trailer park eatery, we stumbled across another food vendor called Wurst ☆ Texas. It reminded us of a county fair because red picnic tables are placed in front of the trailer. Wurst was not open that Sunday afternoon, but somehow this restaurants presence still made a huge impact on our group. It was closed because the owners are getting married. They have posted on the front door of the trailer a cardboard sign that is hand written, explaining why they were closed and when they would open again. We stood there for about fifteen minutes watching people shuffle to and fro. Not one person left that eatery mad or upset at the fact that it was closed. In fact, they were happy for the couple who were off somewhere starting their life together. People even wrote sweet notes in the dirt that covered the trailer wishing them good luck with the festivities. This trailer is not just some random restaurant where people just go to fulfill their cravings; almost everyone who eats there creates a personal connection with its owners. This just reiterates the fact that South Congress takes pride in its small town atmosphere, a community where everyone cares about each other.

Exterior of Lucy on South Congress

On the opposite side of the street is one of the most extravagant and fun stores that SoCo has to offer: Lucy in Disguise. This is eight thousand square foot costume shop which holds thousands of costumes that can be rented or purchased daily. You name it, they have it.  It was claustrophobic in sense because all the wigs, masks, jewelry and costumes are literally overflowing from every crevice in the place. But, this claustrophobia is not the same claustrophobia that can be felt when one enters a store such as Hollister, and its sales clerks literally follow you around pestering you with the hopes that you will buy something. We all felt so comfortable in the store because it was a place where people embrace what is strange and different. From a transvestite to a man wearing skinny jeans and a fedora, from toddlers who are extremely excited to celebrate Halloween or young ladies looking to release their “wild side” on Halloween night, it has something for everybody. The clatter of costumes being piled together and the constant ring of the bell that is hung over the entrance door, truly show how this establishment is a major part of Austin. The people who visit it are “kids in a costume store”.

Modern plaza where Kendra Scott is located

Lastly, towards the end of the SoCo area, we stumbled across a jewelry store called Kendra Scott. The store is tucked behind an upscale bar area, and it too is deserted. We were not looking for something modern and fancy, we just happened to stumble upon it. Some may say it is elegant: there is no dirt, nothing is out of place, the interior is all white, with marble flooring, but it is too perfect, too sterile. Although, the interior of this store would be considered gorgeous in any other setting, it is out of place in comparison to the artistic beauty that is present on the main street. Its doors completely blocked out the sound from the streets. As we entered the store, we all felt uncomfortable. It was as if we did not fit their standards of a usual shopper for their store, but in all actuality, it was the store which did not fit the standards of SoCo. One of the employees there was kind enough to let us interview her. Although the Kendra Scott store is not what we were looking for in our experience, we cannot ignore it as part of South Congress. It will satisfy the needs of someone out there and that is important when talking about the inclusiveness of SoCo.

South Congress is one of the most influential places in Austin. It is a vibrant area that plays host to many different groups of people who flock there because of its oddness. These four places which we focused on are not the only major stores on this street. We just focused on them because they made the hugest impact on us. Whether you are in Austin for a week or for a couple of hours, we urge you to take a stroll down this wonderful street. There, you can get a good fell for Austin, it’s one of the coolest places that Austin has to offer. You won’t regret it.

Kendra Scott
Hey Cupcake
Wurst Texas
Lucy in Disguise

* Taken from Google images
All other pictures taken by
Nolu Mcilraith and Huy Nguyen

Music in podcast (in order of appearance):
Downtown, by Tegan and Sarah
Original song by James Anthony Johnson
Lato and Judi, by the Kingston Springs
Noticed, by Mutemath
Free Until They Cut Me Down, by Iron & Wine