Warning: May Contain Nuts. How Austin Keeps It Weird

Let's face it: Austin is not a typical Texas city. Perhaps it's the lively music scene, or the University of Texas, or even the unique "vibe" of the Austin streets. Whatever the reason, all Austinites will agree: Austin is weird. After all, why else would actor John Hawkes say, "When I lived in Austin, I was always cast as pretty normal people. When I moved,  I was immediately branded as a psycho."

Classic Austin city art. Source: www.buckmcarthur.com

In order to keep Austin's unique culture alive, quirky local businesses needed to be supported. In 2002, the Austin Independent Business Alliance, a group of 300 local businesses, adopted the slogan "Keep Austin Weird."  The idea was to encourage Austinites to patronize their local businesses not just for the culture of Austin, but for Austin's well being as a city. In an article in The Daily Texan,  journalist Abhinav Kumar reported that if someone spends $100 at Borders bookstore, only about $13 would end up back in the Austin economy, but if they instead spent $100 at Book People booksellers, $45 would go back into the local economy. Thankfully for Austin culture and economy, the idea of "keeping Austin weird" caught like wildfire. 

A tourist enjoys some Austin "weirdness"

Immediately, several local Austin businesses and institutions benefited from the "Keep Austin Weird" initiative. In 2009, just seven short years after the slogan was introduced, CNN named Austin the 8th best city in the United States to start a business. Perhaps most interesting is the variety of businesses that fall under the "Keep Austin Weird" umbrella. Places like clothing stores to restaurants to bars have benefitted, and they're located all over the city. On this Google Maps, one finds that "Keep Austin Weird" businesses are on both the west and east side of Austin, illustrating that people of all different races and economic backgrounds contribute to the overall culture of Austin.

Amy's South Congress location. Source:http://www.512brewing.com/

One of the most famous "Keep Austin Weird" businesses is Amy's Ice Creams, with locations all around the city. Amy's has been a weird Austin business since it began in 1984. Amy's keeps it weird and local by hiring students in the Austin area and using an unique application process. Instead of the usual paper work and interview, Amy's instructs its hopefuls to apply by using a paper bag in any way they see fit. The only requirement is that the applicant's name and phone number must be somewhere on the bag. The most creative bags get jobs. Amy's also stays "Austin" by hanging the work of local artists in their stores and playing music that is often featured in the various music venues around the city. At the locations downtown, customers can hula hoop while they wait in line and guess the daily movie quote to get their ice cream free. Keeping it weird has certainly helped Amy's: Amy's has been voted "Best Ice Cream" in the Austin Chronicle for eight consecutive years.

Keep Austin Weird T-shirt. Source: http://www.outhousedesigns.com/

In 2003, just a couple of years after it was adopted, "Keep Austin Weird" faced some serious criticisms. A corporation called Outhouse Designs trademarked the slogan and has dominated the production of "Keep Austin Weird" merchandise, including the famed tie-dye T-shirts.  The Austin community was outraged, because a corporation owning the rights to the slogan violated the overall message. Indeed, Andrew Allemann, who started the ironic website Make Austin Normal, angrily asked, "How can you have a commercial slogan that screams anti-corporation?"  Many Austinites were wondering the same thing.

However, at the end of the day, keeping Austin weird is more than just the local businesses, though they are crucial to the Austin culture. Keeping Austin weird now also makes locals think of Austin things like Austin City Limits Music Festival and Bat Fest, events with higher participation thanks to the "Keep Austin Weird" moniker. Austin icons like Leslie Cochran, a man who was famous for dressing in crazy clothes and generally making a scene, give Austin its unique identity. Whatever keeping Austin weird means to you, all Austinites can agree that the city is better with a few nuts. 

Austin City Limits and the Austin skyline. Source: http://adobeairstream.com/