Downtown Austin Alliance officials said they are beginning to see a change in the way tourists and residents experience East Sixth Street outside of the bar scene as businesses expand hours and new ventures take root.

In 2006, the DAA established a retail recruiter position to try and pair local and regional businesses with downtown property owners to create a better look for the street and more diversified use.

"It's an exciting time for East Sixth Street," said Meredith Sanger, retail recruiter with the Downtown Austin Alliance, in an email. "We are seeing local, entrepreneurial pioneers like Tim and Karrie League trying new things and seizing opportunities."

Sanger said the Leagues relocated an Alamo Drafthouse to Sixth Street and opened Midnight Cowboy Cocktail Lounge in March. Other examples of diversification on Sixth Street that Sanger noted included restaurants offering service outside of evening and nighttime hours and retailers looking to expand square footage for their businesses.

"The historic 19th-century buildings offer some of the most unique space in Austin while still keeping the simple character and quirky Austin feel," Sanger said. "With creativity, there is endless possibilities for unique concepts on East Sixth Street. This is a place that has historically reinvented itself and provided decades of success for the business owners that have embraced it, and we look forward to the next great idea to come."