Bar owner aims to preserve East Austin history through his new business
When Johnny La Touf and his wife, Mary, opened Skylark Lounge in June 2013, they said they wanted to create an old-school East Austin vibe to attract cultures of all varieties.
La Touf, an East Austin native, describes his business as a dive bar that offers live entertainment seven days a week, including music, comedy and open mic nights. The bar has changed names several times throughout the years, including being a gay bar called Bernadette's and an African-American bar called Airport Bar & Grill, he said.
"I [wanted] to open something up that has some cultural significance to the neighborhood," he said. "If money comes from it, great; if money doesn't come from it my goal was always just to say, 'If I break even, I'll be happy.'"
To preserve the history of the bar, La Touf kept the original furniture that was brought in 30 years ago and had the business's dust painted into the walls. La Touf owned the bar for six months before picking a concept he felt the neighborhood would embrace. He and his brother Terry decided to incorporate local culture into the bar by bringing in musicians with East Austin roots, such as Margaret Wright and Blues Boy Hubbard. Other regular musicians at Skylark include the East Side Kings and Soul Man Sam.
