Why “South” Austin?
You might see the phrase “South Austin, Tx.” adorning Willits Brand materials and ask yourself, “why “South” Austin, isn’t “Austin” enough?”. Yeah, it probably would be, but there’s something about South Austin that is at the core of Willits Brand.
Maybe it was a young Wes Williams racing his StingRay in South Austin, Hill Abell taking over the tiny Bicycle Sport Shop in the now Flipnotics on Barton Springs Road in South Austin, or maybe it’s just the genuinely eclectic attitude that goes with the 10-mile blast-zone of Barton Springs Pool that seems to permeate the surroundings of the Willits Brand World Headquarters.
By definition, South Austin is the section of Austin that lies south of Town Lake (which is actually a dammed-up section of the Colorado River that snakes its way through Central Texas). The Toomey family had a cattle ranch on the south-side of the river into the mid-20th century where they lived until they had seen one too many floods before the dams were built. Their greatest contribution to the area was planting a gigantic grove of pecan trees that now shade some of the most unique and fantastic establishments, and seem to fuel the molten core of the Tex-Mex universe.
Much of South Austin dates from between the 1940s and ‘60s. Areas that had become dilapidated into the ‘80s are now seeing a resurgence with whole stretches of roads becoming open marketplaces of locally made goods, live music and a truly diverse assortment of random businesses.
None of this is to say that other areas of town aren’t awesome, there’s just not the concentration of funk that you see around the 78704 zip-code. In fact, I grew up in South Austin but now live in Central Austin. However, South Austin seems to exist in a time before Matthew McConaughey, MTV’s The Real World, or even Vince Young (go ‘Horns!).
The obvious attractions are Chuy’s Tex-Mex, the shops on South Congress, Barton Springs Pool, Lance sightings, the Congress bridge bats, Zilker Park, the Barton Creek Greenbelt, the glorious Bicycle Sport Shop, or a bazillion other spots. Less obvious coolness would include Polvo’s, Horseshoe Lounge, Curra’s, DJ Dojo, the new South 1st Street businesses and a little spot called the Willits Brand World Headquarters.
While the warehouse may not look like much, it’s all Wes and Jared need to turn out some of the finest cycling products available. It lies along the Missouri-Pacific railroad in a semi-residential area full of Tex-Mex, coffee and more Tex-Mex. Incredibly quiet and hot (102 yesterday), it’s the perfect environment for the boys to get some work done.So, if you come to Texas to check out some Willits Brand product, you’ll know why you feel all warm and tingly as soon as you cross over to the south-side of the river.
