Chain Drive

have gone here for about three years.coming from a small town, we don't have much of a gay scene. i have met some great friends up here and enjoy just visiting them. very relaxing,great people,no dress code,tiny cover charge compared to other places i've been in austin. i like it even though it doesn't look real fancy.just a simple "meet your friends for a drink"kind of bar.

Was here in April '08 after a long abscence and the place hadn't changed that much to me. The one patio where all the cruising used to take place was well lit, and had lots of people looking for action - but nothing happening! The other patio is open and really nice to sit down and chat with friends. The drinks were reasonable, but a cover on the weekends for this place seems a bit over the top for what you get once inside.

If this passes for a leather bar for you, that's a little sad statement about Austin. This place has been gonna close any day now for the past 10-15 years so I won't believe that till it's actually flattened. Every couple years that rumor surfaces, and every couple years people have 25 good reasons, and some super secret I blew a city council member information about why no, this time, it's really gonna happen. It's a much nicer dump than it used to be, since the owner opened the secret back patio, although it would be even nicer if all the furniture out there weren't broken. They have awesome music, due in no small measure to the talents of the DJ.

It's an unpretentious place to get your drink on. The bartenders are friendly, the music is generally good, and lots of cruising going on later in the night. if you don't want to see too many twinks like in the warehouse district, come here.

So what if it's lacking some feathers and is grungy. It's as close to a leather bar as Austin comes. New management has done more to book special events and groups, so the bears and the leather set have livened the joint up. Live music on Wednesday nights is often high quality local talent. No dress code. Two inside rooms and two patios. A cover on weekends, more than offset by incredibly low prices.