Progress has a way of forcing Austin's favorite clubs, bars and coffee shops to shut their doors. Lovejoys just called "last call," and this week we learn that Ruta Maya and the Scoot Inn are giving up the ghost, at least as we know them.
The Austin Chronicle reports that Ruta Maya will shut down its Penn Field coffee shop. The company isn't closing the coffee importing and roasting business -- in fact the "longtime importing-and-roasting facility's moved into new digs out on Highway 71, and there'll even be a gorgeous new Ruta Maya cafe in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport," sez the Chron.
We're glad they're not closing altogether, and opening an airport location - well, who cares - but this town has known and loved Ruta Maya for its patchouli-infused coffeeshop vibe ever since it opened as a comfortable hangout down on West 4th Street in the 1990s. There's a chance the company will open another coffee shop, but that's what Lovejoys and everyone else says, so we'll wait for proof in the pudding.
As for The Scoot Inn, the lovably ramshackle East Austin bar is probably going to be sold, according to Michael Corcoran's blog:
The Scoot Inn should have a new owner by next week. The man named Casino, who owns Casino El Camino on Sixth Street, confirmed that he’s days away from closing a deal to take over the Scoot Inn from co-owners James Stockbauer and Kevin Crutchfield. “We’re going to keep the name, but the format will be different,” Casino said Thursday.