Bridget Dunlap on Container Bar and Rainey Street
Photo taken by Bill Baker.
Rainey Street wouldn’t be the same without Bridget Dunlap. The savvy businesswoman transformed the Austin bar scene by envisioning and delivering Lustre Pearl, Clive Bar, and Bar 96. Each of these three projects defied all norms and expectations of typical Austin bars. For those who hated Sixth Street, drunken pedestrians, and dubstep, Rainey Street became the perfect safe haven.
Dunlap’s bars have their own personalities, their own styles, their own narratives. Lustre Pearl embodied that beautifully carefree hippie you always admired. Bar 96 was the know-it-all jock you loved to hate. And Clive Bar? It’s like that loyal friend you knew you could always count on when the occasion called for it.
In just a few months, Dunlap is closing a chapter with her newest and final Rainey Street project – Container Bar. Here, Dunlap talks with TEXAS MONTHLY about Container Bar, her three “children,” and what’s next on the list for her.
What made you decide to use containers as the materials for your new bar?
I have an obsession for containers, and I thought they would be easier and cheaper to utilize than they actually turned out to be [laughs], but I still think the aesthetic of them is really profound, simple, and absolutely beautiful.
Bridget Dunlap. Photo taken by Bill Baker.
How did you visualize putting it all together?
I knew I wanted to create space, and we knew we couldn’t do a bar with just one trailer, so that’s where the idea of stacking them and surrounding it with a patio came from. We wanted a good outdoor space with the pretty aesthetics of containers.
Is this your last bar in Austin?
No, it’s just my last one on Rainey Street.
Why did you decide to make this one your last?
Well, this will be my forth one, and I started it all on Rainey Street. I’m just kind of done with it.
What’s next for you?
I’m moving in a different direction, and once you’ve done four projects on one street, you kind of just want to move forward. I want to do other fantastic projects, but just not on Rainey Street.
Which one of your bars has the most connection with you?
Lustre Pearl is my alter ego. Clive is her boyfriend, and 96 is their lovechild. I love them all differently, but I think of them as children. It would be weird to say which one mattered most to me. They all represent something different, and they all bring a different characteristic to Rainey Street.
What is going to be the alter ego or personality of Container Bar?
Sleek and foxy. A little more sophisticated. Still a comfortable atmosphere, but just a little more sophisticated.
How many industrial shipping containers did it take to put it all together?
Eight in total.
What comes next for you?
I have a restaurant I’m working on, and a few exciting things that I can’t quite reveal yet. Stay tuned.
When will Container Bar open?
I have been planning on the exact date, and I think October 3 is going to be the day. That’s the opening day, and I’m sticking to it!
Tagged: austin, Bar 96, Bridget Dunlap, Clive Bar, Layne Lynch, Lustre Pearl, Rainey Street
Rainey Resident says:
“For those who hated Sixth Street, drunken pedestrians, and dubstep, Rainey Street became the perfect safe haven.” Yep. Then Dunlap stepped in and ruined an entire community. Rainey Street is the frat boys extended college dream. I wish she’d go back to Houston where she belongs.
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TBONE says:
Everyone knows who the real visionary was that created and executed the success of the Rainey St. bars mentioned above. Too bad Bridget Dunlap has no respect for that. I’m done with Rainey St. as are most people I would care hang out with.
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Anonymous says:
It’s unfortunate that Bridget Dunlap gets all the credit for the success of these bars. These bars are booming because of the hard work and vision of her staff and former employees. They should be the ones featured in all these articles about Rainey Street. She fired the best the thing going for those bars. We’ll see how long the success lasts with her at the helm.
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Anonymous says:
I always find it comical when an obvious disgruntled former employee or friend of that person posts comments like the one above.
I have frequented many of those bars and the staff has always been super professional and have always talked very positively of the owners.
Recently, I have not noticed any change in the operation of the Rainey street bars owned by Ms. Dunlap….sounds like sour grapes to me.
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Plum says:
Ummm.. Have to agree with July 10th anonymous.
Why wouldn’t Dunlap get the credit?
She is the badass whom took the risk of opening the bars- deserves all the credit and press in my book.
Always haters
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