Last call
Popular dive bar and music venue bottoms out of Five Points neighborhood
One of Five Points’ favorite dives has called it a day. Bottom Bracket Social Club, a 1603 N. Colorado St. bar known for frequent DJ nights and Spurs watching parties, closed June 24, according to a public Facebook post from owner Tito Bradshaw.
The neighborhood hangout opened in late 2013 in an unassuming building that was home to the Buena Vista Poultry market before hosting a series of failed bar concepts. It quickly caught on for its live music performances, hip-hop nights, and a blue collar-meets-hipster crowd. (The strong, cheap drinks helped a little bit, too.)
In the farewell post, Bradshaw painted Bottom Bracket as a community hub. “We've been part of a movement of art and cycling unlike anything this city has seen," he said. "We've created a hub for music and people of all creeds and orientations to feel welcome, we've set trends followed all over and got many a DJ and band their first start into the downtown scene.”
Over that time, the bar also had its fair share of problems, especially in its first year. In March 2014, robbers drove a car into the front door and vandalized the jukebox. In August of that year, a brawl resulted in the injury of two San Antonio police officers.
That incident, plus several other Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission violations like serving after hours and allowing minors to drink, led to an 80-day suspension of its alcohol license between December 2016 and March 2017. Both the San Antonio Police Department and TABC later protested the license renewal.
Whether that played into the ultimate decision to close, the statement did not say. Bradshaw did not elaborate on the sudden shutter, instead only saying “business and leases and things like this happen, but we look forward to some new opportunities.”
