Victory Grill
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Victory Grill
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The Victory Grill in 2011.
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| Location | 1104 E. 11th St Austin, Texas, USA |
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| Coordinates | 30°16′09″N 97°43′43″W / 30.26917°N 97.72861°WCoordinates: 30°16′09″N 97°43′43″W / 30.26917°N 97.72861°W |
| NRHP Reference # | 98001226 |
| RTHL # | 15520 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 1998 |
| Designated RTHL | 2009 |
Victory Grill is a historic music venue located at 1104 E. 11th St, Austin, Texas. The nightclub was on the Chitlin' Circuit and hosted famous African American acts such as Bobby Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, W. C. Clark and B. B. King when Austin was legally segregated. Victory Grill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 16, 1998.
Johnny Holmes, a booking agent and band manager, opened the Victory Grill on Victory over Japan Day, 1945 as a restaurant and bar for black soldiers returning from the war. In the segregated south of the 1940s, these servicemen could not walk into just any place to have a beer. The first incarnation of the Victory was a small "lean-to" building, but Holmes soon moved to a larger building next door.
Holmes was also familiar with both the burgeoning Texas blues and jazz scenes, and soon, the club became known for its music as well as its food and drink. The club began attracting music lovers, no matter what their race. During its heyday in the 1950s, most of the popular national blues, rhythm and blues, and jazz acts that played Austin performed at the Victory Grill. Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry and Janis Joplin were some of the artists who graced the stage. A resident of the area later quoted, "The street was so crowded you could barely walk. It was like New Orleans."
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