Genuine Joe's Coffeeshop closes, owner hopeful business will have 'new chapter'

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Genuine Joe's Coffeeshop, which had been operating on W Anderson Lane in Austin since 2005, closed at the end of October.

"There’s no easy way to put this, so we’ll just say it plain," posted the business on its Instagram account. "Yesterday was our last day of business. We are sorry to the community for the short notice -- it surprised all of us too."

The closure had been looming over the business since 2022, when owner Josh Brown received word that the land was sold out from under the store. He tried to find a new home for the eccentric café, but promising options fell through, including a partnership with a local church.

"It was heartbreaking. We had put in a lot of time," Brown said. "There was a lot of community capital. It was wonderful until there was no way forward."

The business employed approximately a dozen people at a time. A GoFundMe campaign to support Genuine Joe's staff was launched in the days following the announcement, and has raised $5,070 of its $10,000 goal.

But those funds won't reopen or relocate the café, according to the campaign. Reopening is itself impossible -- demolition is scheduled for February, according to Brown.

Leading up to the closure, Brown said he had worked with the developer to keep Genuine Joe's open for as long as possible. They came to a month-by-month rent arrangement, but it wouldn't have been sustainable to remain open for three more months, Brown said.

"We could either continue to operate or we could pay the staff," Brown said. "There was a very sudden cliff that we ran into, and there was one, only one choice to make."

A chapter ends

The closure marks the end of the property, an early 20th century farmhouse, but not the end of Genuine Joe's Coffeehouse, Brown hopes.

"If there's a way forward, I'm going to take it," Brown said. "Community is very powerful, and there's a lot of people reaching out to find ways they can help."

"Every single person who comes into Genuine Joe makes the place stronger, makes it more resilient, makes it more significant, just by being there, just by being a part of it," Brown said.

He's working with some former customers to find a location already set up for a restaurant. He's ready to take on an investor, if necessary. And, he's ready to keep fighting for the community fostered by Joe's, the groups that met there.

"Genuine Joe has saved lives over the years because of those groups," Brown said. "It's been inspirational to people. It's been that for me, and I'm not ready to give that up."

The business' closure is a unique situation for a local Austin business. Over recent years, increasing population has driven investment in multi-family residential construction and increased demand for land.

Brown said he's thankful for the extension provided by the developer, but that the city needs to do more to support its local businesses.

"We are on our own at this point," said Brown, speaking to other local businesses. "Anyone who has a commercial lease is vulnerable. There is no protection, very little support, and a lot of your ways forward are the ones you make for yourselves."