Provided by Austin Eagle

The Austin Eagle, a queer-owned bar known for its inclusive atmosphere and packed event calendar in Northeast Austin, has temporarily closed after a mechanical lift fell and damaged the back of the building on Tuesday.

According to co-owner Luis Surratt, a contractor working at the adjacent post office rented a mobile lift to change outdoor lighting. While operating on a slope, the lift tipped backward into the structure shared by the Eagle and a neighboring pizza place, Local Slice II. The impact broke through an exterior wall, destroyed the building’s electrical breaker boxes, and ruptured a water line – all of which forced the bar to shut down operations temporarily and potentially relocate from its address at 8201 Cross Park Dr.

The scene caused confusion among the staff. “We got a call and a bartender called Randy first, my partner, and said, ‘The bar is on fire. You need to come here,’” Surratt said. “And Randy’s like, ‘What?’ So he storms out, and then he let me know the bar is on fire.”

There was no fire, but the damage was enough to knock out the Eagle’s power and water. The bar’s landlords told owners that repairs would be completed by Friday, but Surratt is skeptical. “Knowing the landlord, I doubt it.”

The timing couldn’t be worse. The Eagle had just celebrated its second anniversary in March with a sold-out party, and Surratt said March was “one of our best months.”

Since opening in 2022, the Eagle has built a loyal following by offering a space where people across the LGBTQ+ spectrum feel welcome. “The Eagle is a neighborhood bar where you can be yourself without being judged, regardless of your color, your gender, your fetish, your kinks, and the way you dress,” Surratt said. “You can walk literally however you want there, as long as it’s bar-legal, and you’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

While waiting for the landlord to make repairs, the owners have rented generators to keep food and drinks from spoiling and are working with the city on a temporary solution to restore power. But costs are piling up. He estimates the financial toll, including equipment rentals and lost business, could reach $30,000.

“It’s not our fault, so our insurance won’t cover it. So the landlord’s insurance needs to be the one acting. But who knows how long that takes.”

For now, employees will still be paid this Friday, but a fundraiser may be necessary if the closure stretches longer. “We got at least 20, 25 messages of people asking us to do a GoFundMe,” he said. “If we’re not open on Friday, we will need a fundraiser to help everybody that works full time for us. We cannot leave them hanging. That’s just not us. … Once we re-open, we just want people to come, be bodies in the space, support the events, help us keep it going.”