Back in 1976, nestled in a neighborhood spot on Congress Avenue in Austin, Waterloo Ice House emerged as a local watering hole for students, professionals and artists alike to mingle over handmade meals and refreshingly cold beer. In the decades since, Waterloo Ice House has officially crossed the threshold and joined an increasingly rare club of legacy Austin businesses that have reached the half-century milestone of serving Austinites, all while navigating a rapidly changing cultural and business landscape in Texas’ capital city.
“I mean, it’s a huge accomplishment for any restaurant to make it that long, and just to be involved in and received by the community the way we have, it’s been great,” said Clayton Evans, Waterloo’s chief operations officer, who’s been with the restaurant since 1997. “It’s been really great to see how it grew from a counter service-type concept, a really small footprint, into these big, community-based, family Hill Country gathering places.”
Western swing musician Floyd Domino performs at Waterloo Ice House’s former location at 38th Street. (Courtesy of Waterloo Ice House)
An event at Waterloo Ice House’s former Sixth Street location. The beloved Austin restaurant chain is celebrating 50 years in 2026. (Courtesy of Waterloo Ice House)
Today, Waterloo Ice House is home to four restaurants across town. That alone has been a momentous feat for a local chain restaurant, Evans said, especially given that Waterloo doesn’t have the same marketing budgets or commercial expansion opportunities that national restaurant companies do.
To survive in the restaurant industry is difficult enough. But in a community like Austin, where the real estate values and commercial rents have skyrocketed and population surges have brought new people and appetites to town? The secret sauce behind that tenure is building trust with your customers and cultivating an experience for them every time they visit the restaurant, he said, balancing both consistency in quality food while also adapting and tweaking some operations as needed to keep up with the times.
Ultimately, the credit behind that decades-long tenacity and endurance is twofold, Evans stressed, commending both Austinites’ support for local businesses as well as the staff who make Waterloo what it is.
“I have so many people that are still with me 10 years later, 15 years later – cooks that opened restaurants with me, and now I’m 20 years into a restaurant, and I still have the same breakfast cooks in the morning,” he said. “The customers give them tips at Christmas because they recognize who they are. They come in every day. It is 100% about the people that I’ve hired and have been able to work with them through life’s challenges and to keep them on.”
Waterloo Ice House’s former restaurant at 38th Street. The legacy Austin business is celebrating 50 years in 2026. (Courtesy of Waterloo Ice House)
Among his own personal memories at Waterloo, Evans said the marriages that have emerged bring him the most joy. Witnessing people find love and happiness, alongside those who perhaps overcame “dire straits” to find stability and joy is something integral to the restaurant and its community fabric.
“Managers have gotten married to beer drivers,” he said with a smile, saying he’s witnessed at least two couples tie the knots after a workplace encounter blossomed into something more.
While reflecting on his own memories, Evans said Waterloo is encouraging patrons to share theirs from the past five decades. Each restaurant also features memory boards where customers can use disposable cameras to take pictures and write down their experiences.
Country singer Kelly Willis performs at Waterloo Ice House’s Sixth Street location. (Courtesy of Waterloo Ice House)
The big 50 won’t just be a day-long or even month-long celebration, but rather a year’s worth of festivities, he added. In the coming weeks, Waterloo will start serving up 1976-inspired drinks ahead of a 76-cent margarita day down the road. Waterloo has also partnered with fellow local business, Austin Beerworks, in developing a “Golden Ale” brew that’s now available at all four eateries throughout 2026.
Come March 28, Waterloo will culminate the half-century milestone with a community party at its Loop 360 restaurant, with carnival games, tie-dye stations, live music, giveaways and birthday cupcakes to ring in the big 5-0. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson will also deliver a proclamation honoring 50 years of Waterloo in town, and decades more to come.
To remain resilient as a business, staying true to both yours and your customers’ core values are tenets Evans said have carried Waterloo through the first half-century and will continue its trajectory onward. Live music Wednesday evenings, family-friendly communal spaces and support for organizations like the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians are just some of those cornerstones that help define Waterloo’s legacy as a business heralded among Austin’s greats.
“Austin has always been very good about supporting local and taking care of small businesses. But I feel as a small business, you really have to earn it too, and you have to earn their respect,” Evans said. “You have to earn their trust. And I think just the consistency over the years for us and continually kind of adapting, but still staying who we are through our roots, has just made it even more successful and easier for people to like us and to continue to support us.”
Find it: 8600 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78757; 6203 N. Capital of Texas Hwy., Austin, TX 78731; 9600 S. I-35, Austin, TX 78748; 9600 Escarpment Blvd., Austin, TX 78749
This article originally published at Waterloo Ice House rings in 50 years of live music, Texas hospitality.