The end has come early for a Central Texas country music club, which is closing its doors after just three years in business.
Duett’s Texas Club in Martindale, about 35 miles south of Austin, officially said goodbye Saturday with a noon-to-midnight ‘Last Bash.’ Former patrons took to Facebook, mourning the closure of the club that opened in 2023.
“We are heartbroken,” one person wrote on Duett’s’ Facebook page. “Love you guys. You are ahead of your time.”
The club was housed in a building constructed more than a century ago in 1924 and originally a Hupmobile car dealership, according to Duett’s’ website. The establishment took its name from co-owners Katie and Ryan Grametbaur’s daughter, Duetta, “a fiery red head with a big personality.”
While their dream was to build a community hub in the charming town, the duo said the business was too costly to maintain.
“We’ve gone down with the ship, personally. We’ve put every single dollar that we have into the business,” Katie Grametbaur said in a video announcing the closure and posted on March 19 on Facebook. “We haven’t paid ourselves. We haven’t been able to keep up with bills and what it takes to sustain the business in Martindale.”
The husband-and-wife duo are Texas Hill Country natives and former owners of Martindale River Cafe in Martindale. The pair were no strangers to the music industry. Ryan Grametbaur, known professionally as Ryan Quiet, has more than 15 years of experience performing in honky tonks and local bars. Katie Grametbaur brought experience in retail management, art direction and set design, including contributions to the Luck Reunion music festival.
Duett’s was born from the Grametbaurs’ shared vision of an “authentic space where people from all walks of life can come together and experience genuine human connections while celebrating the arts,” according to its website.
“We love it. We love the community and what we created,” Katie said in the March 19 video. “But unfortunately, Duett’s, it’s a big business, and it takes a lot of money to run it, and small town Martindale, it’s hard to sustain that.”
SavingCountryMusic.com first reported news of the club’s closure.The Grametbaurs said their final party served as a celebration of the club’s legacy and a way to address lingering financial obligations.
Another husband-and-wife team that led the kitchen at Duetta’s said the closure is indicative of a broader trend happening with small businesses across the U.S.
“It simply wasn’t enough to withstand the pressures of inflation, over-taxation, and predatory loans-factors that ultimately led to our downfall,” Gold Epicure posted to Facebook. “Walking away from this community in Martindale is heart-wrenching, yet I am immensely proud of what we achieved together.”
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This article originally published at Central Texas country music club closes its doors after 3 years.