Doug Cugini, Hole in the Wall\u2019s founder, died Tuesday, Jan. 13, at age 75. The charismatic barkeep was remembered on Facebook by friends and past employees for his generous spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDoug was a great friend, a fabulous boss and so much fun to hang with,\u201d wrote his longtime friend and onetime co-owner Debbie Rombach on Facebook, confirming<\/a> his passing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cugini opened the Drag staple<\/a> in 1974 as an arcade restaurant, but soon local musicians convinced him to host acoustic performances in the dimly lit barroom, paving the way for the listening room-style residencies that have characterized the front stage\u2019s calendar for more than 50 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNanci Griffith came in and asked to play,\u201d Cugini recalled to the Chronicle in 2014<\/a>. \u201cThen she performed every week for years.\u201d<\/p>\n Cugini\u2019s legacy is deeply entangled with the memorabilia-filled, distinctly Austin venue he established. Between songwriter showcases and rowdier sets, the yellow-accented stage has racked up its fair share of iconic performances and famous fans, from Griffith and Townes Van Zandt to Spoon and Shakey Graves.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never been a place like it in Austin. Other bars are immaculate and pretty, and the Hole has always been like it is now, put together on a shoestring budget and filled with counterculture people who walk to a different drummer,\u201d he told the Chronicle in 2015<\/a>. \u201cI guess the reason it\u2019s always been there is because the city, the bands, the newspapers, and the whole culture have embraced it.\u201d<\/p>\n Reminiscing on the Austin musicians who called the bar home and infused its hallowed walls with rock & roll character, Cugini alternated between nostalgia and annoyance in a 2014<\/a> interview, like the benevolent, custodial figure so many remembered him as.<\/p>\n \u201cBlaze [Foley] and Townes were drinkers!\u201d Cugini exclaimed. \u201cWe used to open at 7am to serve breakfast to the university students and cab drivers, and it became a regular thing for those two to show up from playing all-night card games ready to keep drinking.<\/p>\n \u201cOne morning Blaze was in his duct tape sport coat and Townes was in drag. They didn\u2019t have money to drink and it was busy, so I let them bus tables. There\u2019s Townes in a dress reaching over people clearing plates, and Blaze eating out of the bus tub. I\u2019d try to kick them out and they\u2019d protest: \u2018Come on man! We play here all the time!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The scrappy, musician-first atmosphere endeared countless local and touring acts to the dual-stage venue \u2013 Bob Dylan even painted<\/a> the facade in 2020. Through rough patches<\/a>, the storied bar and stage has remained a bastion for musicians and their fans.<\/p>\n