In a well-loved booth, 30 minutes before their first booking and marketing meeting \u2013 which coincides with some air conditioning repair \u2013 Hole in the Wall\u2019s new co-owners, Mike Lavigne and Courtney Goforth, are animated about the venue\u2019s new chapter and clear-eyed about their roles as stewards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe place isn\u2019t broken. We\u2019re not here to fix it. We\u2019re not here to save it,\u201d says Lavigne. \u201cWe\u2019re just here to help them succeed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although \u2013\u00a0he adds later, gesturing to the open wound of vinyl and foam beneath our thighs: \u201cWe are gonna fix these booths.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hole in the Wall has staunchly lived up to its name<\/a>, even as the area around it shot upward and expanded. The dive bar-meets-music venue itself grew during that time to accommodate three stages, a full kitchen, patio space, and Calamity<\/a> cafe and karaoke bar in back. Since its early years in the hands of founder Doug Cugini, who passed<\/a> earlier this year, the Drag staple has been known for adapting to its community with a spirit of hospitality, and becoming home for songwriters from Townes Van Zandt to Spoon to Ethan Azarian and many a barfly in between.<\/p>\n Goforth, who has spent years in Austin venues booking bands and promoting shows at Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, and more, says it\u2019s that spirit the new team will keep at the forefront.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThings are going well as long as your priority is on the community and the artists and the people that are bringing the entertainment here and bringing people in,\u201d says the experienced marketing director.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lavigne, a partner in La La\u2019s Little Nugget and public affairs firm Texas Access Partners, owned Violet Crown Clubhouse, served on the city\u2019s Downtown Commission, and has a political background working for the Texas Democratic Party. When longtime owner Will Tanner approached Lavigne about buying the bar, the entrepreneur was surprised, but couldn\u2019t walk away from the opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way that that would even remotely work is if Courtney would be down to do something like this, to be my co-pilot,\u201d he remembers thinking. Nearly seven months later, the two are ready to step into the spotlight as co-owners to lead a trickle of minor updates and adjustments, like reintroducing late-night shows and expanding booking.<\/p>\n \u201cThere won\u2019t be any less of anything that\u2019s happening,\u201d Lavigne insists. \u201cWe have a lot of days of the week, hours of the day, and stages to play. There will be all the local bands you could ever possibly imagine and watch and want to see, and touring bands and disco and drag and partying.\u201d<\/p>\n Tanner, Long Play Lounge co-owner<\/a> and former<\/a> Coral Snake owner, bought the venue in 2008 and saw it through several bumps in the road before the Guadalupe mainstay turned<\/a> 50 in 2024. The storied business owner, who could not be reached for comment, will stay on as a partner at Hole in the Wall in what Lavigne calls \u201ca smaller capacity.\u201d Through a newly established shareholding structure, the Cugini family \u2013 as well as a slate of \u201cmusicians you\u2019ve heard of,\u201d Lavigne says \u2013 will also hold a stake in the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n