Everyone Gets Along at the Crown & Anchor

There is something refreshing about college-town dive bars like Crown & Anchor Pub, a fixture of the Hyde Park neighborhood and UT campus since 1987. It’s undeniably a Longhorn hangout, awash in burnt orange for game days, graduations, and parent’s weekends, which certainly accounts for part of the symbiotic sensation. When the Longhorns are among the hottest teams in the country—like right now—the place practically sizzles.

It also serves burgers, dogs, and outstanding seasoned fries to nourish the young ones, who are so far away from home, along with the long-time regulars, many of whom made Austin their home decades ago. Game recognizes game.

This ongoing convening of the generations produces a unique cohesive energy that circulates throughout the bar and is as invigorating as the blessed air-conditioning in August.

The nautically themed Crown also reigns among Austin’s classic neighborhood joints as a beer bar that takes beer very seriously. With 32 taps and more than 50 brands in bottles and cans (including wine, hard seltzers, and ciders), the Crown is a master class of brews but enough to spin the head of an undergraduate right off their shoulders.

A good education begins with a tenured crew of bartenders like Dervin Rodgers, a living connection to the last century. Rodgers frequented the Crown back in the 1980s when it was the Beach Cabaret, which he fondly describes as a “little punk bar.” Pointing toward the back he says, “That area used to be a stage. Butthole Surfers played here. Daniel Johnston played here. Townes Van Zandt met his third wife here.” When the property switched hands, Rodgers essentially stuck around and started working.

After patiently listening to the music lesson, a young woman nudges up to the bar. “Can I have an Electric Jellyfish?” The education continues—only it’s the older folks scratching their heads in confusion. “It’s like the best beer in Austin, made by Pinthouse,” she says before elucidating the finer points of the New England IPA.

A gentleman at the bar raises his hand. “Better than Stash?” He’s referring to his particular favorite West Coast IPA, brewed by Austin’s Independence Brewing. On cue, Rodgers begins handing out samples of both beers, plus some of his own favorites, busting the bar’s profit margin while leading the generations through a study group on the nuances of local beer and regional music history. Everyone walks away a little wiser.

General manager John Henson took the Crown job six years ago this August. “Keep the lights on. Get the TVs on. Is the music loud enough? The little things matter,” he says, running through a laundry list of details about the pool tables, dart boards, and bowls of fresh water under the shaded patio for dogs, none of which annoys him in the least.

“It’s an honor to do this. We’re an Austin institution. We’re here to provide a service to our community. It’s a public house, 365 days a year,” Henson says with the kind of refreshing sincerity that doesn’t require much effort to believe.

Those 365 days include the current crush of students returning to campus (with their parents, who never miss an opportunity to stop at the Crown) and the holidays, when the university shuts down and people flee the city. But the Crown will be open—from Thanksgiving’s turkey potluck to the tamales and Champagne toasts at New Year’s Eve.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love,” says Henson, as he slyly points my attention to a table of six young co-eds chatting animatedly over a pitcher of beer. “When was the last time you saw six twenty-somethings talking like that and there’s not a single phone in anyone’s face? It’s amazing. That’s what this place has the power to do.”

2911 San Jacinto Blvd. Open daily 11 a.m. to 2. a.m.

The Deep End regularly spotlights the dive bars that keep Austin brewing. Anthony Head co-authored the bestselling Texas Dives: Enduring Neighborhood Bars of the Lone Star State with photographer Kirk Weddle and has been documenting neighborhood hangouts in Texas for over 16 years.