From the colorful circus murals that adorn walls both inside and out to casts of carnival wildlife, Carousel Lounge boasts a kaleidoscope of memorable features. While the dive’s resident 35-year-old pink elephant, Lucille, is truly unforgettable, nearly everything about the place is a defining characteristic, including its locale—a hiding spot tucked away off Cameron Road that it has called home for more than six decades.
The inside looks today as it has during most of its tenure: A kindly giraffe stationed just inside the front door has greeted generations of staff and customers, and an adorably hand-crafted carousel brightens the back bar. But despite all the spectacle, owner Nicki Mebane insists her favorite thing is the lounge’s patronage, especially the regulars. “I really like when I go and visit with our customers,” she says. “Everyone is so nice.”
Which is exactly what happens when prices are low and there’s (usually) no cover charge.
Carousel Lounge is a beer-and-wine joint and features one of, if not the best happy hours in Austin, but only if price means more than selection. These days it’s not uncommon to pay $20 or more for a cocktail, but time has stood still at the Carousel, where every afternoon affords the opportunity to imbibe $4 glasses of wine and $2 domestic brews.
“I don’t think our beer prices have kept up with other bars or even what the beer companies charge us,” Mebane says with a bit of laugh. “The regulars have come to expect that.”
Customer appreciation actually is important to Mebane (bring a bottle of liquor and the bar provides the setup for $5) and why she genuinely sounds unworried about what to charge for beer. Carousel is her “labor of love” because it’s her family’s bar, opened in 1963 by her parents, Myrtle and Cecil Meier. They chose the name after visiting Carousel Bar & Lounge (Hotel Monteleone) in New Orleans, and ran with the circus motif because, back then, circuses were happy, magical events.
Myrtle and Cecil loved to dance, and most nights live music still takes center stage. Bands set up on the floor in the main room right in front of Lucille. “We used to have a big pink elephant on the roof, but the weather took a toll on it,” says Mebane, who became Carousel’s owner in 1988. “It came down around the time I took over. Lucille [a new elephant] came in around the same time.” About a dozen tables with chairs fill out the room, leaving just enough space to dance.
Mebane books the bands herself and while she laments that today’s music isn’t made for dancing cheek-to-cheek as much as it used to be, she really only enforces one hard-and-fast rule for musicians: no vulgarity.
Carousel bartender and long-time Austin drummer Clutch Cardon says, “You never know what you’re gonna see. It’s always something different here. You could have a punk band, a country band, a prog-rock band… all on the same night. Maybe belly dancers, too.” On any night, the lineup might feature a bigger variety of acts than found under any big top.
It’s been 60 years since the circus came to town and decided to stay, and Mebane sounds genuinely unworried about Carousel’s future: “We’re just going to stay around. We want to keep it like the original as the generations change and the music changes. I want to keep it a friendly spot.”
Clubs like Carousel Lounge reside in categories of their own design. They transport customers wherever they need to go. In this case, it’s the circus, and it remains a place so special it makes you like clowns again.
1110 E. 52nd St. Open Tuesday through Saturday 3:30 pm to midnight; Sunday 3:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
The Deep End regularly spotlights the dive bars that keep Austin happy and magical. Anthony Head co-authored the bestselling Texas Dives: Enduring Neighborhood Bars of the Lone Star State with photographer Kirk Weddle and has been documenting Texas’ neighborhood hangouts for 16 years.
