How to Actually Save the Cactus Café (and the University of Texas Student Union’s Budget at the Same Time)

I’m considering writing an Op-Ed piece for the Austin Chronicle and the Austin American Statesman regarding the following. Please read and let me know what you think. Thanks!

I love the Cactus Café. It is my home away from home. I’ve been an employee and/or close friend of the place since February 2004, and have shared some of life’s most memorable moments with fellow employees and customers who made up my closest circle of family, comrades and lovers. Although I’m too young to have been privy to the birth and subsequent heyday of the Cactus (How I wish I had witnessed the era of Townes Van Zandt!), I’m blessed to have known it in the capacity that I have. I will not waste time here speaking of the true, irreplaceable, magical, spiritual, historical and cultural qualities of that unique room. You can read or hear about those on just about any other local media forum right now, and the last thing I wish to do is make those things abstract or redundant from my humble point of view. Although I’m only one woman with one opinion, I feel compelled to offer a non-comprehensive alternative to UT’s decision to close the Cactus doors this August. As controversial as this may sound to my aforementioned loved ones and to other Cactus die-hards, I believe the best solution for the Cactus to live on does not allow for it to remain in its current state. The reasons that UT has given for shutting it down are not irreversible or otherwise unfixable. I recognize that a revamping of the Cactus would be more complicated than the basic resolutions listed below. Yet the Cactus can continue to be true to itself and to its fans while also being repurposed for a higher chance of long-term [financial] success. (Note: This particular commentary does not really address issues of management –booking or otherwise-, though your correspondent has her opinions on that topic as well.) In response to the University’s position in the press release that the venue is largely used by non-students, I propose to make it more relevant to the UT student body by:

1. 
   Introducing more diverse and pertinent acoustic music to the repertoire (Just because it is arguably the best listening room in all of Texas and has been voted best acoustic venue year after year by the people of Austin does not mean that it should limit itself to folk singer-songwriters almost exclusively. There are plenty of Greats and Up-And-Comings in the latter category that should still have airtime in the club, but the rest of the washed-up folk acts hog valuable concert time night after night, and are only attended by baby boomers or post-boomers who have little connection to the current music scene. Keep the better folk acts, keep the talented world musicians, and even keep the ones who are on their way out because they’ve been there for years and are favorites of the Austin old-timers. Just don't give them as many gigs as is the custom; there is far too much supply and not enough demand. Please also add some acts that young men and women alike want to see. Add sets (acoustic, even!) by metal/jazz/rock/indie/punk/shoegaze/ambient/experimental/etc bands. It can be done without compromising the magic and history of the Cactus Café. It absolutely can!)



2. Improving beverage/food selection with:
   
   

   Better coffee (It is no small secret that the Texas Union opened a Starbucks right next door just a couple of years ago. Although the quality of Starbucks product is severely lacking, it is infinitely better than the same DeCoty brand drip coffee served up at the Cactus for decades.

   
   

   Locally made snacks (People like to eat, and more often than not a bag of chips just doesn’t satisfy.)

   
   

   More reasonable alcohol options (Remove the items that do not sell from the shelves. In addition, introduce some more high-caliber products as well as popular low-caliber ones. Although the Cactus boasts a few excellent bottled brews and liquors, its assortment of draught pours as well as wine are less than noteworthy in both quantity and quality. More microbrews! More quality imports! However, the majority of the Cactus constituents do not partake of the finest selections available (speculations as to why this is the case could make for another op-ed piece), so in addition to offering better quality alcohol for the connoisseurs of its patronage, it should offer the more popular lesser quality beers such as Lonestar, PBR, Miller High Life and Budweiser Select in lieu of regular Budweiser and Miller Light. This way, the young and hip and financially constrained students of drinking age can find more familiar beverages that appeal to their having a good time more than to their taste buds.)



3. Allowing credit/debit cards as an accepted form of payment (It is currently a cash-only establishment, which is fine for the more financially savvy, typically older customers, but often turns off younger students who can get their chips, tea, and coffee at the Starbucks around the corner without ever having to handle paper money).


4. Advertising (Even though UT is uncomfortable promoting a venue that serves alcohol to the over-21 student population on campus, it hasn’t exactly explored smart, safe ways to approach the issue of responsible drinking while at the same time increasing appreciation and awareness of the Cactus’s rich history and vital contribution to Austin’s music scene.)

Thank you for your time in reading my opinionated suggestions. Please feel free to comment or post suggestions of your own.