Per Culture Map; Downtown Austin taps into record-setting territory with $40 million in monthly alcohol sales

Downtown Austin taps into record-setting territory with $40 million in monthly alcohol sales

By John Egan

Jun 27, 2022, 1:01 pm

In the wake of a pandemic slowdown, the booze and the money are once again flowing in downtown Austin.

Data provided to CultureMap by the Downtown Austin Alliance shows bars, restaurants, and other establishments in the heart of the city sold a little over $40.8 million worth of alcohol in March and $40.75 million in April, 2022 

Buoyed by a back-in-person SXSW, the March total set a monthly record for downtown Austin, with the April total just shy of that record.

Through the first four months of this year, sales of booze at downtown locations exceeded $131 million. The tally includes beer, wine, and mixed drinks.

The Downtown Austin Alliance compiled the figures using data from the Texas comptroller’s office. The state agency collects taxes paid on alcohol sold throughout the state.

The eye-popping tallies for booze sales this March and April are a vast improvement over the numbers for the same months in 2020 and 2021, during the height of the pandemic.

Last year, for instance, downtown alcohol sales totaled $19.5 million in March and $23.8 million in April. For March 2020, the total approached $11.7 million. But sales plummeted the following month, officially the first full month of the pandemic, to a little over $355,000.

The Downtown Austin Alliance compiled the figures using data from the Texas comptroller’s office. The state agency collects taxes paid on alcohol sold throughout the state.

The eye-popping tallies for booze sales this March and April are a vast improvement over the numbers for the same months in 2020 and 2021, during the height of the pandemic.

Last year, for instance, downtown alcohol sales totaled $19.5 million in March and $23.8 million in April. For March 2020, the total approached $11.7 million. But sales plummeted the following month, officially the first full month of the pandemic, to a little over $355,000.