Austin's oldest gay bar, Charlie's opened in 1985 and continues to pull in a steady crowd of longtime regulars. It's a stalwart, to be sure, and not a whole lot of the younger guys in town hang out here, unless perhaps they're employed by strippers. But this means the bar is refreshingly free of the attitude that sometimes comes with collegiate bars. The staff couldn't be friendlier, and the crowd tends to be racially diverse and eclectic. On the negative side, Charlie's could use a serious makeover - it's dark (but for tubes of neon), smoky, and with dated decor. Grab a seat at the bar in back, that's partially open-air and leads to a wide-open patio where there's plenty of room to chat. If you're into strippers, stick with the main bar.
Charlie's is in downtown Austin a block west of the Capitol building, at 1301 Lavaca Street, 512-474-6481. Regular events here include Amateur Strip Contests on Tuesdays at midnight, free enchilada dinners on Wednesdays, and a variety of stripper-driven gatherings. The owners of Charlie's also operate the North Austin gay neighborhood bar, 'Bout Time. As is the case for most Austin gay bars, there's generally not a cover charge.
Note that Charlie's is not related to the small franchise of gay country-western bars with the same name, Charlie's Chicago, Charlie's Denver, Charlie's Las Vegas, and Charlie's Phoenix.
