WORDS: LYSSA MYSKA ALLEN
THE MARQ
CHUGGIN’ MONKEY
DIZZY ROOSTER
THIRSTY NICKEL
AUSTINITES ALL BELIEVE AUSTIN IS THE BEST CITY IN THE LAND, AND IF THE EXPLOSION OF DOWNTOWN LOFTS, BUSINESSES, RESTAURANTS AND BARS IS ANY INDICATION, PLENTY OF OTHERS ARE TRYING TO GET IN ON THE ACTION. SO SOMETIMES IT CAN BE HARD TO FIND NEW LOCATIONS THAT HAVE THE OLD AUSTIN AUTHENTIC, EFFORTLESS COOL—THE DINOSAUR ON YOUR PIZZA JOINT, THE AMY’S IN YOUR ICE CREAM, THE RUNNER ON YOUR IDYLLIC TOWN LAKE.
Just as Austin manages to get away with being—or at least appearing—effortless, barely six-month-old Warehouse District hotspot The Marq easily blends the fun and excitement of a Sixth Street bar with the suave sensibility requisite for the corner of Fifth and Congress. The crowd is friendly but not overly flirty; the people are pretty without really flaunting it; the music is perfect for dancing but isn’t overpowering. Even the name itself, owner Brad Womack says, is just right: “The Marq was just simple enough, it sounds like we’re not trying too hard ... We wanted to say ‘mark the spot.’”
A little bit like the city he inhabits, it can be hard to find the real Brad Womack. His average-Joe demeanor is a bit buried beneath the glitter of his ABC reality show, The Bachelor, with its beautiful bachelorette harem and stoic rose ceremonies. But step into The Marq on any given weekend, and you will find the real Brad Womack (who turns 35 this month)—tending bar, shaking hands, cleaning up spills.
In fact, on a given night, you could find any number of the brothers Bachelor—Brad, twin Chad, younger brother Wes, and brother-by-another-mother/best friend Jason Carrier—because all own and manage The Marq and their three Sixth Street clubs: Chuggin’ Monkey, Dizzy Rooster, and Thirsty Nickel. The rest of the Bachelor bars are the kind that give Sixth Street its well-earned reputation for drunken revelry, girls dance on the counters, frat boys guzzle beer, the cast of The Real World frequented them when they were here. The three bars are the quintessential college joints, and good ones at that.
But the brothers try not to get caught up in the partying. Brad says, “I’m so fortunate that Chad, Wes and Jason are the hardest workers ever … Our work ethic, I’d put up against anybody’s. We never, ever lose sight of the ultimate goal. And that’s just to be happy and to be able to make these bars succeed so we can all enjoy life.”
“Maybe they might wanna fire me after doing the Bachelor,” he laughs. He knows they picked up his slack while he was off wining-and-dining in Malibu. He’s quick to say, “The show approached me … My first reaction was, ‘not a chance!’” His brothers talked him into it; he credits them for saying, “Hey, it’s an adventure, you might meet a really cool girl, give it a shot.”
So did he meet a really cool girl?
Despite his local playboy reputation, don’t write off your favorite bachelorette yet. The show’s finale airs sometime in mid-November, and Brad says it’s “Not soon enough!”
… But don’t get too heartbroken either, because Bachelor Brad does have a lot of affection for the local ladies: “Austin girls are beautiful on all regards, not just on the outside … we’re all lucky to live here … Austin girls are great, you know, they’re perfect. So why do the show? Why the hell did I? I don’t know.”
Gratuitous shirtless shower shots aside, Brad says on the Monday night show, “What you see is what you get. And I say and do some very stupid things, I mean let’s face it, but that’s just me. Unfortunately, that’s just me! Yeah, everything I see is a true portrayal because I didn’t try to act like something I’m not. It’s been interesting to see the girls, because I didn’t know a lot of what was going on behind the scenes.”
Whatever his time in the limelight will bring—“I think the five minutes of fame will go away very quickly,” he says—a peek at Brad’s behind-the-scenes life reveals less of the is-he-or-isn’t-he-Botoxed? image and more of the outgoing, engaging, hard worker persona. And that persona is what makes his bars so successful: “I’m very proud to say that every single one of our bars has won, at one time or another, ‘Best Staff,’ ‘Best College Bar,’ ‘Best New Bar.’ I mean, each and every one of those bars.”
A trip into The Marq will give eager Austinites and visitors alike a glimpse into the genuine article: Austin-style bar and Austin-style Bachelor. They don’t try too hard; they exhibit the casual cool style and sincere excitement for life that makes Austin the place everybody wants to be. am+e
