SAM'S TOWN POINT

Sam's Town Point is one of those Austin places that people used to find only by accident. Tucked into a wooded neighborhood beyond Slaughter and Manchaca, where the road in looks like the road out, it has operated as a working-class bar since the Grossman family started running it in 1981. Penny Grossman kept the place going for decades as a neighborhood joint, and it earned a reputation as the South Pole of Austin's musical axis. There are no craft cocktails here. The architecture is not glossy or modern. The hamburger buns are value brand. And that is exactly the point. Over the past several years, a community of artists and associates led by eclectic songwriter Ramsay Midwood have poured creative energy into the sprawling property, transforming it into a homey event space without losing the spirit that made it special. The compound has a rambling, folk-art quality to it, the kind of place where you poke around and discover something new every visit. Live music happens regularly, with a calendar that leans toward country, Americana, and the unclassifiable stuff that comes out when Austin musicians stop worrying about genre. Sam's Town Point is an anachronism in the best possible sense. While the rest of the city chases whatever is next, this place just keeps being what it has always been. If you spend time here, you will understand what people mean when they talk about the real Austin. It is the people who make it.