AUSTIN — Popular Austin restaurant Shady Grove is closing permanently, effective immediately, a spokesperson confirmed.

The casual, comfort food restaurant on Barton Springs Road has been serving food and local music for nearly 30 years. Shady Grove, started by the founders of Chuy’s, opened in 1992.

Shady Grove, along with every restaurant in Austin, closed its dining room on March 17 following dual orders by the city and county, and started takeout and delivery the following day. They continued with that model in recent weeks following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation that restaurants could reopen to 25 percent capacity. It appears that the economic effects of the coronavirus was the final straw for the modest restaurant that sits on property appraised at approximately $5 million by the Travis County Appraisal District.

Shady Grove, the pastoral comfort food restaurant that was home to the longest-running free live music series in Austin, has announced it will close permanently, effective immediately.

Shady Grove may not have been the most critically acclaimed restaurant or the city’s premiere music venue, but it was much more than the sum of its parts. With its family-friendly vibe, unfussy Southwestern comfort food and long-running Unplugged at the Grove music series, the restaurant at 1624 Barton Springs Road was a uniquely Austin treasure that felt like the city’s unofficial backyard.

Chuy’s founders Mike Young and John Zapp opened Shady Grove, with its recognizable lariat signage, in 1992, and the next year the restaurant started its music series set beneath a 100-year-old pecan tree, attracting some of the biggest names in Americana music.

The series ran every Thursday from April through September, and featured acts like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ryan Bingham, Jimmie Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Rhett Miller, Bob Schneider, Sarah Jarosz and dozens more. The combination of big names and small intimate outdoor space made Unplugged at the Grove a concert series unlike any other in town.

The original building at the property first operated in 1954 as Dairyland, a hamburger stand that served ice creams and custards. It became a restaurant called The Barton House in 1955 and operated the City Recreation Department in the late 50s and later as Westwood Cleaners in the 1980s. Opened in 1992, the building that houses Shady Grove was modeled after the Texas State Parks buildings constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The land at 1624 Barton Springs Road has been in the Neelley family for at least 50 years, according to the Travis County Appraisal District. There was no immediate word on the future of the space.