TV Restaurants

What Happened to Headhunters After Bar Rescue? (Austin, TX)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Headhunters has closed — confirmed via austinchronicle.com, May 1, 2014.

Primary source
austinchronicle.com ·
Secondary source
barrescueupdates.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The Austin Chronicle reported on May 1, 2014 that Headhunters' front door was locked during normal hours, staff were clearing production gear from the patio stage, and owner Steve Ricci confirmed the club was closed after losing its lease at 720 Red River.

  • Season / episode Season 3, Episode 2
  • Original air date
  • Address 720 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701

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What happened after Bar Rescue?

Headhunters had operated in Austin's Red River entertainment district since 2003 as a no-rules, tiki-themed live-music venue under owner Steve Ricci when it appeared on the February 17, 2013 episode "Rock N Roaches" (Bar Rescue S3E2). Per Wikipedia's episode summary, Jon Taffer's team dealt with a roach infestation and a stubborn owner who refused to pay his employees properly; rather than sending Nicole Taffer in alone for recon as the show usually did, the experts accompanied her after reviewing customer complaints and a disturbing concert that had taken place at the venue, and the resulting conflict between Taffer and Ricci made the episode one of the more talked-about installments of the season. Wikipedia's summary also notes this was one of the few rescues in which the owner did not thank Taffer for his help by the episode's end. After a secretive 36-hour renovation, the bar reemerged with a steampunk theme under the name Metal & Lace, though staff and regulars, per the Austin Chronicle, continued to simply call it Headhunters.

The venue kept hosting shows, including annual South by Southwest programming on its interior and patio stages, for roughly another year before it closed. The Austin Chronicle reported on May 1, 2014 that the club's front door was locked during normal business hours, with staff and owner Steve Ricci found removing production gear from the patio stage; Ricci declined to explain the closure for what he called "legal reasons," while acknowledging to the paper that the club was now closed. The Chronicle's report tied the closure to a lease dispute that, per neighborhood sources cited in the same article, had been brewing since February of that year after the 720 Red River property changed hands, though Ricci himself would not confirm the cause on the record. Ricci told the paper he was weighing nine possible sites for a future venue, but no source was found confirming that a successor business opened under his ownership.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 3, Episode 2
Original air date
Episode title
Rock N Roaches
What was featured
roach-infested live-music bar becomes a steampunk bar
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Headhunters

Frequently asked questions

Is Headhunters still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Headhunters has closed — confirmed via austinchronicle.com, May 1, 2014.

What happened to Headhunters after Bar Rescue?

Headhunters had operated in Austin's Red River entertainment district since 2003 as a no-rules, tiki-themed live-music venue under owner Steve Ricci when it appeared on the February 17, 2013 episode "Rock N Roaches" (Bar Rescue S3E2). As of September 2026, Headhunters has closed — confirmed via austinchronicle.com, May 1, 2014.

Is Headhunters permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Headhunters has closed — confirmed via austinchronicle.com, May 1, 2014. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Headhunters located?

720 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured Headhunters?

Season 3, Episode 2 of Bar Rescue, first aired February 17, 2013. The episode is titled “Rock N Roaches”.

Did the makeover last at Headhunters?

The episode first aired February 17, 2013. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 13 years later —: As of September 2026, Headhunters has closed — confirmed via austinchronicle.com, May 1, 2014.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
720 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701
Venue type
bar
Official website
None found

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