Buy an Austin rock club on eBay

For the past few years, luxury real-estate owners and their brokers have been pushing the auction approach to home buying, with mixed results, at least locally. Those posh places are sold through equally posh auction houses such as Concierge.

Now a longtime local live music club is getting on the action, albeit via a more budget-conscious outlet. According to a Wednesday Austin360 story, the Parish on East Sixth Street will soon be up for grabs on eBay. Local holding company ATX Brands will auction off the club via the site starting at noon on Friday, Dec. 1, and closing at noon Dec. 10. The opening bid will be $1.

Located on the second floor of a historic building in the Sixth Street entertainment district, the 5,300-square-foot, 425-capacity club has long been one of Austinites’ favorite places to hear live music—particularly rock music—in a relatively intimate, midsized venue.

According to Billboard’s Wednesday report, ATX Brands CEO Doug Guller, who recently sold historic local watering hole the Scoot Inn to Live Nation’s C3 Presents and auctioned off Schroeder Hall in Goliad on eBay, is hoping to get the company out of the music business altogether.

Whoever wins the Parish will not be buying the building or any part of the property itself, but will take over 12-year lease with two five-year renewal options, according to Billboard. Austin360, however, reported that the buyer top bidder “will sign a new and separate lease with the property’s landlord based on predetermined rates and options.”

Both media outlets report that buyers will get the Parish name, brand, and a club that’s ready to rock, with in-house lighting and production capabilities, a new Nexo sound system, two large bars and two green rooms, as well as a private office, venue furniture, an HD projector and screen, and, importantly, the venue’s current Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission license. While anyone can bid on the club, the story notes, eBay requires pre-qualification for bids of more than $15,000.

• Austin club the Parish is up for auction — bids start at $1 [Austin360]

• Owners of The Parish in Austin to Auction Off Historic Rock Venue on eBay [Billboard]