The Austin Transit Partnership recently cut Dirty Martin’s Place from its acquisition list, saving the nearly century-old West Campus burger joint from plans to build a light rail line on Guadalupe Street.
The partnership also removed four other properties along Guadalupe Street from its acquisition list, according to an email from ATP. Those properties include the Whataburger, Mighty Mo’s, a smoke shop and multiple food trucks.
“Austin Transit Partnership is glad to have identified a creative solution that allows us at this point in the design, to no longer have conflicts with several structures and buildings in the area between 27th and 29th streets along Guadalupe Street,” said Lindsay Wood, ATP’s executive vice president of engineering and construction.
Mark Nemir, the owner of Dirty Martin’s, said he had a phone call with an ATP representative before the announcement, but he still hasn’t received anything in writing confirming the fate of his restaurant.
“We’re still unsure of what the traffic flow pattern is going to be,” Nemir said. “If you can’t get in your car and drive to 2808 Guadalupe St., I’m going to go out of business.”
Nemir has owned Dirty’s for 35 years, he said. In that time, he has seen Austin grow from the “medium-sized town on the Colorado River” to the tenth-largest city in the nation by population. He said the one constant is the city’s traffic.
“They’re busy streets,” Nemir said. “People don’t take buses and trains (to get to the University Co-op or the football stadium). … It’s obvious that the city government wants us out of our cars.”
Nemir said the city continues to funnel tax dollars into Project Connect, a plan for a light rail system approved by Austin voters in 2020. Dirty Martin’s sued the Austin City Council and ATP’s board of directors last fall because the plaintiffs believe the city misled voters in 2020.
Nemir said Dirty Martin’s joined the lawsuit after ATP announced a reduced plan for the light rail network with a larger budget last June. He said the lawsuit is still working its way through the process.
“The lawsuit wasn’t about saving Dirty’s,” Nemir said. “I mean, I’m not going anywhere at this point in time.”
