Victory Grill

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Victory Grill on East 11th Street in Austin. Now, to understand why a converted icehouse on the east side of Austin matters, you have to go back to the war years — and to a problem that nobody in uniform should ever have had to face. During World War II, segregation meant that African American servicemen were turned away from most civilian restaurants and recreational facilities.

Men who had shipped out to fight for this country came home on leave and couldn't walk through the front door of a place to get a meal. Austin civic leaders pushed the city, through something called the Negro War Recreation Council, to provide recreational sites for these servicemen. One result of that push was a gymnasium and auditorium complex out in Rosewood Park — opened in April of 1944 and dedicated to Doris Miller, an African American Pearl Harbor hero.

It was something. But by the time the war wound down, African American servicemen still had only limited R&R options in Austin. Limited.

After everything they'd been through. Enter Johnny Holmes. August 15, 1945.

VJ Day — Victory over Japan Day. The war is over, and the whole country is about to exhale for the first time in years. On that very day, Johnny Holmes opened a place on East 11th Street in a converted icehouse.

He called it the Victory Grill — sometimes the Victory Cafe — and the name fit the moment like a glove fits a hand. Holmes built it as a venue where returning African American servicemen could walk in, sit down, get a meal, and hear some blues and jazz without anybody showing them the wrong door. Two years on, in 1947, Holmes — with devoted support from his wife, Basyle Winifred Vanzandt — built a new structure at 1104 East 11th Street to give the Victory Grill a proper home.

And here's where the story deepens. Out back, there was an enclosed open-air patio they called the Kovac Room. Relatively small capacity, which might not sound like much — until you consider that the Kovac Room became a well-known stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, that remarkable collection of African American music venues stretching across the west and south.

Acts traveling that circuit knew the Kovac Room. The Kovac Room knew them. But circuits change.

Desegregation came in the 1960s, and African American musicians found new venues opening up across the nation where they could perform. The same walls that had kept them out were coming down, and talent that once ran through the Chitlin' Circuit spread wider. The Victory Grill's small capacity started to feel small in a different way.

By 1973, the place had closed. Johnny Holmes passed away in 2001. But his children weren't ready to let the Victory Grill stay quiet.

They succeeded in reopening it — carrying forward a place their father had been, by all accounts, extremely passionate about. He took a special interest in making soldiers feel at home. That was the thread running through everything.

In 1998, the Victory Grill was listed in the National Register of Historic Places — recognized as a home front cultural landmark of the World War II African American experience. A converted icehouse. A celebration of victory.

A stage for the Chitlin' Circuit. A place where a man made sure servicemen had somewhere to belong. That's the Victory Grill, and that's East 11th Street, and that's the kind of story Texas has a way of holding onto.

What the marker says

During World War II, segregation prevented African American servicemen from enjoying most civilian restaurants and recreational facilities. In an effort to address this issue, Austin civic leaders urged the city, through its “Negro War Recreation Council,” to provide recreational sites for servicemen on leave from military posts. One such project, a gymnasium-auditorium complex in Rosewood Park, opened in April 1944 and was dedicated to Doris Miller, an African American Pearl Harbor hero. By war’s end, African American servicemen had added but limited “R&R” sites in Austin. Johnny Holmes responded to this need when he opened the original Victory Grill (a.k.a. Victory Cafe) in celebration of VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day, August 15, 1945) in a converted icehouse on East 11th Street. Holmes created a venue in East Austin which provided returning African American servicemen with both an accessible dining establishment and blues and jazz entertainment. In 1947, with support from his devoted wife, Basyle Winifred Vanzandt, Holmes built a new structure at 1104 E. 11th Street to house the new Victory Grill. The enclosed open-air patio in the rear, dubbed the Kovac Room, became a well-known stop on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” a collection of African American music venues across the west and south. The relatively small capacity of the Kovac Room and desegregation in the 1960s eventually led to the decline of the Victory Grill as African American musicians found new venues across the nation where they could perform, and the Victory Grill closed in 1973. Following Holmes’ death in 2001, his children succeeded in re-opening the beloved site. Johnny Holmes was extremely passionate about the Victory Grill being of service to the community and its patrons, and he took a special interest in making soldiers feel at home. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, the Victory Grill is a home front cultural landmark of the World War II African American experience. Texas in World War II - 2010