Building a Business in a Changing World

The sounds of clinking liquor bottles filled The Cicada on an early afternoon. Co-owners and married couple Tyler and John Stevens were restocking the extensive offerings their customers have come to expect.

“Around 20% of our product is non-alcoholic,” Tyler said. “Being someone who doesn’t drink, it’s important to me to offer a range of drinking options. Bars are about having a good time and making memories. What you’re drinking doesn’t have to be alcoholic.”

Selling Topo Chicos, non-alcoholic craft beers, and CBD sodas allows the owners of this local music venue in the Near Southside to keep up with trends in drinking culture. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 38% of Americans abstain from consuming alcohol, and Gen Z shows a slight decline in alcohol consumption compared with previous generations.

Tyler and John, like many bar and restaurant owners, have seen a noticeable decline in the number of folks who go out for live music or socializing in bars compared to five or six years ago. Creating the right messaging and providing the social environment is part of their mission to keep their nearly one-year-old venue open while supporting local music.

One factor for the slowdown in local live music attendance, the co-owners posited, could be the rise of the popularity of streaming services like Netflix after the Covid pandemic.

“People socialize differently now,” John said. “The pandemic definitely got people in the habit of staying home. Netflix has made it so you don’t have to get out of your La-Z Boy. [Covid] forced everyone to work from home, so people got comfy staying home.”

While music venues shutter for various reasons, the recent closing of Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater, Lola’s Fort Worth, and Twilite Lounge Fort Worth spurred several articles from local publications about the precarious state of the local music scene. Groups like Hear Fort Worth (a nonprofit under the auspices of Visit Fort Worth) and Amplify 817 (a program of the Fort Worth public library system) focus on spotlighting local talent and organizing mixers and performance events. Still, the survival of local music venues remains one of the most critical, if not the most critical, factors for keeping local music thriving.

One hopeful sign for the Stevens: John said national and regional acts are beginning to find The Cicada and book it as a tour stop.

Tyler and John Stevens in the Cicada
photo credit: Johnny Govea

As a music venue, “You can only chew on the same local scene for so long,” John said. “We are trying to develop other acts – bands out hitting the road. A lot of bands are having to go back to performing because streams aren’t [paying what they used to]. I want to create a stop for those working musicians. The first time, maybe a few people come. The 12 people here tell others. By the third time they play here, they are selling it out.”

To draw new patrons, Tyler organizes various events, from pop-up markets to craft-making events. One popular draw for the venue has been burlesque bingo, where each callout of “Bingo!” comes with the removal of an article of clothing from the organizers.

“It’s more campy than racy,” Tyler said with a laugh, adding that attendees love the playful spin on the game.

For every popular event, the couple says they see around four to five attendees become regular customers. John, himself a lifelong performer, and Tyler have decades of experience in the food service industry. They said music venues do best when they have bar regulars to float the business in between shows.

“I’m trying to work hard on the social media side of the business to drive home the bar aspect of Cicada and build a community of regulars,” Tyler said. “The regulars become your friends. You can have regulars who’re here more than employees. They call it happy hour for a reason. People are supposed to decompress and move the water cooler chat to another location.”

Misconceptions about music venues like The Cicada persist, Tyler said. Folks who quit drinking entirely may worry that stepping into a bar will come with pressure to order alcoholic drinks, and some people think live shows are too raucous for enjoying conversations with friends.

“People often ask me why I work in a bar after quitting drinking,” Tyler said. “This is the career I picked to be around people. I get to create a fun environment for people to create memories and friendships.”

Each new customer – whether they come for a craft show or a cocktail – is potentially a live music fan. Fort Worth boasts an abundance of exceptional talent, so music will always be an important draw for The Cicada, the co-owners said. Local acts like Royal Sons, Holy Moly, and Denver Williams bring steady crowds, and there are bands repping Gen Z, even though that generation appears less enamored with live local music shows.

“We have a 15-year-old at home,” John said. “He isn’t about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll like past generations. Their interests are different. Regardless, we have to get people to be social again. We just have to figure out how to do that.”

The bar owners see promise in their neck of the Near Southside off Rosedale Avenue and South Main Street. Nearby Brix Barbecue and Down ’n Out are helping fill in the neighborhood that lost anchor tenant Four Sisters – A Taste of Vietnam over a year ago. However, John and Tyler say several more new businesses are needed in the immediate area to make it more of a destination.

Unexpected culture-changing events like the pandemic and rising rent haven’t helped the local music scene. Still, the music venue model has stood the test of time, and Fort Worth’s booming population brings tens of thousands of new residents and potential new concert attendees to Tarrant County and Fort Worth every year.

The Cicada’s first year has come with many challenges. The owners said they both work seven days a week to ensure quality customer service and keep their staffing overhead down. But supporting local music and building community are worth the initial struggle.

“My goal is to find new live music lovers,” Tyler said. “Whether we do it through dog adoption events, crafts, or my Panther City Bar Bazaar events. When people come in, they see that it is safe and inclusive here. It will work out, eventually. The model will build itself.”