Opened in 1985, Nasty’s was the ideal of what a dive bar should be. The campus-area standard was plastered with pennants, old photos and neon. Festooned with bras and underwear hanging from the ceiling. Surly bartenders served up a solid selection of beers and frozen Everclear margaritas in red cups. Patrons drank, danced, shot pool and threw darts. It had everything you want in a great dive.
It also held a couple surprises. For one, the whole bar had a confusing rugby theme. That’s because Nasty’s was the official headquarters of Austin Huns Rugby. It was also home to a weekly 4-hour hip hop dance party led by Austin’s own DJ Mel, a nationally recognized turntablist. DJ Mel threw down at Nasty’s nearly every Monday from 1996 until the bar closed in 2017. While Nasty’s is irreplaceable, some of its spirit still lives on in the same building, which is now the Back Lot — a chill bar from the owners of another North Loop favorite, The Workhorse.
