The Roosevelt Room

The Roosevelt Room is a 225-person cocktail bar and private-event venue in downtown Austin’s Warehouse District, set inside a 1929 railroad warehouse. Its distinguishing feature is a giant chalkboard above the bar that maps classic cocktails by era, making drink history part of the room’s visual identity. For a live listing here, expect an intimate, service-led setting built around cocktails, tables, and conversation instead of a conventional club layout.

A warehouse lease with real stakes

Justin Lavenue and Dennis Gobis entered 307 W. Fifth in October 2014, around 10 months after Soma Lounge had ceased operating there. They took on two adjacent spaces, reopened the existing Madison event venue, later called the Eleanor, and launched The Roosevelt Room in June 2015. The pair rebuilt the early-1930s warehouse interior around an arched roof and mezzanine, turning its previous nightclub remnants into a cocktail-focused room. In 2018, developer Hanover began talks that could have folded the Roosevelt Room and Eleanor properties into a 45-story apartment project. Lease protections gave the owners leverage to keep their Fifth Street operation in place; the Chronicle documented the decision in 2019. Time Out named The Roosevelt Room its 2017 Bar of the Year, citing staff training on the origins of the drinks listed above the bar.

The room today

The profile’s live listings carry alternative, pop, and rock tags, while the venue’s own programming identity centers on cocktail classes, seated service, and private functions. The 3,750-square-foot venue divides between a downstairs dining room and a second-story mezzanine. Private bookings welcome a wide range of event types; public guests can reserve tables or bar seats. The mezzanine adds a separate full bar, pub-style seating, projection capability, and a balcony view of the main level, with room for 60 guests. That elevated sightline suits a small presentation or performance, while the main floor favors close quarters and cocktail service.