By Edmond Ortiz
The Mother’s Day weekend edition of Light Bites highlights five restaurants that are now open in the San Antonio area or are coming soon.
Also, three bars are making moves in the downtown area and on the Northeast Side, a near shuttered near-West Side seafood eatery is returning, and a South Side restaurant announces new offerings.
Additionally, a far North Side Sichuan restaurant has a festive day in store for diners who stop by to help celebrate the eatery’s first anniversary.
NOW OPEN
Jersey Mike’s
The famed East Coast-based sub chain opened a storefront May 6 at the fledgling Schertz Station mixed-use development. The opening included a fundraiser for the SCUC Education Foundation. A grand opening celebration continues through May 10.
18476 I-35 N., Suite 200, Schertz. Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. (210-920-2644)
Max and Louie’s
A popular New York-style diner in north central San Antonio, Max and Louie’s has expanded to Cibolo with a May 9 grand opening event. Max and Louie’s offers an array of comfort food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most of the diner’s offerings are traditional homestyle dishes or inspired by East Coast cuisine, but a few items have a Tex-Mex twist, including Bleeker Street Breakfast Tacos, which feature deli hash made in-house,
18152 I-35 N., Cibolo. Open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., and 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sun. (210-483-7600)
Bar Bamboosh
The newest bar from local restaurateur Chad Carey and his venture, Empty Stomach Group, opened in early May. The wine-centric bar has a larger wine focus than Carey’s Little Death wine bar on North St. Mary’s Street, according to his recent social media post. Bar Bamboosh also has Spanish-inspired snacks, such as smoked olives, charred shishito peppers, pork rilette, and shrimp confit. Additionally, the bar features Cava and Kunstler Brewing beer on draft and non-alcoholic options. It is located next to Kaedama Battleship, the ramen restaurant that Carey opened last fall, and Royal Blue Grocery, which opened last December.
122 E. Houston St. (Rand Building). Open 3 p.m.-midnight weekdays, and noon-midnight weekends.
OPENING SOON
Goodcompany
A sister bar to Pearl District restaurant Tryst, Goodcompany is a cocktail lounge that is opening up next to Roadmap Brewing Co. in the burgeoning entertainment sector of the River North neighborhood.
Ownership of Goodcompany has raised the level of promotion on the bar’s social media channels this spring, indicating that opening day is imminent. The bar will feature a tropical island atmosphere with DJ’s, brick over-baked pizza served by the slice, and a bottle service.
701 N. Alamo St., Suite 2
Ginger’s Bistro
Having initially teased her up-and-coming restaurant last summer, owner Sharrah Lopez recently took to social media to announce that Ginger’s Bistro is eyeing a mid-June opening. The Ginger’s Bistro Facebook page has many photos of construction that has been taking place at the restaurant’s site inside the TPC Town Plaza retail center near JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa.
Ginger’s Bistro will focus on traditional American fare, such as steaks, burgers and sandwiches, with some Cajun dishes. Brunch will be offered Saturdays and Sundays. A full service bar is included, too.
4250 TPC Pkwy., Suite 106
Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen
The Tex-Mex chain that began in the Houston area in the early 1990s is expanding to the San Antonio area. The Chamber Schertz Cibolo Selma will hold a 2 p.m. May 21 groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a $5.5 million, 9,900-square-foot restaurant in Schertz. The eatery will include a bar, and to-go and delivery areas.
While Gringo’s concentrates on classic Tex-Mex cuisine, it also offers such items as Southwest eggrolls, Southwest shrimp and avocado salad, even free soft serve ice cream. Construction is slated for completion this fall.
18390 I-35 N., Schertz
The Lighthouse Seafood
Fans of the family-owned Deco District restaurant were saddened over its closure in early April after 10 years of service. But a few weeks later, the owners posted on social media that they had a lease signed for a new space further up Fredericksburg Road.
No opening date has been announced for The Lighthouse’s new location, but according to social media posts, the eatery will be run by the same family, and offer the same popular food items as the old location.
3534 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 31
Chicken Salad Chick
Boerne is the next San Antonio-area franchise for the Alabama-based chain that focuses on freshly made, Southern-style chicken salads, and sandwiches such as pimento cheese. A grand opening celebration is set for May 20-23.
The first 100 guests to show up on opening day, starting at 9 a.m., will win free chicken salad for one year. The celebration will also include chances for diners to claim free swag.
34702 I-10 W., Suite 101, Boerne (830-428-9899)
Portillo’s
The Chamber Schertz Cibolo Selma will have a 9:30 a.m. May 26 ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration for Portillo’s first San Antonio-area restaurant.
Located in the Schertz Station master-planned development, Portillo’s has become a Chicagoland culinary institution since its inception in 1963. Portillo’s is most well known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, and Italian beef sandwiches.
18678 I-35 N., Schertz (830-202-2550)
Bettina’s Sailing Club
This summer, tropical-themed pop-up bar, which proved popular with Boerne-area residents and visitors in its debut, returns May 15. Bettina’s will offer an array of craft, island-inspired cocktails, such as the Drifting Daiquiri and the Last Castaway through July 19. Guests can also enjoy occasional cocktail assembly workshops, DJs and contests. The pop-up bar is presented by the owners of Assemble Cocktail Workshop and Bear Moon Bakery and Cafe.
Camp Bar and Feed, 421 S. Main St., Boerne
OTHER CULINARY NEWS
Visitors to Cuba 1918, a popular Southwest Side Cuban restaurant, will encounter a few changes, which the owners call a positive move for their eatery and a result of community engagement.
Lunch hours have been refined to 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and now include an all-you-can-eat Cuban-centric buffet. For $13.99, diners can enjoy roast pork, ajillo chicken, white rice with black beans, yuca con mojo, salads and more.
Weekend brunch hours are now 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Cuba 1918 still offers live jazz music Friday nights, as well But with the launch of Events at Cuba 1918 venture, there is a greater emphasis on booking a larger variety of activities at the eatery, including intimate concerts, full orchestras, music video shoots and private events, in addition to karaoke, open mic night, salsa socials, private brunches and other programming already happening on site.
Cuba 1918 is located at 2809 W. Southcross Blvd. Call 210-296-3617 for details.
The Break Room, a Live Oak-based bar, is expanding to San Antonio. The owners plan to open a bar, which will occupy the space currently housing the bar Whiskey Girls at 11855 Perrin Beitel Road.
No word yet on an opening date, but the northeast San Antonio version of The Break Room will offer pool tables, darts, events, karaoke nights, watch parties and other amenities and programming familiar to patrons of the Live Oak location.
Upscale American restaurant Old City Hall in New Braunfels is launching its new lunch service May 18. Available daily 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, lunch will include items such as a new French Dip sandwich, served with premium French Onion au jus and fries, pan-seared ahi tuna Salad, and a crispy chicken sandwich. Old City Hall is located at 200 N. Seguin Ave.
Soluna, Una Cocina Mexicana, will be taking over the structure that housed The Barn Door steakhouse and meat market, an iconic Alamo Heights-area restaurant that permanently ceased operations at the end of Mother’s Day, May 10, after 70-plus years of service. Local media reports indicate that Soluna will start serving meals at 8400 N. New Braunfels Ave. in 2028, but it is unclear whether Soluna will relocate its current location at 7959 Broadway St, to the former Barn Door site or open a second storefront.
St. Anthony Hotel restaurant Esencia is debuting a weekend brunch May 10, featuring a special Mother’s Day Brunch experience with a curated prix fixe menu inspired by recipes passed down from Chef Leo Davila’s mother, highlighting a blend of Chinese and Mexican cuisines.
Signature dishes will include barbacoa chilaquiles, masa sourdough avocado toast, and housemade buttermilk biscuits with chorizo cream gravy. The brunch at Esencia will be available on a regular basis 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays starting May 16.
Ping’s Sichuan Kitchen, which offers Chongqing-style cuisine on the far North Side, is marking its first anniversary with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. May 16 with the Stone Oak Ladies Business Association. The day’s festivities include a traditional Chinese lion dance performance, a prize drawing for a $100 gift card, and a surprise gift at every table.
Founded by Pingjuan Xia, a native of Chongqing, China, Ping’s Sichuan Kitchen features signature dishes such as Dong Po Pork, Ping’s Boiled Spicy Beef, and Sichuan Dry Spicy Chicken. The restaurant is located at 2339 E. Evans Road, Suite 103.
“This first year has been a dream realized,” said Xia said in a statement. “Sharing the food culture of my hometown with my neighbors in San Antonio has been incredibly rewarding. We are honored to celebrate this growth alongside San Antonio and the Stone Oak community that has welcomed us so warmly.”
Two San Antonio-area barbecue restaurants are taking part in a monthlong fundraiser with New Orleans-based nonprofit Hogs for the Cause, which supports families with children fighting cancer by engaging communities through barbecue culture.
According to a press release, the nonprofit invites Texans to eat at participating barbecue eateries statewide as part of its Trail of Barbecue initiative, by fundraising through a backyard barbecue, or by donating directly to the nonprofit.
Participating restaurants include Reese Bros Barbecue in San Antonio, and Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin. Restaurants can join the Trail of Barbecue initiative, and community members can donate directly, by visiting hogsforthecause.org/donate.
Since 2009, Hogs for the Cause has provided more than $18 million nationwide, including more than $3 million in direct grants to more than 2,300 families.
