By Edmond Ortiz
The Labor Day weekend edition of Light Bites highlights a new Mexican restaurant in the Deco District, new dining options in Helotes, Leon Valley and Windcrest, new coffee shops in Boerne, the South Side and far west Bexar County, and a French bistro on the near East Side.
Elsewhere, the South Side is welcoming a Mexican street taqueria, and a chain eatery specializing in sliders.
Also, a noted barbecue destination prepares to open a New Braunfels location, and a bookstore chain is opening the doors to a new shop on the North Side.
NOW OPEN
Con Amore Cocina y Cantina
The South Side Mexican restaurant is launching a second location at the former Deco Pizzeria property. Like with its Steves Avenue counterpart, the Deco District version of Con Amore will serve traditional Mexican favorites for breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails.
1815 Fredericksburg Road
Arz Lebanese Kitchen
The family-owned and operated Lebanese restaurant recently opened in the former Rome’s Pizza spot at the Hill Trail shopping center. Traditional Lebanese and Middle Eastern breakfast delicacies are available through lunchtime, including manakash, ka’ak, fukhar-style cooked eggs, falafel, ful and hummus, and other pastries. Baked goods are made in-house with a traditional half-dome stone oven.
12411 Bandera Road, Suite 108, Helotes. Open 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tue.-Sun.
Ray and Josephine
Renowned Chef Raphael Francois recently rolled out a French bistro at the VelocityTX mixed-use development just east of downtown. The eatery’s moniker is a tribute to Francois’ two grandmothers. The fast-casual venture features quiches and pastries for breakfast, and sandwiches and salads for lunch, as well as coffee and matcha drinks. Plans call for Ray and Josephine to offer dinner items, beer and wine.
1305 E. Houston St. Currently open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends
Tacos Chulos
Opening recently at City Base, Tacos Chulos offers Mexico City-style street tacos, other kinds of tacos, soups and appetizers.
7514 S. New Braunfels Ave., Suite 1131. Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-midnight Fri. and Sat., and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.
Piada Italian Street Food
The fast casual Italian cuisine chain opened its latest San Antonio-area location at the Huebner Oaks retail center, featuring hand-rolled Italian piadas, fresh chopped salads, and tossed pastas. The menu also has street-style sides, such as sweet corn salad, meatballs, lobster bisque, and calamari with hot peppers, and kids’ meals.
11745 I-10 W., Suite 501
Esta Pizza
Jonathan Godinez and Jennifer Isabel, owners of Esta Noche, a dance studio and dance event venue, opened Esta Pizza on Aug. 25 next door to Esta Noche. The pizzeria offers 10 kinds of handcrafted pizza, as well as desserts and salads.
7007 Bandera Road, Suite 11, Leon Valley. Open noon-midnight Sun.-Thu., and noon-3 a.m. Fri. and Sat. (210-943-8881)
Cattleguard Bakery and Coffee
Cattleguard opened in August on the Far West Side, offering a range of traditional and specialty coffee drinks, matcha, tea, and fresh baked sourdough bread, sandwiches and other pastries.
6235 Wt. Montgomery Road. Open 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii
The chain of cafes brews coffee using beans grown in the Hawaiian islands. The business name refers to the donkeys that growers use to ferry beans down steep island mountainsides. Bad Ass Coffee also offers brand-name teas, treats, drinkware and collectibles. The Boerne cafe is the first Bad Ass Coffee location in the San Antonio area, and the fifth in Texas.
34590 I-10 W., Boerne. Open 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
El Meson Boricua
Slated to fully open Sept. 6 at the Windsor Park Place shopping center, El Meson Boricua is offering Puerto Rican cuisine based on family recipes. The owners have also been operating a food truck version of El Meson Boricua.
4938 Windsor Hill, Windcrest (210-326-6848)
Teazzy Tea and Acai
This horror-themed tea spot opened a few months ago between Castle Hills and Shavano Park, offering craft tea drinks and fresh acai bowls.
14510 NW Military Hwy.
Golf Galaxy
The specialty golf retailer will have a grand opening weekend Sept. 11-13 for its first standalone San Antonio store location at The Vineyard retail center. Golf Galaxy offers an array of equipment, accessories, apparel, and training services.
1211 N. Loop 1604 W. Open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.
Taroko Sports
Taroko Sports, a California-based chain of sports and entertainment destinations, opened its first San Antonio location in August at the Park North retail center, 618 N.W. Loop 410, Suite 108. This is Taroko Sports’ fourth U.S. location and its largest venue in the nation – a 31,000-square-foot complex offering batting cages, pitching mounds, HitTrax golf swing suites, miniature bowling, arcade games, and more. There is also a full food menu with sandwiches, pizzas, wings, quesadillas and kids’ goodies. The venue also has private party suites available for special occasions, such as birthday parties, corporate outings, and team celebrations.
618 NW Loop 410
COMING UP
The Brew Bar
The owners of the Brew `94 coffee truck are preparing to open The Brew Bar, a brick-and-mortar cafe, on the South Side. No word yet on an opening date.
1840 S. General McMullen Drive, Suite 105
Terry Black’s Barbecue
The renowned barbecue restaurant chain continues to expand with the opening of a New Braunfels eatery Sept. 15. Terry Black’s just finished a $5 million overhaul of the former Los Cucos Mexican Restaurant, creating an 8,600-square-foot complex that includes a two-story dining structure and an attached barbecue pit house. Terry Black’s continues work on a San Antonio restaurant, which will include a restaurant, bath house and boutique hotel on along Broadway Street north of downtown.
1310 E. Common St., New Braunfels
Smalls Sliders
A restaurant chain centered around sliders, Smalls Sliders will open a South Side location Sept. 10 at City Base West. The menu includes waffle fries, loaded fries, milkshakes, and party trays and packs. Smalls Sliders currently has two other San Antonio eateries near Ingram Park Mall and near Alamo Ranch.
2314 SE Military Drive
Barnes and Noble
The noted bookstore chain will open its sixth San Antonio location at the Huebner Oaks shopping center. The 20,000-square-foot store will occupy a space previously taken up by Bed Bath and Beyond.
11745 I-10 W., Suite 750
NOW CLOSED
Recent closures include Stone Terrace Gastropub, a Stone Oak eatery that shuttered after two years of service, and The Dakota Ice House, whose owner Kent Oliver opted to shutter despite community fundraising efforts to save the popular, 8-year-old East Side bar and music venue
Punk-inspired Folklores Coffee House has closed its Beacon Hill neighborhood location at 106 Michigan Ave., a property that has accommodated various businesses in recent years.
Folklores’ original Government Hill location at 1943 N. New Braunfels Ave. is still operational, but co-owner Tatu Herrera and his team have been renovating the near-East Side space for expansion into a next-door area that once hosted In Bloom, a thrift/consignment store.
