By Edmond Ortiz
This edition of Business Moves spotlights the recent completion of two major projects along the East Houston Street corridor on the city’s East Side, and the inauguration of the first president/CEO of an emerging West Side organization that seeks to advance local business growth and cultural preservation.
Elsewhere, a new indoor marketplace is up and running near Castle Hills, and a former South Side school is now home to an organization dedicated to helping area residents gain wider access to health care and other vital community resources.
NOW OPEN
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo East Arena
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo officials held a Sept. 16 ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil their East Arena.
The stock show and rodeo organization spent $400,000 to renovate a 4,000-square-foot space across from the Frost Bank Center/Freeman Coliseum complex to include a showbarn, kitchenette, office space, arena activity space, and a minor loft.
Leaders from the East Side, Bexar County, city of San Antonio and other key organizations gathered for the ribbon-cutting, which stock show and rodeo representatives called an opportunity to grow their mission to advance agricultural, educational, leadership and community programming, according to a press release.
“It is a place the organization hopes will open doors for East Side youth and families, providing opportunities to experience agriculture, develop leadership skills, connect with educational programs and discover traditions and experiences they may not otherwise encounter,” stock show and rodeo officials said in a statement.
706 Frost Bank Center Drive
Main Phase
Having opened Sept. 14, Main Phase is a trading card gaming shop that specializes in all things Magic: The Gathering. Main Phase offers a variety of game supplies, and events for players and collectors.
6417 Bandera Road, Leon Valley
Pottery Barn Kids
The San Francisco-based chain of upscale home furnishing stores was set to have a Sept. 26 grand opening for a new Alamo Heights-area location that focuses on children’ s furniture, accessories, room decor, toys, and seasonal costumes and attire. The new Pottery Barn Kids is the first one in San Antonio, at the Lincoln Heights retail center, and third location in Texas.
999 E. Basse Road, Suite 162. Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun. (210-750-8935)
The Collective Boutiques
The chain of indoor marketplaces of independent shop owners has opened a north San Antonio location at the former venue for Painted Tree Boutiques, which abruptly shuttered all of its sites nationwide earlier this year. Many merchants who sold merchandise at Painted Tree Boutiques had to quickly pivot and either relocated, shut down or were left in limbo. Several ex-tenants of the former San Antonio Painted Tree Boutiques, such as PAWsitively Sweet Pet Bakery, are now operational at The Collective Boutiques San Antonio, which opened in mid-September.
522 NW Loop 410, Suite 211
Michaels
The fabrics and crafts supplies chain opened a 25,000-square-foot store at the Bandera Pointe shopping center in a spot previously occupied by a Joann Fabrics store. The new Northwest Side Michaels features an experiential, next-generation store format designed to be more engaging for customers, including project- and celebration-themed displays, expanded services, customization stations, flexible classroom areas, and enhanced spaces for parties and events.
11655 Bandera Road. Open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun. (210-293-2339)
CHEST (Center for Health Empowerment in South Texas)
CHEST formally opened a new headquarters Aug. 29 at a former South San Antonio Independent School District campus. The new CHEST location contains space for local nonprofit organizations that help community members to address various health disparities and barriers, including access to food, clothing, health care, education, behavioral health services and benefits.
419 Lovett St.
Gunter Hotel Vibe Lounge
The historic downtown hotel recently opened its Vibe Lounge, a space designed for small private gatherings, celebrations and corporate meetings. Amenities include a large-screen projector with presentation and viewing capabilities, a karaoke entertainment system, lounge seating with a cocktail-style atmosphere, Wi-Fi access, food and beverage service available
205 E. Houston St.
COMING UP
Mouratoglou Tennis Center
The world renowned chain of tennis performance centers recently started a $450,000 renovation project at a 100,000-square-foot space in a Northeast Side warehouse/industrial park. Set for completion this holiday season, the project will result in a San Antonio MTC location offering 30 tennis, padel and pickleball courts alongside a fitness area, bar, racket sports lessons, junior programs, camps, and community and private events.
6422 E. Campus Drive
Thrift at the Warehouse
A popular warehouse featuring vintage and thrifted clothes, home goods, and accessories is opening a Northwest Side location Oct. 8. Thrift at the Warehouse has stores near North Star Mall and near Pearl, as well as in Austin.
9703 Bandera Road
Real Life Compassion Center
A Sept. 17 ground-breaking ceremony was held for Real Life Community Outreach’s Compassion Center in Selma. Originally established by River City Community Church, Real Life Community Outreach will use the Compassion Center as a central hub for the nonprofit’s food pantry program and vocational training institute.
16765 Lookout Road, Selma
Marshall’s
The department store chain is opening its seventh San Antonio-area store Oct. 8 in Windcrest.
8680 Fourwinds Drive, Windcrest (726-259-1258)
Arc Thrift Store
National retailer Arc Thrift Stores, which works to enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, is opening its first Texas storefront at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 8 near Leon Valley. There will be a preview event 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 5-7 featuring discounts and shopping specials. The San Antonio location features 19,000 square feet of floor space, and will employ approximately 55 individuals, including 10 employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Arc stores regularly offer half-off deals Saturdays, and half-off discounts for seniors on Tuesdays.
5775 Stemmons Drive
EXPANSION
Coca-Cola
Local leaders gathered Sept. 25 to help mark the completion of a $42 million expansion project at the Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages’ facility in east San Antonio.
One of the nation’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers, AC-CCSB increased warehouse operations by 170,000 square feet, and installed a second production line to raise production capacity, according to a press release.
Company officials said the East Side facility expansion will bolster AC-CCSB’s production and warehouse capabilities, and help the organization to meet rising consumer demand across the Central Texas region. Coca-Cola has been operating in San Antonio for nearly 60 years, and employs nearly 900 people locally.
“Geographically, our San Antonio facility plays such an important role in our territory. It is the right time to invest in this expansion project as our business continues to grow year after year,” Susanne Brady-Lusk, AC-CCSB president, said in a statement.
1 Coca-Cola Place
CLOSING UP
Alien Worlds
The comic book store’s Westlakes location is having a storewide sale ahead of it permanently shuttering at the end of September. Alien Worlds on San Pedro Avenue remains open.
1255 SW Loop 410, Suite 149
OTHER BUSINESS NEWS
Local political, business and civic leaders, especially those focused on traditional west San Antonio, gathered Sept. 22 at the Guadalupe Latino Bookstore to celebrate the inauguration of the first president and CEO of emerging local nonprofit ESTAR West (Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Thriving Alongside Residents of the West Side).
Ana Sandoval, a former City Council member, is taking the reins of leadership at ESTAR West, which was established earlier this decade with support of the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program to help West Side entrepreneurs and small business owners through a collaborative network of resources, partnerships, and community-based initiatives.
ESTAR West officials and their allies say they are partnering to help enhance the quality of life for West Side residents across five interconnected areas: economic opportunity, housing and placemaking, education and workforce, health and well-being, and social and community engagement.
Cowboys Far West Ltd., operator of Cowboys Dancehall near Windcrest, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 9.
But officials with the large honky-tonk at 3030 NE Loop 410 said in a Sept. 10 social media post that Cowboys will remain open, and that neither its show schedule nor operations are affected by the company’s legal move.
Cowboys Dancehall representatives also blamed the nightclub’s proximity to the ongoing Interstate 35 expansion project as the main reason for their struggles to maintain visibility with patrons, and to keep pace with rent.
