The family behind a Michelin-recommended Texas barbecue chain is turning up the heat for its new San Antonio development.
Black Family Hospitality, which owns Austin-based Terry Black’s Barbecue, is building an underground bathhouse and spa, in addition to a new hotel and barbecue joint at 2101 Broadway near Pearl.
The 9,800-square-foot bathhouse will feature hot spas, cold spas, cold plunges, a large linear spa and a salt float, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It also will include a steam room, cold mist room, massage rooms and a locker room with additional spa amenities. The $8.4 million construction project is expected to be completed by June 2028.
“We’ve been traveling all over, and we’ve come to really enjoy the bathhouse experience in Europe and Iceland,” said Mark Black, who runs the business with his siblings, Christina and Michael. “This will be a kind of self-guided spa experience that’s more approachable.”
In September 2024, the Historic and Design Review Commission approved the family’s plans for a restaurant, dining courtyard and pit house in front of the Alamo Colleges District’s headquarters. They also are developing a hotel with two new restaurants unrelated to Terry Black’s. The family bought the 1.4-acre property, which is mostly vacant, through a limited liability company in 2021.
After finding success in the restaurant industry, the family wants to lean into more hospitality projects. Terry Black’s also has restaurants in Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco, and upcoming barbecue joints in New Braunfels and Houston.
The Roman-inspired bathhouse will be situated 20 feet below the hotel and will be accessible to both hotel guests and the general public. On the South Side of San Antonio, Camp Hot Wells also offers a bath spa, along with a bar, that opened in 2023.
“We want to do hospitality projects and projects as a whole for places where we want to visit and enjoy,” Black said. “We hope that we can be the ‘living room’ of the neighborhood, where the community can gather.”
In the family’s hometown of Lockhart, they are working on a blend of a classic bowling alley, a sushi and cocktail bar and a taco spot.
“It’s all been in the works for years, so we’ve been accumulating property and building out the team to expand our hospitality portfolio, and it seems like everything is coming together now,” Black said.