Midnight Swim, a popular St. Mary’s Strip bar, is set to close early next year.
The bar will close on Jan. 3, co-founder John Michael Villanueva said in a recent video recorded under blue lights in the empty nightclub.
After seven years of mixing late-night sets and cocktails at the indoor-outdoor dance spot on St. Mary’s Street, Villanueva said in the video posted on Instagram: “We’re ready to do something different here.”
The bar isn’t slowing down in its final months. Its ultimate Halloween season will be “crazy,” Villanueva said.
The bar’s Instagram features videos of packed dancefloors and specialty drinks alongside posts advertising $4 drink deals and themed events, including laid-back cocktail nights and weekly Latin parties.
Villanueva, a local DJ, co-founded the bar in 2019 with Sophie Covo-Gonzales, who helps lead Empty Stomach Group, the collective that operates 18 San Antonio bars and restaurants, including Strip favorites Little Death, Paper Tiger and Wav Room.
“This is the farewell tour, the grand finale,” Villanueva said in the video. “But this is your invitation. If you’ve never been here before and you’ve wanted to check it out, come check it out.”
While he didn’t provide details, he hinted that something new is coming to the venue, writing that he’s “excited for y’all to see what we do next at 2403 North St. Mary’s.”
Midnight Swim’s regulars and former revelers flooded the comment section on the post announcing the bar’s impending closure.
“Midnight swim 2019 era was biblical,” dingojohnson wrote.
Another person commented that he used to live in Colorado and would plan flights back to San Antonio to make it to Latin night.
Others said they were gearing up to enjoy the bar’s last few months, or trying to.
“I was banned, can I come back?” wrote amota11.
Midnight Swim is open from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday-Friday and 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.