There was a time when Demar Burton couldn’t envision himself living downtown, but nine months ago, the San Antonio native decided to move to the city’s core. There was more to do, he said, and these days it feels safer for his family.
When he left San Antonio’s North Side, though, he left behind one of his favorite bars — Stout House in Stone Oak. But fortunately the bar chain followed him.
On March 13, Stout House Grayson opened ahead of a busy St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Beyond the convenience of a bar within walking distance, Burton said, the new Stout House adds something else to the local mix: affordability.
Grayson Street is located near the San Antonio River and Pearl. The renowned restaurants nearby are nice, Burton said, but so is an accessible establishment with cheaper food and drinks.
The economic activity from the redevelopment of the Pearl Brewery over the last two decades is rippling outward and bringing new businesses to the neighborhood.
Stout House owner Doug Ackerly said the new location is meant to be a neighborhood sports bar. “Our vibe has always been catering to the service industry and neighborhoods.”
The new, two-story bar at the intersection of Elmira and Grayson streets sprawls over the corner of the block. The first floor is taken up by an indoor bar, an astroturf lawn and a shipping container converted into a seating area. Concrete and metal stairs climb to an overhead catwalk, upstairs patio and another bar inside that can be rented out for private events.
Stout House’s new location in Tobin Hill has a second floor with a view of Grayson and Elmira streets and the area surrounding the Pearl district. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
The bar seats nearly 200 between its indoor and outdoor areas and will employ a staff of 25 to 30. It’s dog-friendly and kid-friendly until 9 p.m.
Ackerly said the outdoor space is new for the Stout House brand. He also sublets space to Milk Pizza and Lone Star Burger Co., so customers can order food, another first for Stout House. Lone Star Burger is open while Milk Pizza is expected to open mid-April.
“It’s very different than my other Stout Houses,” Ackerly said. “It’s kind of a mix between Stout House and Little Woodrow’s.”
Business is good, more is coming
Mike Joergensen works at Silver Ventures and helps oversee food and beverage operations at Pearl. More options for customers coming to the area helps, even if they’re not all in Pearl’s footprint, he said.
“People will come to the neighborhood in general and they’ll wander,” Joergensen said. “What we hope, most of all, is that people are coming to this area because there are lots of choices.”
Connections to Tobin Hill and the neighborhoods around Pearl enhance Silver Ventures’ vision for a walkable neighborhood, he added. “We’ve never wanted Pearl to have a fence.”
Stout House’s new location in Tobin Hill has a second floor with a view of Grayson and Elmira streets and the beer garden area. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Pearl attracts plenty of customers as it is. Joergensen said 2025 was a record year for visitors due to successful night and weekend markets and more attendees at Pullman Market and Stable Hall.
Pearl faced four closures at the end of last year, including Carriqui in October 2025. Joergensen said those closures did not indicate larger issues with business in the area.
Four other restaurants opened up last year and seven new restaurant concepts are set to open in 2026, including a Oaxacan seafood restaurant called (a)mar in May near Broadway and LoverBoy House Eats, an all-day brunch concept west of the River Walk.
Liquor, wine and beer sales are strong in the area, Ackerly said.
Pearl sits in the 78215 ZIP code, which was second in the city in alcohol sales during December, according to the Tracking Alcoholic Beverage Sales Report.
Ackerly had been looking for opportunities around Pearl, he said, but the 50-year ground lease he scored on Grayson Street gave him the flexibility and security to make $1.5 million in renovations.
“Everything I know is growing in this area,” Ackerly said. “The growth around here is crazy. Getting in with this kind of deal was too good to pass up.”
The now shuttered Go Fish Wine & Oyster Bar building sits empty along Grayson street, nearby the newly opened Stout House, Lone Star Burger Co. and coming Milk Pizza in the Tobin Hill area just outside of the Pearl district on March 18, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
He’s not the only one. Chris Hill is one of the owners of a restaurant space on the same block as Stout House Grayson. Go Fish Wine & Oyster Bar inhabited the space, but closed late in 2024. Hill is optimistic about the neighborhood and wants to find a tenant for the space.
“It’s the rapid expansion of apartment units and living space,” Hill said. “Pearl continues to develop, there’s another hotel coming. The greater Pearl area is attractive, especially for something that’s a block from the river.”
A new hotel, Perlen House, is being built west of the River Walk. Joergensen said more construction could take place to the east on the Broadway corridor and west of the San Antonio River. It’s hard to know how quickly growth will occur, but it is coming.
“I don’t think it’s going to extend blocks and blocks and blocks, but there’s more development on the horizon,” he said. “It’s not going to go all the way to the St. Mary’s Strip.”
“You’ll continue to see more multifamily [housing] — more apartments, more condos. You’ll continue to see a big focus on pedestrians,” Joergensen added.
Small businesses see changes
Small business owners say there are pros and cons to the new development.
Viva La Glam owner and makeup artist Jennifer Canales, right, and lead hair stylist Valerie Salinas, left, prepare client Vanessa Van De Putte of San Antonio’s Dixie Flag Company for a photo shoot at Canales’ private studio on Grayson street in the Tobin Hill area just outside of the Pearl district on March 18, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Pearl’s Hotel Emma brings business to Viva la Glam, which is next door to Stout House and where Jessica Canales does makeup and hairstyling.
Ashley Jackson, one of the owners of Travis Wholesale Florist on Josephine Street, says she often gets large orders for flowers and decorations from restaurants at Pearl.
Customers browse floral bouquet products and ribbon stock at Travis Wholesale Florist located along Josephine Street on March 18, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Canales and Jackson both noted that parking is tighter with more businesses and customers around. And although Canales is excited about a bar opening next door, it also brings more noise to the neighborhood.
Property taxes are increasing, too, Jackson said. Travis Wholesale is still successful, though, and has a robust customer base from more than six decades in business.
She hopes there’s a balance between legacy businesses like hers and the new shops and establishments opening up in the future.
“The Pearl area is going to continue to grow. It’s reached the point of that momentum,” she said. “It’s growing and changing, but that’s the world we live in.”