Smoke BBQ + Skybar owner Adrian Martinez has filed for bankruptcy after several investors, landlords and even tax collectors filed suit over alleged missing payments. The future of the two surviving locations, on East Houston Street and at La Villita, remains unclear.
Zachary-Taylor Wright/MySA
A popular Eastside barbecue and watering hole, known by many names, with Smoke Skybar or Smoke BBQ the best known, has undergone a turbulent few years. Several attempts to open new locations slowed to a crawl. A bankruptcy filing detailed mounting debts, and the owner and his many businesses are now facing lawsuits on several fronts.
Early in 2026, Adrian Martinez, owner of Smoke Skybar and its many iterations, filed for bankruptcy. This initial filing was limited to a series of otherwise vacant lots behind the mainstay business on East Houston Street, which was shut down after the property owner claimed Martinez had failed to pay rent for months and had not vacated the property, according to court documents.
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Although this bankruptcy was not expected to affect the main business, it seems to have prompted a series of lawsuits by investors and property owners. An investor, claiming to have funded Smoke Skybar’s expansion to its swanky location and its failed Northside growth, is accusing Martinez of fraud, saying he “looted” money from the investor by transferring cash to companies described in the lawsuit as shell LLCs.
“Martinez looted Smoke 78202 of its assets by transferring the assets of Smoke 78202 and the monies borrowed from the Trust to other ‘Smoke’ entities he created,” the lawsuit currently filed in Martinez’s bankruptcy case states. “In the process of doing so, Martinez breached his fiduciary duties including the duty to care and loyalty to Plaintiffs of Smoke 78202.”
Adrian Martinez was first sued by the property owners near Smoke BBQ + Skybar at East Houston Street. Martinez was leasing the space before allegedly falling behind on rent, at which point notices to vacate were issued.
Zachary-Taylor Wright/MySA
In a nutshell, investors say they contributed $4.5 million in December 2021 to fund Martinez’s efforts to relocate from his original Crockett Street location and convert an old tire shop at 1100 E. Houston St. into the two-story, modern Smoke Skybar building it is today. That money was also allegedly intended to fund a new location on the Northside.
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However, investors say Martinez began forming a handful of new businesses without notifying them, claiming he used their money without listing them as members. They say these new companies used their money without repaying the note.
“Adrian Martinez concealed the existence of these corporate entities from the Trust while representing to the Trust that all of the new ‘Smoke’ locations were part of Smoke 78202,” the lawsuit reads. “This allowed Adrian Martinez to steal the Trust’s money to fund these locations without arousing suspicion.”
In the latest development, Martinez is asking that these claims be moved out of bankruptcy court and brought before a federal civil judge, seeking a jury trial. The request was made last month, but a decision has not yet been filed.
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The investors say the loan is still valued at more than $730,000, even after the land was turned over to the trust, but they are seeking more than $1 million in relief.
Smoke BBQ entities face several lawsuits
Martinez was also sued by Hunter Road Centerpoint in April. The leasing agency says it’s been damaged by Martinez’s business, which was shut down at Parliament Square, off Blanco Road and West Avenue. The company says the locks were changed and Martinez was given notice to vacate after the property owner alleged that the business served underage patrons, violated other lease terms and failed to pay rent.
Hunter Road Centerpoint says this is an issue because a new tenant reportedly can’t serve liquor for a year after Martinez’s alcohol license was pulled, limiting their ability to find a new tenant.
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Adrian Martinez was first sued by the owners of the property around the East Houston Street location of Smoke BBQ + Skybar. Martinez was leasing the space before allegedly falling behind on rent until notices to vacate were issued.
Zachary-Taylor Wright/MySA
The owner of Smoke BBQ and its many iterations is also being sued by East Houston Partnership – a limited business created by the prominent Vale family in San Antonio in the early aughts, which owns the land surrounding the Houston Street location. The two entities inked deals with Martinez, who shelled out between $6,700 and $12,900 a month over a couple of years as he expanded his footprint.
However, sometime before September 2024, the limited business says Martinez stopped paying. In fact, according to the court documents, they say he continued to occupy the space without payment even after the lease agreement expired on June 30 of that year.
Court records show the company began issuing lockout notices and notices to vacate before Martinez finally left the properties on September 15, 2024 — the same day Martinez issued a public statement saying Smoke BBQ was shuttering the back event space to create a “better, safer Smoke Skybar” after a local coach was shot and killed in the back space during a drive-by.
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Another civil suit from an investor who put up the cash for the Houston Street property, LBJR Investments, is seeking more than $600,000 from Martinez and his companies for the building itself. The lawsuit claims Martinez also fell behind on his loan. Martinez’s bankruptcy filing shows he also owes another $883,000 to a person named Jacob Solis.
Shortly after this latest lawsuit, filed in Bexar County on November 17, Smoke BBQ filed for bankruptcy, saying it can’t afford to settle these debts. In a plan submitted to the judge, Martinez hired an auctioneer for nearly $6,000 to sell a Nissan van to begin debt repayment.
With several lawsuits involving Adrian Martinez and his businesses, the company’s future remains a question mark. MySA reached out to Martinez directly for comment, but he said he would respond later. The company continues to promote events and specials on its Instagram for its East Houston Street location.