![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina_StoneOakDining_04_01.05.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Katerina is moving into the former Frida Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Stone Oak. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nA mysterious slice of prime real estate sits near the corner of Stone Oak Parkway and Loop 1604. For the past 16 years, almost 10,000 square feet of commercial space has buried the culinary aspirations of tenant after tenant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Frida Mexican Restaurant & Bar, the most recent occupant, shuttered after four years in Stone Oak Plaza. CoCo Bongo, its predecessor, lasted a year. Before that, Buckles & Buns, Drew\u2019s American Grill and Watermark Grill folded after short runs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most successful tenant, Reggiano\u2019s, closed in 2009 after a memorable 10-year adventure in upscale 78258.<\/p>\n
On top of this graveyard of restaurants comes Katerina, a modern American concept with bold ambition: to thrive where many have failed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have expanded the dining space by 30%,\u201d said Katerina co-owner Dick Jones, who plans a soft opening in late January. \u201cWe\u2019ve brought in top notch chefs, a high-end management team and have completely redesigned the interior.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones holds warm memories of Reggiano\u2019s, the former Italian nightspot turned singles bar. He dined on the patio and imbibed at the bar. He also remembers the concepts that followed: American. Tex-Mex. Sports bar. Seafood. Mexican.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I walked in there after Reggiano\u2019s closed, I still saw Reggiano\u2019s,\u201d Jones said. \u201cNobody changed the finish out. They just moved new furniture in and never created the atmosphere that Reggiano\u2019s had.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes his design and leadership team will stir nostalgic echoes and create new vibes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are driven to bring back the atmosphere that existed with Reggiano\u2019s,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI am part of the community that loved Reggiano\u2019s and I want to recapture the energy of that iconic location.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katerina is moving into the former Frida Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Stone Oak. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
The mission begins at the grill. Chef Greg Carter has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens with Joel Robuchon<\/a>, Bobby Flay<\/a>, Thomas Keller<\/a> and Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s<\/a>. Justin Manzi is a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef in New York with experience at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Morton\u2019s Steakhouse and Pig & Prince Modern Gastro Pub.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of chefs we have is outstanding,\u201d Jones said. \u201cTheir background and abilities are just spectacular. I know because I\u2019ve gained five pounds since I met them.\u201d<\/p>\n A scratch kitchen will feature woodfire steaks and rustic style pizza.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re making our own breads, butchering our own meats, making our own pasta,\u201d Carter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The menu includes a range of starters, from wood-roasted Wagyu meatballs to chili crunch calamari, and entrees, such as coriander crusted duck breast, a double cut pork chop and parisienne gnocchi.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Jones and co-owner Katerina Akimova, for whom the restaurant is named, bring virtually zero experience to the venture. That does not concern them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an investor,\u201d said Jones, a former accountant with Ernst & Young. \u201cKaterina and I believe the best way to run a business is to get really good people, empower them and get out of their way.\u201d<\/p>\n In short, the owners will delegate. Director of operations Michael Conway, general manager Geoffrey Smith and assistant general manager Emily Dragija will lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conway previously worked at Wildfish, Eilan Hotel & Spa<\/a> and J-Prime Steakhouse<\/a>. Smith spent more than a decade at Cover 3<\/a>.\u00a0Dragija worked at since-closed Trudy\u2019s Texas Star in Austin and Cover 3.<\/p>\n Reinventing a once-treasured space excites Smith. The design team has removed a wall, expanded seating and added an outdoor patio bar. Management believes accomplished culinarians will keep the place buzzing.<\/p>\n \u201cChefs Greg and Justin have a passion for the industry,\u201d Smith said, \u201cand what is possible for a restaurant that has the food, the service, the ambience \u2014 all the ingredients to be great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jones and his team are building a new experience in Stone Oak, a place where they say \u201cculinary creativity meets approachable elegance.\u201d<\/p>\n Katerina may be an elevated echo of Reggiano\u2019s. Or possibly, Jones hopes, something even better. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mysterious slice of prime real estate sits near the corner of Stone Oak Parkway and Loop 1604.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[50749,25108,50750,50751,50752,50753,25114,50754,50755,82,84,83,50756],"class_list":["post-115433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-bobby-flay","tag-culinary-institute-of-america","tag-eilan-hotel","tag-frida-mexican-restaurant","tag-j-prime-steakhouse","tag-joel-robuchon","tag-jose-andres","tag-katerina","tag-reggianos","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-thomas-keller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Braised-Beef-Short-Rib.jpg\")
The braised beef short rib at Katerina is served with parsnip pur\u00e9e, fingerling potatoes, heirloom carrots, demi-glace and crispy onions. Credit: Courtesy \/ Katerina<\/p>\n