{"id":400173,"date":"2026-08-07T11:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400173\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T11:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:40:28","slug":"san-antonio-has-new-rooftop-dining-coming-with-familiar-flavors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400173\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio has new rooftop dining coming with familiar flavors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owners of one of the city\u2019s oldest Tex-Mex restaurants and a newly planned Mexican restaurant won approval for some big plans in the works. Both will bring new rooftop options to the downtown dining scene.<\/p>\n

The Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) reviewed again on Wednesday two separate proposals for the restaurants \u2014 a completely new concept at La Villita and the other a staple on the San Antonio River Walk.<\/p>\n

Mexican fare coming to Maverick Plaza<\/p>\n

Nearly four years to the day since the city panel first advanced the proposed design plans<\/a> for new dining options in the La Villita historic district, a project that has since never broken ground was back on the HDRC\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

HDRC reviewed an architectural proposal for Maverick Plaza Mexican Restaurant, a venture led by Chef Johnny Hernandez of Grupo La Gloria<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The commission previously granted conceptual approval on Aug. 3, 2022, for project plans that included two food and beverage outlets meant to showcase San Antonio\u2019s culinary legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, in February, HDRC gave its final approval separately for the Maverick Plaza restaurant. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the panel approved a request to amend the plans and allow a 28-foot stair tower to the rooftop dining area. Documents state the tower will be clad with brick, matching the previously approved fa\u00e7ade materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working through a few details related to our rooftop dining portion of the restaurant,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cAll these elements are part of the process but I really want a beautiful rooftop dining experience for our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017 recognized San Antonio as a Creative City of Gastronomy<\/a>. Other recognized food hubs around the world include Tucson, Ariz., Chengdu in China and Parma in Italy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The planned restaurant follows major improvements made to La Villita and the surrounding area in recent years, potentially drawing more foot traffic to the arts village that suffered<\/a> during the COVID pandemic and road construction after.<\/p>\n

In August 2020, the HDRC approved upgrades to Maverick Plaza at La Villita, home to the Little Church<\/a> and shops and restaurants<\/a>, which brought a welcoming \u201cfront door\u201d look to the historic district next to the River Walk.<\/p>\n

Work began in 2021 and resulted in improved utilities, a new fountain, landscaping, pavers and lighting in an area where new hotels have opened in recent years<\/a> and a prolonged roadwork project<\/a> was completed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Hernandez\u2019s new restaurant is planned for the corner of East Nueva and South Alamo streets.<\/p>\n

Designs submitted by Fisher Heck Architects to the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) show a two-story building of precast stone, brick and stucco with a stairwell leading to a rooftop dining area.<\/p>\n

Grupo La Gloria operates about a dozen concepts, including La Gloria restaurants at the Pearl, Brooks and the San Antonio airport, and Alta Cocina in Southtown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Designs for a Spanish-themed Faville House restaurant proposed in 2022, and a separate German concept mentioned in the original plans, are not included in the recent submission to OHP.<\/p>\n

Another structure is planned next to the Mexican restaurant. But designs were not presented for that restaurant, which is expected to offer German fare.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn aerial photograph shows the current state of Maverick Plaza as event producers prepare for Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) in 2024. Credit: Scott Ball \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Something new coming at Casa Rio<\/p>\n

Also on Wednesday, the owners of Casa Rio, a longtime Tex-Mex favorite on the San Antonio River Walk<\/a>, secured approval to build an addition on the south side of the property.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new structure to be built on top of the 80-year-old Casa Rio is planned to have a street-level space, or balcony, and a rooftop level, and feature a small-bites menu inspired by restaurants in Mexico City and a fusion of the flavors at Casa Rio and Schilo\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Co-owner Elizabeth Lyons Houston said it will be known as The Night Heron, a name she said derives from a childhood memory of finding an orphaned heron on a restaurant balcony where she spent many days with her dad, and nursing it back to health.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the restaurant is very nature-forward, so I really want to kind of touch on species that are important to that ecosystem,\u201d Houston said.<\/p>\n

The project to be built at 430 E. Commerce St. was granted conceptual approval nearly a year ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At that time, city staff and the panel recommended that the proposed stucco feature a finish that matches the existing stucco finish on the site and that all\u00a0mechanical equipment be screened from view.<\/p>\n

Since then, the design team at Overland Partners has changed the proposed massing and facade arrangement in the plans, states the application.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stipulations placed on the approval include a requirement that all windows and window installations meet the standards for new construction and final plans be submitted to the Office of Historic Preservation for review and approval.<\/p>\n

The project requires that two rear additions be removed along with an existing awning, column and exterior finishes and other elements on the west and east fa\u00e7ade of the existing structure.<\/p>\n

The request to HDRC came from Houston and Los Leones, the hospitality and real estate group that owns and operates a portfolio of local institutions, including Schilo\u2019s and Broadway News.<\/p>\n

The restaurant Casa Rio occupies a historic structure built circa 1885. It is an individual designated landmark.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Known for its rainbow of umbrellas, \u201cregular plate\u201d and chili recipe, the family-owned eatery is the oldest continuously operating restaurant on the River Walk.<\/p>\n

The Night Heron is going to be one of the newer food and beverage options on its section of River Walk when it\u2019s completed, Houston said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was a big advocate for Project Marvel and all the revitalization that\u2019s going on downtown, and I\u2019m very passionate that stakeholders really need to do their part,\u201d she said. \u201cIt needs to be a collaborative effort, and I feel like it was our time to step up to the plate and contribute something that\u2019s contributing to the forward motion of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Owners of one of the city\u2019s oldest Tex-Mex restaurants and a newly planned Mexican restaurant won approval for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21153,140449,140450,76231,14616,14620,140451,82,84,83,20943,36384,92,3028],"class_list":["post-400173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-casa-rio","tag-city-of-gastronomy","tag-grupo-la-gloria","tag-historic-and-design-review-commission","tag-johnny-hernandez","tag-la-villita","tag-maverick-plaza","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-san-antonio-river-walk","tag-south-alamo-street","tag-top-story","tag-typedaily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400173","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=400173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}