In a pinch

Save your holiday feast with these 5 San Antonio grocery stores open on Christmas Day

If you ran out of wine on Christmas Eve, don't worry. Larder has a good selection for the next day.

Larder/ Facebook

If you are missing an ingredient for the holiday feast, you might be in a bit of a jam on Christmas morning. Though Walgreens (open regular hours) and CVS (open truncated hours) will be available, old standbys like H-E-B, Whole Foods Market, Walmart, and Target will be closed. Luckily, a few awesome, locally-owned shops in San Antonio will be open to save the day.

Ali Baba International Food Market
A San Antonio mainstay since 1999, Ali Baba offers an array of Middle Eastern food, as well as prepared dishes, produce, and bakery items from the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. The massive market also has a wide variety of spices, so while you’re picking up some extra eggs, try some garam masala, too. Seriously, it’s great on turkey.
Open: 10 am-10 pm
9307 Wurzbach Rd. — (210) 691-1111

Himalayan Bazar
For a meat free shopping spree, head to the great produce and frozen food selection at Himalayan Bazar where you will find everything from taro root to samosas. Bonus: If you are a last-minute shopper, Himalayan Bazar also has jewelry and knickknacks to stuff those stockings.
Open: 10 am-10 pm
8466 Fredericksburg Rd. — (210) 614-8600

Larder
Though Larder isn’t a grocery store in the traditional sense, you will find gourmet foodstuffs and prepared dishes to keep you satisfied when cooking a big meal isn’t really your thing. Plus, because it’s attached to Hotel Emma, Larder is just around the corner from Sternewirth, the hotel’s bar. We aren’t suggesting you drink dinner, but we’re also not not suggesting it.
Open: 6 am -6 pm
136 E. Grayson St. — (210) 448-8355

Sasha’s European Market
Okay, at press time the owners of Sasha’s hadn’t yet decided exactly if and when they would be open on Christmas, but the Eastern European chocolate and candy selection makes it worth a shot. If you’re in the area, drive by and see if you can get some pierogis to add to your Christmas meal.
Hours TBD
8023 Callaghan Rd. — (210) 348-7788

Shahi IndoPak Groceries
Shahi is a fairly small store with limited produce, but the low prices, friendly staff, and freshly baked bread will have you coming back long after the holidays are over. Check out the spice section if you want to put a spin on the traditional meal.
Open: 10 am - 10 pm
20323 Huebner Rd. — (210) 481-2225

holidays shopping

hottest headlines of 2024

10 most popular stories that capture city life in San Antonio in 2024

Getty Images

Readers were mostly drawn to data about schools and finance, but tree health took precedent.

Editor's note: At the end of 2024, we're looking back at the stories that shaped San Antonio this year. In the case of CultureMap's City Life section, it was actually the other way around: San Antonians were most interested in gathering data and understanding where the city stands against others nationally. This year, we looked into education, income, and retirement. Yet taking care of trees outshined it all. Here are San Antonio's top 10 city stories of 2024.

1. Texas tree group issues dire warning to San Antonio owners of oak trees. A nonprofit dedicated to trees issued a warning to Texas citizens who own oak trees: Put down the pruning shears to avoid oak wilt.

2. Stellar San Antonio high school ranks among America's best in 2024, says U.S. News. The 2024 rankings put BASIS San Antonio - Shavano Campus at No. 64 nationally. The school also ranked No. 13 nationally among the best charter schools and No. 76 among the best STEM high schools.

3. 3 San Antonio-area companies hailed best places to work by U.S. News. Frost Bank, iHeartMedia, and the New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises, Inc. made the list, which considered work-life balance, quality of pay, stability, and more.

4. 2 San Antonio neighbors relax among best places to retire in the Hill Country. New Braunfels and Boerne hung up their hats with other small towns with relatively low costs of living, low crime rates, and a variety of attractions.

5. San Antonio university ranks No. 18 among best small colleges in U.S. Trinity University has made the high honor roll. The esteemed San Antonio university ranks among America's top 20 small colleges and liberal arts colleges for 2025 by Niche.

6. 2 San Antonio billionaires land on Forbes' new list of richest Americans. Charles Butt and Eleanor Butt Crook, the chairman and a member of the board of directors of H-E-B, respectively, had estimated net worths of $8.9 billion and $3.7 billion.

7. San Antonio is the No. 4 most educated city in the country, says Forbes. In San Antonio, the bachelor’s completion rate for people 25 and up was 67.30 percent, and 29.56 percent of people in that age group have advanced degrees.

8. San Antonio university ranks No. 3 among best Texas colleges for 2025. Trinity University does it again. The private university performed the best in the category for best admission rates, ranking No. 2 with a 28 percent acceptance rate, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Trinity University aerial shot Trinity University made two appearances in this top 10 list.Trinity University/Facebook

9. This is how much it costs to raise a child in San Antonio. Raising a child certainly isn't cheap. In San Antonio and New Braunfels, annual costs of raising just one child can add up to more than $21,000 every year — and that wasn't even that high compared to the rest of the list.

10. Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in San Antonio in 2024.According to the 2024 edition of SmartAsset's annual report, middle class households in San Antonio would need to make between $39,215 and $117,658.