The daily grind

New coffee shop fills healthy niche in San Antonio's Broadway corridor

Berry to Bean is serious about its roasts.

The Broadway corridor might have become the most alert district in San Antonio on May 18. That’s the date the new Berry to Bean Coffee House joined a thriving caffeine scene, including favorites like Rosella, CommonWealth Coffeehouse and Bakery, and Mila Coffee.

Located across from the Witte Museum at 3900 Broadway St., the new cafe hopes to differentiate itself with a focus on health. In addition to buzzier espresso drinks, Berry to Bean offers a variety of noncaffeinated drinks like freshly prepared smoothies and cold-pressed juices.

In addition to traditionally made artisan pastries, the shop also serves many sugar-free options. Thanks to a partnership with popular vegan bakery Cake Thieves, that includes plenty of plant-based options like muffins and doughnuts.

“I want to give customers a better product that is healthy and delicious, while providing a casual and inviting place to start conversations and build relationships,” said owner Kam Mehta in a release.

The latter is provided by a warm and welcoming shop featuring comfortable industrial-style furniture and a large chalkboard wall showcasing illustrations of the coffee roasting process and growing regions. Pendant lighting with Edison bulbs gives the space a warm glow at night.

Mehta is not just concerned with the health of his guests, but also the health of his community. After Berry to Bean settles into a groove, he plans to make partnering with nonprofits a part of his business model.

That may prove to be a big boon for Alamo City. The Broadway location is the first of several Mehta has planned for the metropolitan area.

coffee openings

Shining New Cocktails

Home of Shiner Bock breaks ground on cocktail lounge and restaurant

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant

Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

The new cocktail lounge and restaurant will add lots of space for trying the new distillery's products.

Although Spoetzl Brewery is best known for its regionally iconic beer Shiner Bock, its new distillery has opened up a whole new world of drinking possibilities. One of those is a new cocktail lounge and restaurant on the Spoetzl Brewery property, which will soon be drawing folks from both sides of the beer and spirits aisle. Construction started September 6 with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Shiner Bock is named for the town of Shiner, located roughly between San Antonio and Houston, and with a population of only 2,173 as of 2022. The brew is locally known for its accessibility and nostalgia factor, although plenty of people simply enjoy it for its earthy, lightly hoppy flavor.

Now on the independent Spoetzl spirits roster are a vodka, a gin, and a grain mash blend. As of September 2024, visitors can tour the distillery and speakeasy for 45 minutes which includes a flight of Shiner craft spirits — but the new build stands out proudly from the current offerings and expands the property's capacity for cocktail lovers.

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant Renderings also calls this building a tasting room.Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

This new space will be on the brewery's premises, and despite a different approach (call it a different spirit), it still looks like what most Texans would expect from a brewery or distillery. The 8,500-square-foot project includes a large, black barn in a very contemporary style, which flips the script from the brewery's white, Mission Revival style and industrial architecture.

Spanning the cocktail lounge, a restaurant with a full kitchen, a private event space, and a covered patio, it'll provide seating for more than 200 visitors, and standing room for more than 300. Like the rest of the property, it'll be available to tours and tastings, but it also has some cozy elements to inspire longer stays, like an indoor fireplace and outdoor fire pits.

A retail shop sets guests up with bottles to bring home, and an exclusive VIP area shows off barrel picks. (Those are bottles that come from a specific barrel, which may have flavor variations compared to other barrels or the regular product).

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant Hey, look! Parking!Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

Although somewhat more tangential to this announcement than news of the distillery's opening, that project in 2023 also included the addition of a new barbecue spot that's only open around lunchtime. Details about the forthcoming full-scale restaurant don't include what kind of food the restaurant would serve; but the existing dining already has brisket, pulled pork, sausage, chicken, pork ribs, and sides covered.

Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

The new cocktail lounge and restaurant will add lots of space for trying the new distillery's products.

The team has not shared information yet on when the project is expected to be completed, but the groundbreaking did happen as scheduled — so things seem to be on track so far.

More information about Spoetzl Brewery and Distillery is available at shiner.com.

shiner beer openings cocktails