Remember Alamo

Beloved San Antonio barbecue joint from star chef closes amid construction boom

Alamo BBQ Co. will shutter May 30.

One of San Antonio's most prolific restaurateurs is downsizing. After four years of serving his peach-glazed baby back ribs on Grayson Street, 2022 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Chef of the Year Jason Dady has decided to retire his family-friendly Alamo BBQ Co. concept. According to a social media post, the last day of service will be May 30.

The celebrated chef, proprietor of Jardín, Tre Trattoria, Two Bros. BBQ Market, and Range, was typically frank in explaining the move.

"This isn't a pandemic closure; it's simply a business decision," Dady stated in the post. "Our lease is up, and we were unable to come to an agreement that made sense for us to stay on Grayson Street with the current limitations that the construction in the area has challenged us with since 2005."

The growth spurt in the Pearl-area corridor has been a consistent factor in Dady's decision making. Alamo BBQ Co. debuted in May 2018 after he decided to tap out of The Bin Tapas Bar. At the time, Dady told CultureMap that it no longer made sense to serve low-cost bites and that barbecue would likely do better at the high-traffic site.

A year later, the busy chef announced another Grayson Street upheaval. Citing rapid development, Dady shuttered the long-running Shuck Shack in 2019. Although a 2020 relocation to an unnamed North Central San Antonio development was teased, it has yet to come to fruition.

In his farewell Alamo BBQ post, Dady acknowledged the seafood favorite, stating the restaurant group was "still on the prowl for a new location." And he had kind words for the still-booming neighborhood he is leaving behind.

"The allure of the area, the growth potential, and imminent opening of several new housing and banking projects are … exciting and enticing," said Dady," [but] it's simply not enough to extend a multiyear lease, and the timing is right for us to move on."

Though Dady did not wish to comment further on the business decision, he shared via email that he was proud to be able to absorb the entire Alamo team. The staff might come in handy as he looks to the future.

"Big, big things are [on] our horizon, and we are excited for [what] the future will bring," Dady shared.

chefs barbecue closings

NYT loves AUS

Pastry chef from San Antonio makes New York Times Best Bakeries list

Comadre Panadería/Instagram

Comadre Panadería is known for nostalgic Mexican bakes with feminine flair.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Austin’s culinary scene. It included Comadre Panadería, an Austin bakery by San Antonio native Mariela Camacho, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.

Interim food critic Priya Krishna praises pastry chef Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.

Comadre Panadería has been widely recognized, including by this publication; Camacho, who is now based in Ausitn, won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards. She also earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Camacho and Comadre as a whole are both invested in using baked goods to make a more equitable world, from the bakery's early days as a fundraiser for disaster relief, to a current insistence on charging enough to support ethical and organic foods, and paying staff enough to keep up with rising costs in Austin.

Although Camacho was born in San Antonio and started her baking career there, she also spent a significant time in Seattle, Washington, where Comadre started as a pop-up. According to Austin Monthly, she then moved back to San Antonio, and then to Austin. But no matter where she is, the Mexican cooking traditions of her ancestors take precedent.

Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia in Austin Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia. Courtesy photo

The Times also recognized Houston's Koffeteria. Krishna hails the bakery for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.

“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.

Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.

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Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.

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