Pizza Fanta-sy

Anticipated Detroit-style pizza restaurant finally unboxes first San Antonio location

San Antonio's first Via 313 opens its doors on August 1.

San Antonio’s pizza scene is getting a little more square … or in this case, rectangle. Next week, Alamo City welcomes its first-ever Via 313, the celebrated Austin-based chain famed for its deep dish pies, Fanta, and other Midwest favorites.

For its first foray into South Texas (we say first because CultureMap recently noted the chain's eyeing another spot at The Rim), Via 313 is unboxing its new location at 8435 Wurzbach Rd., Ste. 213 on the Northwest Side. It is the company’s seventh restaurant statewide and its first Texas store outside the Austin metro area. (The pizza chain also has locations in Colorado and Utah.)

“We’re thrilled to finally bring our Motor City flavor to San Antonio,” says co-founder Brandon Hunt in a release. “We’ve loved sharing our Detroit-style pizza with the Austin area and can’t wait to join the amazing community in Alamo City. We look forward to welcoming everyone into our new spot and celebrating at the grand opening together!”

That grand opening has been more than a year in the making, and includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony and friends and family dinner on Friday, July 29 before Via 313 officially opens its doors on Monday, August 1. Patrons can order up a Cadillac (a Detroit-style deep dish with gorgonzola, fig preserves, prosciutto, Parmesan, and balsamic glaze) or choose from a menu of thin crust bar-style pies. The chain’s full menu of cocktails, appetizers, salads, and funky desserts will also be available.

Since 2011, Brandon Hunt and his brother, Zane, have been slinging pizzas inspired by their hometown of Detroit in their adopted hometown of Austin. They began operating out of a food trailer on Austin’s east side and quickly garnered attention for their high-quality, innovative pies. The pizza is baked in a rectangular pan inspired by the automotive factories of Detroit, which not only creates the pie’s unique shape, but a crispy, chewy crust that has developed nothing short of a cult following.

Over the past decade, Via 313 continued its modest growth across the Capital City, adding three brick-and-mortars. That growth, however, got a supercharge in October 2020 when the brothers received a multimillion-dollar investment from the Utah-based Savory, an investment fund that infuses up-and-coming culinary brands with capital. In less than two years, the pizza chain has expanded into the Austin ‘burbs and added those additional locations in Colorado and Utah.

Beginning on August 1, the Wurzbach Road location will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm.

openings

In-slider knowledge

Well-known brunch eatery adds location at changing Riverwalk mall

Photo courtesy of Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia

Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia is joining a growing list of businesses flocking to the Shops at Rivercenter.

The well-known San Antonio brunch spot Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia is continuing its takeover of the city with a third location. The new eatery is expected to open in March 2025 at 849 E. Commerce St., adjacent to the Shops at Rivercenter.

The new restaurant will span a 7,000-square-foot space, including a 1,200-square-foot patio, which will host a total of 250 guests. San Antonians may remember the space from its days as Enrique Tomás, an upscale Spanish restaurant. Things will be different at the very casual Alamo Biscuit Co., which operates more like a diner.

Biscuits are, of course, the anchoring menu item, and are served in sweet and savory flights when they're not providing support for other dishes like Nashville hot chicken, eggs Benedict with various proteins, or a classic sausage, egg, and cheese. Other specialties include pancakes (sometimes with extravagant toppings), French toast, and tacos.

The new location comes with new menu items that haven't been announced with, plus a full bar and espresso bar, according to a release.

Alamo Biscuit Co. is hiring 80-100 team members starting in January, according to the release. That will include "management, servers, cooks, and dishwashers."

The Shops at Rivercenter are in the middle of a larger renaissance. The mall opened in 1988, and has weathered the coming and going trends of retail. Since 2005, it's been owned by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, which also owns famous properties like Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace and New York City's Plaza Hotel.

Just in 2024, projects announced at the Shops at Rivercenter include an overhaul of dining by celebrity chef Jason Dady, as well as the San Antonio debut of the trendy Australian mini-golf chain Holey Moley.

“To be invited to open a location on the San Antonio River Walk is an incredible honor and a blessing,” said Alamo Biscuit Co. owner and UTSA graduate John Vale in the release. “In just five years, Alamo Biscuit Co. has become a part of San Antonio’s culinary fabric, and now, we’ve been given the opportunity to share our passion for great food and community in what I believe is the best location in Texas. This is a gift from God and a privilege we don’t take lightly.”

brunch riverwalk openings