Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of San Antonio’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings

A couple of renowned San Antonio chefs have cooked up a new bang-up restaurant that’s a first of its kind for the city. Chef Stephen Paprocki of Chef Cooperatives and Texas Black Gold Garlic (and a recently named chef ambassador for San Antonio) and chef Adrian Cruz, the James Beard Award-winning chef with Ghost Kitchens SA will open Gunslingers, a scratch kitchen featuring fast-casual faves that’s “their answer to the pandemic’s pummeling of the restaurant industry.” Open for business starting Wednesday, September 1, Gunslingers is located at Los Patios. Menu highlights include over-the-top specialties like burnt ends brisket mac ’n’ cheese, sticky Thai coconut wings, a citrus honey Nashville chicken sandwich with red onions, and the Monte Cristo burger, which is dipped in waffle batter and deep fried. Some of the more popular items from the Ghost Kitchens SA menu, such as the colorful concha burger, will also be available. Gunslingers offers dine-in, to-go, and delivery service, and guests can order and pay using a QR code to avoid close contact with others. Sharing the space with Gunslingers is Olla Express Coffee, also opening Wednesday, September 1 and serving up traditional Mexican drinks. Gunslingers is open 11 am-8 pm Wednesday through Sunday at Los Patios, 2015 NE Loop 410.

A Colorado chain is slicing into the San Antonio market with its New York-style pizzeria and craft brew concept. Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse, which launched in 2007 and began expanding to Texas in 2020 with locations in the Dallas area, will open a local spot at 5311 N. Loop 1604 W. at The Rim development next year. According to the company’s website, the pizzeria will open in winter 2022, and the full-service location will feature a menu of 14-inch New York-style pizzas, wings, and 80 to 90 craft beers on draft. “We’re coming for you, San Antonio!” the company’s website notes of the new location. Follow Parry’s on Instagram for updates.

San Antonio is getting in on the hottest restaurant-industry trend, soon welcoming a massive new ghost kitchen facility called Mod Kitchen. According to MYSA.com, the nearly 17,000-square foot commercial kitchen space, to be located at 523 Urban Loop downtown, will feature 25 full kitchens for rent — from which restaurant concepts can offer delivery through third-party services — and is expected to open in January. “Mod Kitchen is unique in that customers have the ability to walk up, use the kiosk to order from each restaurant on one ticket, and enjoy their meal onsite,” says the company’s website. Check out Mod Kitchen online for more info.

Other news and notes

Mega brand PepsiCo is pouring out some help and a whole lot of cash for Hispanic-owned businesses that have suffered amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including one traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio. As part of PepsiCo’s newly launched $50 million Juntos Crecemos platform — which aims to strengthen Hispanic-owned businesses (particularly restaurants, bodegas, and carnicerías) across the U.S. — and the PepsiCo Foundation’s Impacto Hispanic Business Accelerator, San Antonio’s Taco Broadway received a $10,000 grant to help the restaurant recover from pandemic-related business setbacks. The 4-year-old eatery, owned by restaurateur Nidia Coronado, was one of the first of 150 recipients to receive a grant from the organization to aid in the pandemic comeback.

Texas musician and country star Randy Rogers is in good spirits these days. That’s because he and several spirits-industry cohorts have launched a new booze brand. Based in Rogers’ hometown of New Braunfels, Bahnbrëcker will enter the marketplace with its Slow River Blend, the first-ever Hefeweizen-style whiskey, which will be available in bars, restaurants, and liquor stores throughout Texas and for nationwide shipping starting September 15. Slow River Blend, inspired by a lazy summer day floating the river in New Braunfels, is a blend of Texas and Midwestern straight wheat whiskeys macerated with lemon peel and clove, and features notes of lemon, clove, caramel, and vanilla, making it reminiscent of a Hefeweizen-style beer. “We wanted to create something that the people who came before us in this great community of New Braunfels would be proud of,” Rogers says. “I think you’re going to find that this craft whiskey distinguishes itself from others.” For more info about Slow River Blend and updates on Bahnbrëcker, follow the brand on Instagram.

Speaking of beer and German influences, it’s time to grab a stein and say prost! The Tower of the Americas will host the second annual Octoberfest celebration on Saturday, October 2 from 2-5 pm. From luscious lager to pretty pale ales, festgoers can sample a variety of beers from more than 23 European breweries, nosh some complimentary bratwurst and pretzels, perhaps win a giveaway item, and dance the day away with live entertainment at the European-inspired fair. All guests must be at least 21 years old. Tickets run $40 in advance and $45 at the event. VIP tickets, which include early entry, a private tent area, a private food booth, and a signature souvenir glass, are $80. Visit www.toweroftheamericas.com for more info.