OPENING ALERT

Popular San Antonio biscuit chain reveals debut date at Brooks

Alamo Biscuit Co. is planting its flag at Brooks.

Photo courtesy of Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia

One of San Antonio’s favorite brunch chains is not sugarcoating its excitement over continued growth. Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia has revealed it will open its latest outpost at La Picosa Town Center (7514 S. New Braunfels Ave.) in January 2027.

The concha-loving chain also announced that it is serving select menu items at five spots scattered across UTSA’s Loop 1604 campus, including the Student Union Perk Coffee Shop and RowdyMart convenience stores.

“It’s a thrill to see our food served at my alma mater,” said founder John Vale, a 2013 UTSA graduate. “I walked those same halls as a student, and now today’s Roadrunners can start their day with our breakfast tacos and pan dulce.”

Alamo Biscuit has had a remarkable growth trajectory since debuting in 2019. After running a BurgerFi franchise at 9630 Huebner Rd. for about four years, founder John Vale took a chance on an original idea, initially enlisting former Sangria on the Burg chef Ceasar Zepeda to develop the menu.

After another four years, Vale began expanding with kiosks at Trinity University and Methodist Hospital Metropolitan. Although those spots were temporary, he followed up with a more ambitious project in 2025 — a 7,000-square-foot River Walk restauran t with an expansive patio dotted with concha umbrellas.

A release announcing the Brooks date did not detail the menu, but presumably, it will follow the same formula as its siblings. Besides its signature biscuits, Alamo serves a Tex-Mex-tinged menu with dishes like brisket quesadillas, breakfast sandwiches with beef sausage and poblano gravy, and barbacoa Benedicts.

To celebrate its newest growth spurt, Alamo Biscuit is popping the cork on Champagne Weekends on Saturdays and Sundays at its original Huebner Road location. Until further notice, guests can enjoy a complimentary glass of bubbles each day with valid ID.

“None of this happens without the people of San Antonio,” said Vale in the release. “Over the past several years, this community and our city have supported us every step of the way, from our first biscuit on Huebner Road to the new location coming to Brooks. Champagne Weekends are our way of saying thank you.”

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COMING ATTRACTION

Buzzy coffee chain 7 Brew eyes New Braunfels opening

Photo courtesy of 7 Brew

7 Brew is coing to New Braunfels.

Call it a Pied Piper for national chains. New Braunfels has lured buzzy Arkansas-based coffee franchise 7 Brew to 132 TX-46, the Hill Country town’s first location.

Although fairly new to the San Antonio area (its first area shop debuted in 2023), 7 Brew is one of the fastest-growing chains in the U.S. The company is known for ditching the lounge-y dining rooms of most of its competitors, opting for speedy twin drive-thrus that are easy to build.

The name borrows from founder Ron Crume’s original 2017 menu, which kept ordering simple by offering only seven signature drinks — an iced selection that included the Blondie, a vanilla and caramel breve and Banana Bread, a hazelnut mocha based on America’s favorite quick bread.

Almost a decade later, 7 Brew pours more than 20,000 drink variations, including coffee, infused energy drinks, sodas, and teas. The offerings include a fruity troop of fizzy sodas, tropical smoothies, decadent shakes, and seasonal sips like tiramisu cold brew.

Since debuting in San Antonio, it has gone on to open eight more stands, including its “lucky” 777th location at 9219 Potranco Rd. in June. The map has broadened from the city core, with the New Braunfels store and a Castroville outpost coming soon.

Texas is by far its largest market, where 7 Brew is waging a caffeinated arms race with Arizona’s Dutch Bros — buoyed by the purchase of 20 former Salad and Go locations in October.

7 Brew has not yet revealed the opening timeline for its New Braunfels debut, but a new Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) filing provides some clues. According to the state listing, the company plans to start work in February 2027, wrapping up in early June.

TDLR timelines are not written in stone, but 7 Brew is known for brisk builds. A rep for the company did not immediately return a request for more information.

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