COMING ATTRACTIONS

3 new Mexican chains to make San Antonio debut at Brooks

Enchiladas at Los Amores de Julia, coming soon to Brooks.

Brooks is flexing its culinary muscles with a butcher shop and three new restaurants set to open this summer at La Picosa Town Center. The quartet of San Antonio concepts — Tacos Chulos, La Carniceria, Amores de Julia, and Mariscos el Riqui — will offer everything from birria tacos to stylish Sinaloan cuisine.

In December 2025, we noticed the four businesses had filed state regulatory paperwork on the same day. Our guesses about the eateries have since been confirmed by new “coming soon” signage at the South Side shopping center.

The splashiest debut is Los Amores de Julia Mexican Bistro, the first San Antonio location of a small chain with locations in California and Baja California. The restaurant comes from Sinaloan chef and serial entrepreneur Misael Guerrero, who operated several concepts on the West Coast.

The menu includes Mexican classics like crujientes de papa, aguachile verde, and lengua ranchera. The prices skew affordable with a few indulgences, like a Mar y Tierra combo with ribeye and a half lobster or a $120 prime tomahawk.

Tacos Chulos sells burritos, tortas, and tacos, natch.Tacos Chulos/ Facebook

The other two eateries lean more casual. Tacos Chulos comes from Grupo Buen Rollo, a Guatemalan franchise group that has been bringing Mexican flavors to Latin America since 1998. The fast-casual joint sells taqueria favorites like pastor, carnitas, and pollo asado alongside esquites, birria ramen, fruity palomas, and specialty micheladas with pepino or pineapple.

Mariscos el Riqui (otherwise known as El Rique Mariscos de Carreta) operates in San Diego and Tijuana. Seafood is, of course, the heart of the menu, but the spot also dishes out chilaquiles and unexpected brunch fare like chicken and waffles. The Cali restaurant has a Warhol-esque dining room, filled with Fabuloso, Zote laundry bars, and giant cans of Campbell’s “despecho” soup that will hopefully make it to San Antonio.

Lastly, La Carniceria is a new outlet of the upscale butcher already operating two outposts in Alamo City.

Neither the concepts nor the management group Brooks Retail Partners returned requests for comment. We will update this article if there is a more solid timeline.

la picosa brooks south side mexican cuisine tacos openings

DINING FOR GOOD

San Antonio Food Bank grows farm-to-table restaurant weeks

Clementine/ Facebook

Clementine is participating in San Antonio Food Bank's Restaurant Weeks.

The San Antonio Food Bank is bringing back its fresh spin on a familiar fundraising idea. The nonprofit has enlisted some of Alamo City’s most lauded restaurants to fight hunger with locally sourced menus when its Restaurant Weeks: A Farm to Table Experience initiative returns June 6-20.

Now in its second year, the promotion invites participating restaurants to feature a signature dish showcasing produce the food bank grows at its main facility on Highway 90. The point is to highlight the food bank’s sustainable approach to fighting food insecurity.

Some of San Antonio's most celebrated restaurants have signed up, including Supper at Hotel Emma, Pharm Table, The Jerk Shack, Sari-Sari Filipino Restaurant & Market, Clementine, and Naco Mexican Eatery.

San Antonio Food Bank farm The dishes use produce grown on San Antonio Food Bank's campus.Photo courtesy of San Antonio Food Bank

“Last year marked the launch of The San Antonio Food Bank Restaurant Weeks, and the response from our community was both powerful and inspiring,” says San Antonio Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper, via a release. “We are bringing it back this year because the need is still there, and we will never stop working to make a difference.”

Food bank officials say each participating eatery commits to raising at least $300 during the event’s run. Each dollar raised provides seven meals for local children through the nonprofit's Summer Meals for Kids campaign. The program aims to shrink a 20-million-meal gap that local children face during the yearly summer break. The campaign serves over 200,000 youths who would otherwise not receive key nutrition when school is not in session.

Locals can help each restaurant reach its $300 goal by making a direct donation. The full list of restaurants will be updated here as more eateries join the crew.

dining san antonio food bank fundraisers events

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DINING FOR GOOD

San Antonio Food Bank grows farm-to-table restaurant weeks