COMING ATTRACTIONS

Buzzy San Antonio shopping center adds chocolate shop and head spa

Chocolate House lives up to its name.

Far North Siders plagued by a brutal commute will soon have two new places to unplug. New shopping center Stone Oak Mercantile (20135 Stone Oak Pkwy) has added Chocolate House and Onda Head Spa to a lineup that already includes Crust Pizza Co., Box St. All Day, and Black Rock Coffee.

Chocolate House appears to be the first San Antonio location of a national franchise known for, well, chocolate. Founded in Paterson, New Jersey, in 2021, the chain serves shakes, crepes, dipped fruit, and waffles along with espresso drinks and nonalcoholic mojitos that only have a tenuous relationship to the cocktail.

Onda Head Spa does not appear to have a web presence just yet, but its concept is not difficult to figure out. Japanese-style head spas have become one of the hottest wellness trends in the U.S., offering neck, face, and scalp rubs. The signature treatment is the viral “water halo,” a continuous stream of warm water poured from a curved fixture.

The two new tenants join a grab bag of offerings at the shopping center. In addition to Crust, Box St., and Black Rock, Stone Oak Mercantile will also have a Paris Baguette and several service offerings like Swish Dental, The Gent’s Place salon, and Jetset Modern Pilates.

And according to Fulcrum Development’s leasing brochure, another restaurant has signed a letter of intent, though it's unclear whether that is a homegrown operation or a national chain.

Construction on the development is set to wrap up in late November, but so far, no opening dates have been announced. Neither Fulcrum nor Chocolate House immediately returned requests for more information.

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OPENING ALERT

Frank's Pollo Asado opens first Universal City location

Frank’s Pollo Asado Los Norteños/ Facebook

Frank's Pollos Asados Los Norteños is now open in Universal City.

One of San Antonio’s favorite chicken joints has crossed the road to Universal City. Frank’s Pollo Asado Los Norteños has opened a new restaurant in the San Antonio suburb, taking over the former home of Rapid Fired Pizza at 121 Pat Booker Rd.

Many San Antonians will no doubt be familiar with mini-chain’s achiote-rubbed grilled Northern Mexican chicken, but they might not fully recognize the name. The brand is an offshoot of the nationally recognized Pollos Asados Los Norteños, using the same recipes, branding, and cartoon mascot.

The titular Frank and Mayela Garcia started the latter as a fundraiser for a new church in Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, before branching out to a food truck. The chicken and the addictive green sauce served alongside became so popular that the couple opened a brick-and-mortar nearby at 4642 Rigsby Ave.

After the couple split, Mayela kept the original location, and Frank got a second outpost on Walzem Road, adding his name to the sign. While there are nuances with kitchen expertise, they have near-identical menus down to the Salchi burger with grilled sausage and ham.

The main difference is that the original version carries ramen and a few extra desserts, like chocolate king cake. And while the Rigsby Avenue spot has traditionally been BYOB, Frank’s version has a full bar with beer and margaritas.

Frank announced the new location in February, drawing a chorus of excited comments. A few posters noted that the whole neighborhood would soon smell like pollos asados.

But most of those whiffs of mesquite will be confined to the parking lot. The original’s struggles with excessive smoke, which caused a citywide debate and a temporary closure in 2017, have been corrected with modern ventilation systems, and neither of Frank’s two previous locations has had similar problems.

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