SLICE, SLICE, BABY

Beloved San Antonio cheesecake chain opens new location in Helotes

Laika Cheesecake has expanded to Helotes.

Popular San Antonio bakery Laika Cheesecake & Espresso now serves its pint-sized sweets in the Alamo City suburb of Helotes. The mighty mini-chain recently opened its fourth area location at 11881 Bandera Rd., according to an Instagram post. If only the Golden Girls were alive to see it.

"Big news, Helotes," wrote the business. "Laika is finally opening its doors tomorrow at 10 am! Come be part of the excitement and see what we've been working so hard to bring to the community."

The sweet shop is mainly known for its individual cheesecake jars. The assortment varies weekly, but visitors can expect traditional San Antonio flavors like tres leches, traditional New York-style cheesecake topped with strawberry jam, and unexpected varieties like matcha.

The jars — and larger slices — are paired with various espresso drinks, creative tea drinks like apple pie chai, and frappes. Guests can also sip lighter drinks like freshly made lemonade and fruit-based seltzers.

Ukrainian immigrants Anna Afanasieva and Viktor Krizm founded the concept in 2020, naming the shop after the first dog to orbit the Earth. After the bakery settled into its groove, the couple moved into expansion mode.

An Alamo Ranch location debuted in August 2023, followed by its first storefront outside San Antonio city limits. The New Braunfels outpost opened in February 2024.

Afanasieva and Krizm have become just as known for their activism as their bite-sized desserts. Since 2022, the business has raised thousands of dollars by donating daily profits to their home country, continuing the effort as recently as March 8.

The Helotes location is near several other dessert shops in the growing bedroom community, including Shipley Do-Nuts, Crumbl Cookies, and Playa Bowls. The hours are 10 am-10 pm daily.

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FIRED UP

Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão to open new San Antonio restaurant

Fogo de Chão/ Facebook

Fogo de Chão is firing up a new San Antonio location in late May.

Now may be a good time for San Antonians to stock up on stretchy pants. Fogo de Chão, a popular Brazilian steakhouse chain known for its all-you-can-eat grilled meats, is opening a North Side location, at 5546 N. 1604 W #160, on May 26, according to a company bulletin.

Following the lead of other Fogo outposts, the new restaurant will bring theatrical flair to the dining experience. Servers, dressed as guachos, will slide picanha (prime top sirloin), roasted chicken, and lamb chops directly onto the plate while guests enjoy the hectic action from the open live fire kitchen.

Many of the restaurant’s fans are just as enamored of the huge salad bar as the never-ending assortment of grilled meats. The Market Table (in Fogo-speak) features leafy greens, seasonal soups, cold-smoked salmon, black pepper candied bacon, feijoada (black bean stew), and pão de queijo, Brazil’s famous cassava-based baked cheese rolls.

$Fogo de Ch\u00e3o$ Fans love Fogo de Chão's Market Table as much as its meats.Fogo de Chão/ Facebook

The location will also have Bar Fogo, serving smaller a la carte small bites and cocktails. The menu mixes Brazilian classics like caipirinhas with mocktails, South American wines, imported beer, and tropical takes on standards like an old fashioned made with muddled caramelized pineapple.

First founded by brothers Arri and Jair Coser in 1979, Fogo de Chão has since grown to over 70 locations in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. The first San Antonio outpost in the Shops of Rivercenter, at 849 E Commerce St. #393, opened in 2009.

San Antonio has had a mini churrascaria boom in the 2020s. Locally owned chain Chama Guacha is building a new location on Houston Street, already home to Texas de Brazil. In 2021 Mexico-based chain Bovino’s Churrascaría chose San Antonio for its first U.S. location. It never reemerged after a supposedly temporary closure in 2023.

After its late May debut, the new Fogo de Chão will be open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm; Friday, 11:30 am-10:30 pm; Saturday, 11 am-10:30 pm; and Sunday, 11 am-9 pm.

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