END OF AN ERA
Romano's Macaroni Grill quietly closes last San Antonio restaurant
Macaroni Grill has closed its last San Antonio-area store.
After serving the San Antonio area for almost four decades, Romano’s Macaroni Grill has quietly closed its last area location, at 8355 Agora Pkwy., in Selma. The company has not made an official statement, but the Generation X staple appears to have gone the way of Sassy magazine in late spring.
The shutter has been the source of social media speculation for weeks. Although Macaroni Grill’s phone number is still operational, a site visit showed no signs of life. The location has also been scrubbed from the corporate website.
San Antonio’s ties to the Italian chain run deep. Founder Philip J. Romano chose the then-unincorporated Leon Springs for the first Macaroni Grill in 1988 after selling his shares of Fuddruckers. That location eventually became The Grill at Leon Springs, later destroyed in a 2021 blaze.
The concept was an immediate hit thanks to two theatrical flourishes. Servers would scrawl their name on the butcher paper covering the tables — often writing upside down — then pour a shallow bowl of olive oil for dipping the widely beloved rosemary bread.
But by the early 2010s, casual chains like Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, and Macaroni Grill had begun to lose their luster. Gen X fans and Millennials began rejecting the faux-trattoria atmosphere and calorie-laden fare in a quest for authenticity. The clever farm-to-table marketing of fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Panera Bread was better able to exploit the vibe shift.
Macaroni Grill filed for Chapter 11 protections in 2017. Although it emerged from bankruptcy in 2018, it has since closed several locations. The only Texas store listed on the company website is in McAllen.
CultureMap has reached out to Macaroni Grill headquarters for more details and will update this new article with any new information.
