SUDDEN SHUTTERS

Mambo Seafood pulls out of San Antonio after less than 3-year run

Mambo Seafood, we hardly knew ye.

After a whirlwind three-year run, Mambo Seafood has exited the San Antonio market completely. The Houston-based chain has closed its remaining Alamo City locations at 4711 NW Loop 410 near Medical Center and 3242 Goliad Rd at Brooks City Base.

Unlike previous closures, the restaurant did not issue an official statement. But both restaurants are listed as permanently closed on both its Yelp and Google Business profiles. Mambo’s website currently lists no San Antonio locations and its Instagram profile has deleted San Antonio from its list of locations.

The sudden closures are the latest twist in a saga that began in 2023, when the Latin-tinged seafood joint first dipped its toes in the San Antonio market. The following summer, it traveled 15 minutes down the highway to open a Lackland location. A third outpost at Goliad Road debuted in the fall of 2024, followed by a Las Palmas restaurant in fall 2025.

Since then, the chain has aggressively whittled down its Alamo City footprint. The Lackland location closed in May 2025, which the company framed as a “strategic decision to consolidate.” Las Palmas, a location that only survived six months, followed in March.

Entrepreneur Michael Ho founded the Mambo brand in 1996, slowly growing its Houston footprint over two decades. Although Bayou City remains the restaurant’s stronghold, the mini-chain has also tested McAllen’s waters.

While its branding borrows from Latin America, the menu doesn’t stick to a single point of view. The chefs embrace Sinaloan aguachile, Cajun-style seafood boils, Argentinian parilladas, and a riff on jalapeño poppers. One of its most popular dishes, fried rice, takes cues from Chifa (Chinese Peruvian) cuisine.

It’s unclear what has caused the brand’s turbulent run in Alamo City, though reviews of the chain’s offerings have been mixed. A request for more information was not immediately returned.

seafood chains closings

In A Pickle

Texas-based Smoothie King puckers up with new pickle smoothie

Photo courtesy of Smoothie King

Pickle flavored smoothie from Smoothie King.

The ever upwardly trending pickle flavor is surfacing in the unlikeliest of places: Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, is releasing a new limited-edition Pickle Smoothie — for those who love pickles so much they could drink them.

Smoothie King is partnering with Grillo's Pickles, a Boston-based pickle company, on a beverage that combines Grillo’s Pickles with bananas, kale, and coconut water for what they describe as a refreshingly tangy drink infused with electrolytes designed to support hydration.

The drink is $5.99 for a 20-ounce serving, and will be available through the summer. They'll be giving out free 4-ounce samples on May 16, while supplies last. A Today writer who ran out and tried it found that the banana and pickles both had an equally strong presence, and that it was "not bad." That's some reporting.

Grillo's Pickles was founded in 2008 by Travis Grillo, who launched the business as a small wooden pushcart in Boston Common, using his family's 100-year-old recipe. It has since grown into a nationwide brand, with their bottles topped with kelly-green lids sold in the refrigerator section of major grocery chains such as Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Aldi.

Smoothie King is based in Dallas and is owned by Wan Kim, who opened the first Smoothie King franchise in Korea before eventually acquiring the national chain. He's also a major presence in Dallas' restaurant scene, opening the acclaimed Asian-themed Nuri Steakhouse in Uptown Dallas in 2024, and more recently debuting a chicken tenders concept on Dallas' Greenville Avenue called Flock & Fresh on May 2.

Pickles have emerged in recent years as one of the buzziest flavors, including Fort Worth's own craft beer brewer Martin House Brewing Co., a pickle pioneer that has released a number of pickle-flavored beers. H-E-B just joined the pickle party with a new Pickle Chamoy Sherbet, and national boutique grocery chain Trader Joe's is about to reprise its annual Pickle Season onslaught of pickle-flavored products such as Dill Pickle Mustard and Pickle-Flavored Potato Chips.

Beyond their flavor, pickles are a fermented item which can offer nutritional/probiotic benefits, although Smoothie King VP of R&D and Product Marketing Lori Primavera focuses primarily on the hydration aspect.

"At Smoothie King, every recipe starts with delicious nutrition in mind," Primavera says in a statement. "Pickles are not only delicious and having a cultural moment, they also offer real nutritional benefits, especially known for their enhanced hydration. That combination gave us an opportunity to explore them in a new format and push our innovation into new territory, reimagining how a beloved flavor can deliver both function and taste."

Grillo's Pickles Chief Commercial Officer Mark Luker calls them "functional benefits."

"We love to do unhinged collabs at Grillo's," Luker says. "With that, we don't always get to talk about the functional benefits of pickles. When we partnered with Smoothie King for a hydration smoothie, we knew this was a great opportunity to do both. Those who are willing to try will be pleasantly surprised (and hydrated)."

And if pickles are not your thing, Smoothie King is also simultaneously unveiling five watermelon smoothies including fan-favorite Watermelon Hydration, Watermelon X-Treme, Gut Health, The Activator Recovery Watermelon, and Power Meal Slim Watermelon.

trends openings smoothies pickles