SUDDEN SHUTTERS

Popular club Midnight Swim to close after 7 years on St. Mary's Strip

Midnight Swim will close on January 3, 2027.

The party is almost over at one of the most popular bars on the St. Mary Strip. Midnight Swim (2403 N. St. Mary’s St.) is closing on January 3, 2027, after seven years.

Co-owner John Michael Villanueva announced the closure in an October 3 Instagram post, hinting that the team had a new concept in the wings.

“It’s three in the morning, and I’ve been doing this video a hundred times, trying to figure out a cool way to say we’re ready to do something different here,” Villanueva said in an Instagram Reel. “So that’s it. This is the farewell tour. The grand finale. The f*cking end.”

Empty Stomach Group’s Sophie Covo-Gonzales and Villanueva opened Midnight Swim in August 2019, taking over the former home of Tex-Mex spot Chisme. The name was borrowed from Villanueva’s DJ collective, and music was at the core from the beginning. Often the place felt like a house party, albeit one with a full cocktail menu.

Villanueva did not share what space would eventually become, but did say the next 90 days would be packed with parties, including the annual Halloween celebration. He even joked that patrons who have been banned from the club could maybe return if they DMed him.

Midnight Swim’s closure comes amid several new developments for the St. Mary’s Strip. Nick Marquez — the owner of Bar House — is renovating the former home of The Gallery Club at 2726 St. Mary's St. to become an as-yet unnamed concept.

And another bar, called Lesser Saints, is under construction at 2811 North Saint Mary's. One of the names attached to the liquor license is Casey Lange, although it’s not yet clear if that is the former owner of Limelight.

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COMING ATTRACTIONS

Dallas-based group to open New Orleans chophouse in Alamo Heights

Photo courtesy of Vandelay Hospitality Group

Jack & Harry's is known for its prima and dry-aged steaks.

In mid-September, Dallas-based Vandelay Hospitality Group confirmed it was bringing its swanky martini and oyster bar, Hudson House, to Alamo Heights. Now, the company has revealed it is opening a sibling concept in the same building. New Orleans-inspired chophouse Jack & Harry’s will open in the revamped Nix Health building at 5307 Broadway in summer 2027.

The San Antonio outpost will be the second location of the restaurant, first opened in Dallas in spring 2024. At the time, Vandelay founder Hunter Pond said that the restaurant was inspired by an “unforgettable trip” he once took with restaurateur friends Julian Barsotti (Barsotti’s) and Greg Katz (Beverley’s Bistro) early in his career.

The menu at the original is anchored by prime and dry-aged steaks, including a French onion filet smothered in raclette and a 42-day dry-aged Delmonico ribeye. Other New Orleans favorites include chicken and sausage gumbo, po’boys, Cajun-spiced Gulf redfish, and barbecue shrimp.

The bar focuses on Bourbon Street-inspired cocktails such as a Vieux Carre and a French martini with pineapple and raspberry, but there’s room for a classic Negroni and a trio of margaritas. Wine is available by the glass, with an emphasis on French grapes.

Jack & Harry's The Dallas location gives a sneak peek of what's in store for Alamo Heights.Photo courtesy of Vandelay Hospitality Group

A release says the Alamo Heights location will continue the design language of the original with imported New Orleans brick, wood paneling, and “antique finishes that evoke the French Quarter.” It did not specify whether the new spot would carry over the original’s dress code, which bans hats with the exception of the cowboy variety.

A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing previously uncovered plans for San Antonio’s first Hudson House, which specializes in East Coast oysters, fish tacos, lobster rolls, and maki. Vandelay now says that concept will open in spring 2027.

“San Antonio has been on our radar for a long time, and Alamo Heights felt like the right place for us,” said Pond in the release. “Broadway has a strong sense of history and a real neighborhood identity, which is something we value.”

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