WHAT'S SHAKIN'

Pittsburgh's iconic Milkshake Factory whips up first San Antonio shop

MilkShake Factory is opening its first San Antonio location.

Plans are swirling for a new chocolatier and ice cream parlor at 21025 US Hwy 281 N. #59 in Stone Oak. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania icon MilkShake Factory is opening its first San Antonio location by the end of the year.

The new shop will be the second Texas outpost of the small Mid-Atlantic chain. The brand debuted in the state in late 2024 with an outpost in Grapevine. According to recent state filings, renovations of the 1,513-square-foot storefront will begin in early June.

Founder Dana Edwards Manatos launched MilkShake Factory in 2023, but the company’s roots span four generations. Greek immigrants Charlie and Orania Sarandou, Manato’s great-grandparents, first got into the confectionery business in 1914, opening a small soda fountain and chocolate shop in Pittsburgh’s historic Lawrenceville neighborhood.

The shop remained a modest family-run business until Manatos envisioned a new chapter as part of a business class project at Palm Beach Atlantic University. MilkShake Factory soon became widely known in Pennsylvania for offering innovative takes on its namesake treat.

The shop serves dozens of flavors, including classics like vanilla, strawberry, and mint chip. However, it’s more famous for its decadent gourmet creations like chocolate raspberry truffle, confetti frosted cupcake, and salted caramel pretzel.

Manatos, a passionate chocolate maker, continues her family’s tradition by selling chocolates at each location, including chocolate-covered strawberries and stroopwafels; s’mores, cookie, and almond bark, and pecan caramel terrapins (more commonly called turtles in Texas).

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records indicate that renovations at the Stone Oak location will wrap up in late August. Still, no official opening date has been revealed. The store is listed as coming soon on the company website, but it does not list an opening timeframe.

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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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