END TIMES

Quirky horror-themed San Antonio bar to go dark this month

Near Dark will close at the end of March.

Starting March 28, San Antonio will be less bumping in the night. Horror-themed Southtown bar Near Dark at 1024 S Presa St is closing after nearly four years.

The bar’s owner confirmed the shutter via an Instagram direct message, explaining that the rent was going up. He said he will be relocating to Boston after closing the coffin lid.

Near Dark debuted in May 2022, offering San Antonians an alternative to the sunny interiors of many of its contemporaries. The narrow bar was clad in black walls that featured everything from elegant gold mirrors to cow skulls to portraits of horror icon Lon Chaney.

Though some of the interior leaned kitschy, the cocktail menu was serious. The bar staff mostly stuck to the basics, adding a few innovations like an Old Fashioned smoked beneath a glass cloche. The bar was especially popular during Southtown’s First Fridays, where it became an essential spot to slam daqs.

Near Dark was part of a wave of bar openings that transformed the strip center into an unexpected nightlife hub. In June 2024, artsy wine and cocktail bar Hands Down shuttered, eventually being transformed into French restaurant Petit Coquin. Of the three bars that opened in 2022, only Bar Ludavine will still stand once Near Dark pours its last round.

Until the 28th, Near Dark will operate with its regular hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 pm-2 am; Friday through Saturday, 6 pm-2 am; and Sunday 6 pm-midnight. The bar will still stage popular events like its emo night until the end of the month.

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SUDDEN SHUTTERS

Iconic Southtown taproom faces last call after 14 years in San Antonio

The Filling Station Tap Room/ Facebook

The Filling Station is closing on March 21.

One of San Antonio’s favorite craft beer bars is tapping out of Southtown. The Filling Station, a 14-year fixture of the King William District, will shutter March 21, according to an employee.

The news first surfaced on the r/sanantonio subreddit. Reportedly, owners Stacie and Jon Rowe opted not to renew the lease on the former Texaco gas station. Still, San Antonians shouldn’t completely panic. Station Cafe, the couple’s sandwich shop, will remain open.

The Filling Station first got its start as an early incarnation of Station Cafe in 2006, serving pizza, salads, and housemade desserts made in a cramped 400-square-foot space. The sandwich specials became so popular that lines soon snaked around the block.

In 2011, the Rowes moved the restaurant next door to 108 King William. It still serves pizza, but sandwiches like the spicy Turkey Chupacabra and the Station Muffaletta are its biggest draw — earning it plaudits like a recent Tastemaker Awards nomination for making the city’s best sandwich.

The next-door bar, meanwhile, started drawing its own crowd, especially among San Antonio’s cycling community. Southtown neighbors made it a regular haunt for pints and a snacky menu of slices and giant hot dogs.

But since the COVID-19 pandemic, San Antonio’s craft beer business has been cratering, resulting in the closures of many of the city’s independent brewers. Before its shutter announcement, The Filling Station was one of the few local bars focused on beer.

The Filling Station Tap Room at 701 S. St. Mary's St. will operate with regular hours until its closing day. Fans can grab a brew Mondays through Thursdays and Saturdays, 5 pm-midnight, and Fridays, 2 pm-midnight.

southtown king william craft beer bars nightlife closings