Quantcast

REBELLE YELL

Lauded San Antonio seafood restaurant Rebelle checks out of luxury hotel

Rebelle San Antonio
Rebelle and sibling concept Haunt Lounge have checked out of the St. Anthony Hotel Rebelle/Facebook

Since opening in 1909, a coterie of presidents, Hollywood stars, and royalty have dined at downtown's storied St. Anthony Hotel. Recent years have been far less glamorous. After a prolonged legal battle and the abrupt sacking of its marquee chef, the property's bar and restaurant — Haunt Lounge and Rebelle — have shuttered.

Stefen Bowers, the former chef of Rebelle, broke the news in a lengthy social media swan song on January 29, confirming that he was fired shortly before Christmas 2024. Although he admitted he was relieved to be able to focus on the brick-and-mortar version of his popular pop-up Pumpers, he said that St. Anthony Hotel Food and Beverage and new managing company Crescent Hotels and Resorts bungled the transition.

"They left what was a beautiful, hard-working, articulate, caring staff and concept, gutted, slowly bleeding out in Peacock Alley, undignified and alone," wrote Bowers.

Crescent Hotels assumed management on December 18, 2024, notably omitting Rebelle and Haunt from the initial announcement. Both the bar and restaurant appear to have closed in late January. The websites and social media accounts have been taken down, and hotel staff confirmed that neither was still operating.

CultureMap contacted Crescent Hotels via email, phone, and social media but did not receive an answer before publication. A statement emailed to other local outlets claimed that Haunt and Rebelle would remain temporarily closed while the group worked on new concepts.

Rebelle has churned out a steady stream of acrimonious news in recent years. In October 2024, the St. Anthony hotel settled a nearly three-year quarrel with restaurateur Andrew Goodman, the spot's former general manager. Goodman alleged that the hotel reneged on a $1 million employment contract. The defendants countered that the restaurant lost money before Goodman's departure in the summer of 2021.

Bowers swiped at the legal struggles in his post, referring to himself as "one half of the founding concept (that didn't litigate the restaurant's account down to zero because of a bruised ego)."

Despite the bad blood, Bowers celebrated the restaurant's accomplishments, shouting out the leadership and staff. He said the crew "never had anything but the best of intentions for their clientele and staff."

"Rebelle was a class act," Bowers summed up. "It was simply a restaurant that did what was expected of it and did it with tact. What you experienced under its roof is now all but gone, and with its departure, so is a piece of San Antonio."

news/restaurants-bars