coming attractions

Tim Hortons replaces Starbucks at 3rd San Antonio location

Tim Hortons is opening yet another San Antonio location.

Tim Hortons/ Facebook

Canadians may be known for being polite, but the big American coffee chains may have another opinion. Tim Hortons is making a massive U.S. push, which will soon include a third San Antonio location at 18154 Blanco Rd.

To rub salt in the wound, the newest outpost will take over a former home of Starbucks — which closed hundreds of underperforming locations in 2025.

The massive Canadian doughnut and coffee chain is opening a second Alamo City location at 14076 Nacogdoches Rd. on the Northeast Side.

While the doughnut and coffee chain is ubiquitous in Canada, “Timmy’s” is a relative newcomer to Texas. Its first state unit debuted in 2022 in Katy, but the brand has almost 700 U.S. locations, mostly scattered across Northern states like Michigan, Ohio, and New York.

But that’s about to change. In late 2025, Katerina Glyptis, the chain’s U.S. President, told restaurant industry news site QSR Magazine that it was actively signing franchise deals throughout America, including five in Texas.

Although she didn’t specify which markets were included in the contract, state regulatory paperwork for a new San Antonio location at Redland Plaza, 2919 N. Loop 1604 E., was filed in February, followed by a second outpost at 14076 Nacogdoches Rd. in June.

The chain was founded in 1964 by entrepreneur Jim Charade and the late Canadian ice hockey legend Tim Horton. Since then, it has grown to be Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chain and a Canadian cultural fixture. When shows like How I Met Your Mother need convenient shorthand for the Great White North, they look to Tim Hortons.

Although the chain made its name on doughnuts, it has adapted to contemporary tastes. In addition to its signature treat, Tim Hortons now serves Timbits (doughnut holes), breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and a variety of sweet and savory baked goods. The drink selection covers espresso drinks, protein lattes, matcha, and fruity refreshers.

Tim Hortons has not officially announced a date for the Blanco Road location. According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation timeline, construction will wrap up in October.

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passing the torch

San Antonio's Esquire Tavern changes hands after 15 years

The Esquire Tavern/ Facebook

The Esquire Tavern has a new owner.

The oldest bar on the River Walk is shaking things up. After 15 years, San Antonio architect and developer Chris Hill is handing the keys to downtown’s The Esquire Tavern to its longtime beverage director, Stephan Mendez.

If Esquire wasn’t quite the genesis of San Antonio’s craft cocktail revival, it certainly nabbed the most attention. Before rescuing the bar in 2011 after a five-year closure, Hill drafted acclaimed Austin barman David Alan and one of the central figures in the city’s developing bar scene, Jeret Peña.

Peña was succeeded by an equally lauded mixologist, Houston Eaves, now the Beverage Director of Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group (Pullman Market, Ladino). In a few brief years, The Esquire became one of Alamo City’s can’t-miss destinations. To date, it is one of two San Antonio bars (Weathered Souls is the other) to be nominated for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program.

Hill didn’t just revive The Esquire by attracting top talent, however. Before his tenure, the smoke-stained bar was a dive, lined with wooden booths outfitted with personal jukeboxes. Hill reupholstered the seating, ripped out the tabletop selectors, and added a kitchen helmed by chef Brooke Smith. The neo-Victorian damask wallpaper, installed in the ‘60s, was lovingly restored.

Five years later, Hill tackled the basement, opening Downstairs at the Esquire with another legendary Texas barman — the late Hank Cathey. The purportedly haunted room, lined with taxidermy, remains one of San Antonio’s most distinctive spaces.

Mendez is no doubt aware of the bar’s heritage and does not plan to tinker with the menu or the historical 100-foot wooden bar. As a founding member of the local United States Bartenders’ Guild chapter, he’ll keep nourishing the next generation of San Antonio bar talent.And Hill feels his 155 E. Commerce St. passion project is in good hands.

“Every person who has ever pulled up a stool here has become a part of what makes this place special," he said in a release. "Stewarding that legacy has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I'm proud to pass it on to someone who will carry the same passion for generations to come.”

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