END OF AN ERA
Beloved café and bar quietly shutters in San Antonio's Beacon Hill
The Web House's famous borscht.
One of San Antonio's most beloved hangouts has quietly closed in Beacon Hill. Nine months after the death of its beloved founder, Mikhail "Mischka" Timofeyev, Web House Café and Bar has quietly closed its doors after almost 20 years in business.
Social media users have been speculating on the shutter as early as late summer, but the business never issued a formal statement. As first reported by MySA and confirmed by CultureMap, the building has been whitewashed, and a “for lease” sign now hangs above the door.
Timofeyev first opened Web House in 2006, moving it twice before settling at 320 Blanco Rd. Although the location changed, the basic formula remained the same with comfort food, cheap drinks, and an unfussy dive bar atmosphere that drew a generation of regulars.
A native of Moscow and an accomplished chef, Timofeyev also shared recipes from his homeland. The menu mixed bar snacks like burgers with several Russian dumplings like vareniki served with sour cream and dill.
During the time, the bar became a community hub. The spot hosted everything from weekly Dungeons and Dragons games to open mic nights to pet adoption events.
Timofeyev died in January, according to a Facebook post from husband Manny Castaneda. After a weeklong closure to allow the community to grieve, Web House reopened shortly thereafter, but has been dark on social media since mid-July. The last event on its website was an August open deejay session.
Although the Web House has disconnected its phone number and changed its Google Business listing to permanently closed, its social media accounts have not been deleted. A request for further information was not returned by publication time.
Bánh mì is the centerpiece of the menu.Photo by Katie James.