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Photo courtesy of Shiner Beer.

Editor’s note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. Shiner Beer crafts new barbecue joint at iconic Texas brewery. Shiner Beer is untapping a new market with the April 1 grand opening of K. Spoetzl BBQ Co.

2. Soul songstress Patti LaBelle makes solo stop in San Antonio on her Texas tour with Gladys Knight. Labelle will perform in San Antonio's Majestic Theatre on June 17.

3. Crane flies have landed ever so lightly in San Antonio, which means one thing. If they seem to be in larger numbers, it's, as usual, related to weather.

4. 3 San Antonio-area chefs named James Beard Award finalists. Chef John Russ of Clementine has been named a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Texas, plus Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland of Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin.

5. San Antonio home sales continue to decline in February, latest report shows. Despite new home construction skyrocketing at the same rate, existing home sales have dropped by 28 percent.

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Lake LBJ + Horseshoe Bay: A tropical oasis in the Texas Hill Country

Your Neighborhood Expert

There are so many great places to live in San Antonio that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Kuper Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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The Lake LBJ/Horseshoe Bay area isn’t just where real estate agents Kathleen Kokernot and Ryan Jones work, it’s also where they call home.

“What initially drew us here was the lifestyle — and the people, too,” Kokernot says. “The relaxed, resort-style community is like a tropical oasis in the middle of the Texas Hill Country. With golf and lake activities, it truly gives you the vibe of being on vacation.”

Before transitioning to real estate more than seven years ago, Kokernot and Jones both worked at Horseshoe Bay Resort, where they first developed a deep affinity for the area and its community.

“People don't live here because they have to. They want to!” Jones says.

The team offered up a few of their personal favorites about life in Lake LBJ and Horseshoe Bay. Here's their guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
Savor one of the Hill Country’s best sunset views and a classic Texas menu at Bay View Restaurant & Bar — the shrimp and grits is one of their signature dishes that absolutely must be ordered. Plus, brunch is served everyday (get the blue crab cake Benedict).

Kokernot and Jones also recommend Boat Town Burger Bar for waterfront casual dining and live music on summer weekends. You can even order a meal straight from your own boat.

Where to play
Lake LBJ and its sandbars are all you need. But, for those who prefer a day on dry land, Kokernot and Jones mention that three of the golf courses at Horseshoe Bay Resort are premier Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed courses (Slick Rock, Apple Rock, and Ram Rock)— “a rare gem in the golf world!”

Whitewater 360 Sports Club at the resort is a great place to relax and watch a game after a round of golf.

What to see
Horseshoe Bay Resort hosts a range of festivals throughout the year, including the Beer by the Bay Music Festival in August.

Where to live
“The area offers luxury lake and golf course homes featuring modern, traditional, and Tuscan-inspired architecture with a Hill Country style that’s second to none,” says Jones.

One example of the area’s stunning waterfront properties is a Mediterranean-meets-Texas home at 101 Far North in Horseshoe Bay. Kokernot and Jones helped their buyers find this lakeside gem to entertain family and friends.

“They had just driven in from Scottsdale, Arizona, and were looking for a lakefront destination,” says Kokernot. “Once Ryan and I took them on a tour of the area and took them golfing, our buyers fell in love with Horseshoe Bay and Lake LBJ.”

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Kathleen Kokernot and Ryan Jones work and play in the Lake LBJ/Horseshoe Bay area. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kathleen.kokernot@kupersir.com, or call 830-613-7439.

Boerne: Where to relish Texas Hill Country vibes and views

Your Neighborhood Expert

There are so many great places to live in San Antonio that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Kuper Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Because of the globe-trotting required by his former career in aviation — including more than 20 years at NASA in Houston — real estate agent Greg Hufstetler has the unique perspective of global insight combined with expert local knowledge.

After successfully navigating the luxury Houston real estate market in the mid-2000s, he was ready to relocate both work and home to the more serene setting of Boerne and has since been in the area for 11 years.

“I knew I always wanted to live in the Hill Country,” Hufstetler says. “The quality of life is unmatched. There are good vibes — and good golf! — all around.”

When he’s not showing homes, Hufstetler is an accomplished guitarist, astronomer, rabid SEC football fan, and a lover of bacon.

He also offered up a few of his personal faves about life in Boerne. Here's his guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
Hufstetler recommends La Cascada Table & Bar at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort. They serve farm-to-table Texas fare (try the cast iron-fried Akaushi beef with mushroom gravy and smoked Cheddar whipped potatoes) paired with local wine and craft beer. Live music on their expansive outdoor patio overlooking the Hill Country is a treat, too.

Where to play
An avid golfer himself, Hufstetler says to look no further than the award-winning Resort Course at Tapatio Springs. It’s surrounded by live oak trees and offers incredible views.

What to see
You can enjoy the great outdoors at Cibolo Bluffs Nature Preserve, a scenic 2,000-acre landscape that encompasses nearly three miles of Cibolo Creek. It was originally established to protect a federally endangered Central Texas songbird: the golden-cheeked warbler.

Where to live
“Hill Country classic is the predominant architectural style, with lots of limestone and glass,” says Hufstetler. “Standing-seam metal roofs are plentiful, too.”

Boerne is also a place where you can scoop up some undeveloped land and custom-build a dream home. He recently sold 4.5 acres of land at 31905 IH-10 W for just that purpose.

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Greg Hufstetler works and plays in Boerne. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email greg.hufstetler@kupersir.com, or call 832-385-0952.

San Antonio Airport flies past the rest with second shortest security wait times in the U.S.

MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME

What is the worst aspect about airports, and why is it the wait times in the TSA lines? Nothing is worse than arriving to the airport within a reasonable timeframe prior to your flight, only to spend most of it waiting behind 30 other people to remove your shoes and belt, walk through a metal detector, and have your carry-on analyzed by agents who are probably thinking about traveling themselves.

Luckily for San Antonio travelers, wait times at the San Antonio International Airport (SAT) add up to just under 18 minutes, making it the airport with the second shortest security wait times, according to a new study by luggage storage locator Bounce. The report analyzed the average flight processing times for security checks and passport control for several major airports around the country, not including baggage retrieval or navigation times.

On average, travelers at SAT only spend a little more than six minutes in line for security, and international travelers spend an additional 11.5 minutes at passport control. Bounce's study attributes the short wait times due to SAT not being a central hub for any specific airline.

"The airport primarily serves domestic flights, which could contribute to shorter wait times at passport control and security," the report said.

San Antonio jumped six places from 2022, where it previously ranked No. 8, after improving wait times by five minutes.

The airport that outranked SAT to take the top spot in the report is the Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland, whose average wait times come out to less than 15 minutes. No other Texas airports appeared in the top 10.

The top 10 U.S. airports with the shortest wait times are:

  • No. 1 – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
  • No. 2 – San Antonio International Airport
  • No. 3 – San Jose International Airport
  • No. 4 – Newark Liberty International Airport
  • No. 5 – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
  • No. 6 – Sacramento International Airport
  • No. 7 – Raleigh-Durham International Airport
  • No. 8 – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
  • No. 9 – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
  • No. 10 – Denver International Airport
In the analysis of the American airports with the longest wait times, the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York earned the top spot with an average wait time of over 48 minutes. Rounding out the top five are the San Francisco International Airport (No. 2), Miami International Airport (No. 3), Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (No. 4), and the Orlando International Airport (No. 5).

The full report can be found on usebounce.com.