A longtime symbol of San Antonio’s bygone culinary era has now been reduced to rubble. The iconic Pig Stand building at 1523 Broadway has been leveled as developers look toward the next chapter for the near-downtown plot.
The building was one of the last vestiges of a once-mighty chain that played a pivotal role in U.S. food culture. Founded in Dallas in 1921, it was the nation’s first drive-thru restaurant, credited with inventing now-ubiquitous fast food dishes like Texas toast and onion rings.
The San Antonio outpost arrived a little later, circa 1931, but it proved to have more longevity. Even after the chain went bankrupt in 2006, the Broadway restaurant operated independently, still sporting its nostalgic sign.
That enviable run came to an end in March 2023, long after the busy Broadway area was transformed by projects like the nearby Pearl. At the time, owner Mary Ann Hill was reportedly recovering from a 2022 open-heart surgery and felt the stress of running a restaurant was too much to bear.
Southtown’s iconic “Big Pig” was once used as a carhop shelter.Photo by Leonard J. DeFrancisci CC BY-SA 4.0
Local development firm GrayStreet Partners purchased the iconic building the preceding February, with Hill saying she planned to renegotiate the lease. That never happened. In March 2025, the downtown developer filed a complaint alleging that the restaurant owed $17,100 in back rent and was selling alcohol in violation of the lease. The suit was settled by October of the same year, with Hill agreeing to pay almost $14,000 in rent and attorneys’ fees.
Gray Street’s plans for the lot will bring dining back to the long-vacant building, but with more density. In addition to an unnamed food and beverage concept, the proposal seeks to build multifamily housing and a Marriott AC Hotel with a pool deck on the land.
Although the fast food pioneer and its famous pork sandwiches may be a distant memory, at least one trace remains at St. Mary’s Street in Southtown, the iconic pink stucco “Big Pig.” Although the history is murky and the sow-shaped structure has since been used as a nightclub entrance, hot dog joint, and even a temporary residence, it was created in 1935 by Mexican mason Anastacio Gaytan as a carhop shelter for the Pig Stand.