{"id":1006385,"date":"2026-08-17T11:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1006385\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:42:33","slug":"casa-rio-to-mark-80th-anniversary-with-1946-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1006385\/","title":{"rendered":"Casa Rio to mark 80th anniversary with 1946 price"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casa Rio<\/a> is turning back the clock \u2014 and stepping into the future.<\/p>\n

For one day, it will offer an original dinner at its 1946 price of 70 cents <\/strong>to celebrate 80 years on the San Antonio River Walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For as long as necessary, Casa Rio is asking a UNESCO chef ambassador to bring a post-World War II cafe into the modern era.<\/p>\n

Joel \u201cTatu\u201d Herrera, 47, embraces the challenge. He bussed tables at Casa Rio when he was 16. He worked his way up to line cook and kitchen manager, enrolled in culinary school and became an award-winning chef at Folklores Coffee House<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s returned to his roots, working two days a week at Casa Rio as a consultant. In this role, he\u2019s revamped the kitchen, restored original recipes and elevated Tex-Mex offerings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super exciting, like being in a time capsule,\u201d said Herrera, who also serves as executive chef at The Desert Spoon<\/a>. \u201cWhen I went back, my friends were still there. I have so much history there. It\u2019s like going back to high school.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Chef Joel \u201cTatu\u201d Herrera of Folklores Coffee House and The Desert Spoon is working with Casa Rio as a UNESCO chef ambassador to elevate its River Walk Tex-Mex offerings. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

A serendipitous encounter brought Herrera back to Casa Rio. In March, he noticed a woman with a familiar name and face seated beside him at a culinary event at the World Heritage Center. <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you related to Bill Lyons?\u201d <\/strong>Herrera asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my father,\u201d Elizabeth Lyons Houston replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look just like him,\u201d Herrera said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s-a-small-world conversation followed. Herrera worked for Bill Lyons, the Casa Rio owner, in the 1990s. Now the chef was speaking with his daughter, the Casa Rio co-owner, who\u2019s planning an 80th anniversary event.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 1, Casa Rio will serve one item \u2014 the regular plate \u2014 from the 1946 menu at the 1946 price. The plate includes one cheese enchilada, one tamal, chili con carne, rice, beans, tortillas and coffee or tea for 70 cents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kitchen and service staff take their work breaks in a room at Casa Rio on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

A San Antonio original<\/p>\n

Casa Rio opened on Oct. 4, 1946, the first restaurant to offer dining on the River Walk. The cafe became a landmark, providing outdoor seating beneath colorful umbrellas and serving dinner on a fleet of river barges.<\/p>\n

\"\"Casa Rio along the San Antonio River Walk in 1951. Credit: Courtesy \/ Elizabeth Lyons Houston<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is hardly a day all year long when Casa Rio fails to attract scores of visitors,\u201d the San Antonio Light reported<\/a> on May 9, 1955. \u201cNestled under the high banks of the San Antonio river, the old-world sidewalk cafe is charming and cheerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story included a photo of a river boat beside the cafe and noted that boats for parties could be rented for groups of 12 to 18 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what made the River Walk special in those early years,\u201d Houston said. \u201cIt was extremely romantic. \u2026 If we can recreate that for a day, that would help us pull on those roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Casa Rio along the San Antonio River Walk in 1990. Credit: Courtesy \/ Elizabeth Lyons Houston<\/p>\n

A f\u00eate to the past. A toast to the future. Herrera arrived to bridge generations and move the restaurant forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe River Walk can have a reputation for serving tourist food,\u201d Houston said. \u201cI want to raise the bar. We have so much competition to the north and south of us. We are the heart of downtown. I want to put our best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aim is to expand the customer base of tourists and attract locals. One new draw will be a rooftop bar<\/a> called \u201cThe Night Heron,\u201d targeted to open in 2027.<\/p>\n

In a city with a plethora of Tex-Mex options, Houston hired Herrera to help Casa Rio stand out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bill Lyons looks out towards the San Antonio River from the upstairs balcony at Casa Rio on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Herrera is a San Antonio native, a graduate of Memorial High School with deep roots in the state. His ancestors arrived from the Canary Islands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a 12th-generation Tejano,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in Texas as long as Texas has been Texas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking to the future <\/p>\n

His return to Casa Rio sparked memories. The kitchen is where he realized he wanted to cook.<\/p>\n

The tastes and smells inspired him to attend the Center for Foods of America (CFA), the school that preceded the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Pearl.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had never worked at Casa Rio,\u201d Herrera said, \u201cI never would have gone into cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Casa Rio servers and staff prepare for dinner service on the San Antonio River Walk. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

He recognized three faces when he returned: two managers at the front of the house and one supervisor in the kitchen. The old friends caught up and went to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Herrera found the original recipe for chili con carne, the dish made famous by chili queens<\/a> in late 19th Century city plazas. Over time, kitchen managers altered the ingredients. Herrera showed cooks how to make chili the way it was served in 1946.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like night and day. Once we had the original recipe, it was easy to fix the problem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t feel like a job. It felt like helping friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Chili Con Carne dish at Casa Rio on the San Antonio River Walk. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Casa Rio energizes the UNESCO chef ambassador. He spends two days a week connecting with amigos, identifying challenges and devising solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my off days, I\u2019m at Casa Rio and it doesn\u2019t feel like work,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cHow do we fix a problem? That\u2019s the fun part. Investigating. What I preach is, \u201cWe\u2019re <\/strong>a tourist destination. Our job is to show them what true Tex-Mex food is.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cMe being Tejano and being from San Antonio, it\u2019s to show who we are. That\u2019s my passion. That makes me proud.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Casa Rio is turning back the clock \u2014 and stepping into the future. For one day, it will…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1006386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,172435,117406,402910,402911,16293,7202,7203,358,402912,3187,402913,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-1006385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-america","tag-bill-lyons","tag-casa-rio","tag-elizabeth-lyons-houston","tag-joel-tatu-herrera","tag-river-walk","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-the-desert-spoon","tag-tx","tag-unesco-chef-ambassador","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117110675182041309","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1006386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}