{"id":786272,"date":"2026-05-10T09:55:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T09:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/786272\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T09:55:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T09:55:35","slug":"soluna-owner-confirms-plans-to-move-into-san-antonio-steakhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/786272\/","title":{"rendered":"Soluna owner confirms plans to move into San Antonio steakhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once tucked away on the far outskirts of town, the Barn Door Restaurant and Meat Market has seen San Antonio grow up around it since it opened in September 1953.<\/p>\n

Now the city will have to say goodbye to the iconic steakhouse.<\/p>\n

When reached Friday, Gerardo Calvillo, the general manager of Mamita\u2019s Cuisine Inc., which owns El Mirasol and Soluna Cocina Mexicana, said the company plans to move into the Barn Door space, though plans are still being finalized.<\/p>\n

The restaurant sits on a 1.6-acre lot owned by the Strauss family<\/a>, known for their role in civic leadership, business and politics with roots dating back to 1870. The land is valued at $1.9 million, according to the Bexar Central Appraisal District.<\/p>\n

\"\"Soluna Cocina Mexicana on Broadway, pictured on May 7, 2026. Credit: Jasper Kenzo Sundeen \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

For 72 years, customers knew the Barn Door for its grilled ribeyes and chicken fried steak, special events and red-checkered table cloths and for its marquee that announced people celebrating birthdays by name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the decades, we have had the honor of watching generations grow up at our tables, sharing meals, laughter, and stories that became part of our history. Through it all, San Antonio, you have been there with us,\u201d read a recent post on the restaurant\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n

The Barn Door will close on Sunday. Until then, the steakhouse is operating only by reservation, which can be made on the restaurant\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for walking through our doors, sitting at our tables, and making this place feel like home for more than seven decades,\u201d the restaurant wrote in its farewell message. \u201cYou gave us purpose, and you gave this place its soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the parties, dinners and social gatherings, the Barn Door was a place where big deals were brokered and finalized. Developer Marty Wender<\/a> closed a deal in 1984 to sell the land on which Sea World was built.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the stuff I did at Westover Hills was done at the Barn Door,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sure there are a million stories about things that happened there.\u201d<\/p>\n

William C. \u201cBill\u201d Tassos cut the first deal. In 1953, he opened the Barn Door on a distant site once occupied by Frazer\u2019s Country Kitchen. Within months, the San Antonio Light reported that Tassos was \u201coffering steak dinners in exchange for old saddles, which he hangs on the fence for atmosphere at his N. New Braunfels Ave. eating spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Barn Door restaurant was open for reservations on Thursday. The restaurant will close permanently on May 10, 2026. Credit: Jasper Kenzo Sundeen \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Barn Door made off-beat news. In 1957, for example, The Light newspaper reported that Tassos set a 4 1\/2 pound steak in front of golfer Mike Souchak to see if he could finish it within a set time. The steak cost $11.50 but the golfer was not charged because \u201cwithin an hour Souchak consumed it with minutes to spare.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1963, the Barn Door, Grey Moss Inn and Menger Hotel received awards from the Ford Motor Co. According to the Express-News, \u201cthe honored restaurants were selected for their \u2018truly choice\u2019 foods and featured recently in an issue of Ford Times.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Barn Door marked its 40th anniversary in 1993 with a special. All menu items were offered at 1953 prices for those born in the month of August, according to the Express-News. A club steak, served with baked potato, salad and buttered rolls, went for $2.60. Rainbow trout with the same sides sold for $1.75, shrimp cocktail for 65 cents, a bowl of vanilla ice cream for 10 cents.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Barn Door restaurant was open for reservations on May 7, 2026. The restaurant will close on May 10. Credit: Jasper Kenzo Sundeen \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Beneath the restaurant\u2019s rustic wood beams, history flows. \u201cIf these walls could talk,\u201d Wender said.<\/p>\n

He has some stories. Wender helms the Civic Leaders Club, a group comprised of past chairmen of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and other local leaders. <\/p>\n

The club, which once included the late billionaire Red McCombs<\/a>, met for breakfast at the Barn Door every Wednesday for decades. In the History Room, dedicated to veterans of World War II, former Mayor Henry Cisneros, banker Pat Frost, Wender and others discussed issues and ideas to improve San Antonio. They also listened to guest speakers, often local and state leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed McCombs brought me into the club,\u201d Wender recalled.<\/p>\n

The club will move to the nearby Petroleum Club, Wender said, but meeting elsewhere won\u2019t be the same. The Barn Door is San Antonio\u2019s oldest steakhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an institution,\u201d he said. \u201cI hate to see it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Pat Frost serves on the San Antonio Report\u2019s board of directors. For a full list of board members,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once tucked away on the far outskirts of town, the Barn Door Restaurant and Meat Market has seen…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":786273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[39537,5229,321453,43961,321454,11628,321455,112149,8463,152988,7202,7203,321456,358,312069,7453,3187,7593,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7819],"class_list":["post-786272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-alamo-heights","tag-america","tag-civic-leaders-club","tag-icymi","tag-marty-wender","tag-north-side","tag-pat-frost","tag-red-mccombs","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-closures","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-strauss-family","tag-texas","tag-the-barn-door","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-typefeature","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wc-500-750"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116549684693272064","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786272","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=786272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}