{"id":81482,"date":"2025-07-21T20:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T20:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/81482\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T20:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T20:16:10","slug":"tipping-discouraged-at-san-antonio-restaurateurs-new-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/81482\/","title":{"rendered":"Tipping discouraged at San Antonio restaurateur’s new concept"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Weissman<\/a>, the James Beard-nominated chef turned Mr. Juicy<\/a> burger maven, is planning to open a new concept featuring \u201cenhanced American and French fare\u201d on Nov. 1 at Alon Town Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The yet-to-be-named restaurant will feature a value-based menu with entrees priced under $20, except for nightly specials, and drinks that cap at $10. Tipping will be discouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult economy so we want to offer extreme value,\u201d Weissman told the San Antonio Report. \u201cTipping is a pain point in America right now. People feel they have been abused and pushed around too much with the tipping culture. People can tip if they want to, but we don\u2019t want anyone to feel obligated to leave a tip. I\u2019m going to give my staff a healthy, hourly wage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The no-tipping idea sprang from his experience at Mr. Juicy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never expect a tip,\u201d he said. \u201cBut more often than not, a guest will leave a dollar or two dollars or three. I want to see if that can work in a higher end environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

One year to the day after opening a Mr. Juicy on Northwest Military Drive, Weissman signed a lease on Saturday to launch his new concept two miles down the road in the space once occupied by The Hayden, a diner that closed in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen The Hayden went out of business, there was a turnkey scenario,\u201d Weissman said. \u201cIt had a good energy. I think The Hayden made all the right decisions in decor. We\u2019re going to make some changes. But I felt like it was a bird\u2019s nest on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weissman initially wanted to focus on enhanced American fare. As the concept evolved, he realized he wanted to create dishes not specific to the continental U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to have a classic French sandwich with caramelized onions and au jus,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have housemade potato chips with chive cheese fondue and ricotta gnocchi with truffle cream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AndrewAndrew Weissman sits next to a newly constructed fountain at La Cantera Resort & Spa in 2016. Credit: Scott Ball \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Other sample menu items include classic wedge salad with pickled shallots, New York strip with peppercorn sauce, classic meatloaf with spicy carrots, French green beans and mashed potatoes, cold seafood \u2014 oysters, lobster and crab \u2014 and chicken fried steak \u201cright out of Mr. Juicy but with French-style mousseline potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weissman elevated San Antonio\u2019s culinary reputation in the late 1990s with the launch of Le Rev, a since-closed French restaurant that received national acclaim. At Le Rev, Weissman earned four James Beard nominations for Best Chef: Southwest.<\/p>\n

The 2019 launch of Mr. Juicy in Olmos Park turned heads. How many French chefs open burger stands? To Weissman\u2019s surprise, Mr. Juicy became an instant hit. He relocated to the corner of San Pedro and Hildebrand and opened a second location last year on Northwest Military Drive.<\/p>\n

What prompted his return to the restaurant world?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sickness,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really is, man. I\u2019m going to do my darndest to expand Mr. Juicy. I\u2019d like to have another location by late summer of next year. But I wanted another outlet. I\u2019ve always had a desire to try to get back into creating food other than hamburgers and chicken sandwiches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

His contract requires him to open in a little more than three months. Meeting that deadline, he admits, will be challenging.<\/p>\n

Weissman left on Monday for a family vacation in Europe. When he returns, he\u2019ll take his son to college.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a big time crunch,\u201d he said. \u201cThat only gives us about nine to 10 weeks to pull this off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new venture excites him, filling him with a rush of adrenaline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a great spot and will do amazing,\u201d Weissman said. \u201cThe menu will allow people to build one course or multi-course meals. It has an inviting patio. I\u2019ve always always wanted to create a tremendous patio space at a restaurant. And I think this is the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Weissman, the James Beard-nominated chef turned Mr. Juicy burger maven, is planning to open a new concept…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":81483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[55775,5229,55776,40469,55777,55778,7202,7203,358,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7819],"class_list":{"0":"post-81482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-alon-town-centre","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-andrew-weissman","11":"tag-james-beard","12":"tag-le-rev","13":"tag-mr-juicy","14":"tag-san-antonio","15":"tag-sanantonio","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-top-story","18":"tag-tx","19":"tag-typedaily","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa","26":"tag-wc-500-750"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114893067656302347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81482","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=81482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}