{"id":91374,"date":"2025-07-25T12:36:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91374\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T12:36:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:36:38","slug":"from-empty-nest-to-south-side-family-enterprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91374\/","title":{"rendered":"From empty nest to South Side family enterprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

The restaurant business is in the blood of Oscar Torres. One brother opened\u00a0Ernesto\u2019s Gourmet Mexican Specialties\u00a0<\/a>in San Antonio. Another brother launched Mi Madre\u2019s <\/a>and School House Pub <\/a>in Austin.<\/p>\n

Torres took a different route. He became a journeyman electrician, earned his master <\/strong>electrician license and built a successful business. But then his kids grew up and got married and his wife grew restless.<\/p>\n

An idea formed. Torres felt a pull. He brainstormed with his family. Then voila, at age 49, Torres jumped into the restaurant business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bar-B-Q Republic<\/a> sprang from an empty nest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of hit me late,\u201d Torres said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A sampler plate at Bar-B-Q Republic includes brisket, pulled pork, turkey, sausage, and smoked chicken. Credit: Albert Villasana for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Six years after opening, Bar-B-Q Republic has become the new family nest on Southeast Military Drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Torres cooks the food. His wife, Donica Torres, handles the finances. Their daughter, Carina Ramirez, manages the restaurant. Their four grandchildren, Gabby, 16, Mila, 13, Gianna, 13, and Mason, 9, serve supporting roles, from working the cash register and food line to cleaning tables and refilling drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely is a family enterprise,\u201d Oscar said. \u201cCarina is a great help. I tell her, \u2018We need this,\u2019 and she gets it done. Scheduling. Managing. Everything. And we\u2019re happy and proud to have our grandchildren learning the business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a recent afternoon, Donica Torres looked around the establishment with pride: Her granddaughter, Mila Whiteside, was working the front of the restaurant. Another grandchild, Gabby Ramirez, was scheduled to work in the kitchen the following day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a joy having them here,\u201d Donica Torres said, \u201cto learn and see a side of business not many kids get to see. It\u2019s a blessing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bar-B-Q Republic opened in 2019 on Southton Road. It felt like home to Oscar Torres. He grew up on the South Side and graduated from Burbank High School. At 17, he began doing electrical work. At 18, he joined the Army and served two years.<\/p>\n

After leaving the military, Oscar Torres returned home and became an apprentice electrician. He mastered his craft and started his own business. To fund the enterprise, he sold his prize possessions: two 1967 Chevy Camaros.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been an old car enthusiast,\u201d Oscar Torres said. \u201cBut I needed capital to open \u2018One Source Electric.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

After their daughter Carina Ramirez married and son Oscar Torres, Jr. left home to join the military, Donica Torres felt unsettled. She asked to join her husband on his work outings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised because she had never shown any interest,\u201d said Oscar Torres, who was growing tired of the electrical business. \u201cI guess she found herself at home like, \u2018I don\u2019t have any kids to take care of.\u2019 So that led me to think, \u2018I need to start doing something that we can do together.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Carina Ramirez with her parents Oscar and Donica Torres inside their family-run restaurant Bar-B-Q Republic. Credit: Albert Villasana for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Oscar Torres barbecued at home as his son and daughter grew up. He took the family to barbecue joints in Lockhart and Austin. The Torres\u2019 bonded over brisket, sausage and ribs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Oscar Torres\u2019s oldest brother, Ernesto Torres, ran a successful Mexican seafood restaurant on Jackson-Keller. Another older brother, Aurelio Torres, ran two thriving eateries and a rooftop bar in Austin.<\/p>\n

Oscar Torres had an awakening. The family DNA, the restless wife, the burnout from electrical work, the passion for smoked meats, all were flashing indicators pressing for change. Before launching, though, the couple wanted to be sure they had God\u2019s blessing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe prayed about this,\u201d Donica Torres said. \u201cWe are people of faith. We give God all the glory for our success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Success did not come quickly or easily. COVID-19 hit one year after Bar-B-Q Republic opened. Oscar Torres closed the restaurant for months. Post-pandemic business returned slowly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Donica Torres said. \u201cThere were some nights we were questioning if we did the right thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oscar designed the recipes, smoked the meats, checked the inventory and leaned on his wife and daughter to take care of everything else.<\/p>\n

\"\"Owner Oscar Torres slices turkey and prepares orders at Bar-B-Q Republic in San Antonio on Wednesday. Credit: Albert Villasana for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the brains of the operation,\u201d Donica Torres said. \u201cIt scares me how smart he is and how busy he is, always reading and thinking. I\u2019m like, \u2018You think too much sometimes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hard work and perseverance prevailed. Breakthrough came in year three. As business grew, they moved to a larger site on Southeast Military Drive. Bar-B-Q Republic re-opened in April with a larger dining room, a private party room and a substantially larger kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so grateful,\u201d Donica Torres said. \u201cOur kitchen is very spacious. We have double the space we had before. Maybe triple. We have room for refrigerators and freezers. We have a big, gigantic stove. We have a lot more traffic now. We have a drive-thru, which we didn\u2019t have before. And that\u2019s about 20-25 percent of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future flows in the blood of the next generation. One grandchild works the drive-through window. Another wipes down tables. A third chats with customers.<\/p>\n

Each of them wears a black and white T-shirt with a name that sprang from a dream: Bar-B-Q Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The restaurant business is in the blood of Oscar Torres. One brother opened\u00a0Ernesto\u2019s Gourmet Mexican Specialties\u00a0in San Antonio.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":91375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[60649,5229,60650,60651,60652,60653,60654,60655,7202,7203,60656,33863,358,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,20705],"class_list":{"0":"post-91374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-67-chevy-camaro","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-bar-b-q-republic","11":"tag-carina-ramirez","12":"tag-donica-torres","13":"tag-ernestos-gourmet-mexican-specialties","14":"tag-mi-madres","15":"tag-oscar-torres","16":"tag-san-antonio","17":"tag-sanantonio","18":"tag-school-house-pub","19":"tag-south-side-sprint-2025","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-top-story","22":"tag-tx","23":"tag-typedaily","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-united-states-of-america","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-usa","30":"tag-wc-750-1000"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114913908108003048","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91374","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=91374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}