Chef Johnny Hernandez unveiled the name of his newest restaurant concepts and even shared a little taste at the official opening of The Flats at Big Tex in November. Get ready for Villa Rica, which will serve Mexican seafood, and Burgerteca, a Mexico inspired burger restaurant, to open in the retail space of the new community in early 2017. The new complex resides on the site of the former Big Tex Industrial Complex, a regional agricultural processing hub that operated between 1917 and 1952. In 2008, the complex and the main grain elevator building were determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
The chef’s enormous new Southtown space, currently being built out, sits right on the river with terrific outdoor patios. It will also be the first thing you see as you enter the brand new 336-unit apartment community. The Flats at Big Tex was developed by The NRP Group, which also recently announced plans to build the first apartment building in the $300 million Lone Star Brewery project.
Big Tex offers a variety of floor plans for each of its studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. The new multi-use development resides on 7.5 acres of river front property with direct access to the River Walk, adds 6,400 square feet of ground floor retail space to the area, and has a gated multi-level parking garage. And the apartments and townhomes are just steps away from the Blue Star Arts Complex’ galleries, restaurants and shops.
“Big Tex is both commercial and residential, drawing new people and businesses to this fast-growing corridor,” City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales (D-5) explained. “It embraces both new and old, restoring the former Big Tex Grain Company into a fresh, modern development.”
City officials, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Dan Markson and Debra Ann Guerrero from The NRP Group, downtown housing pioneer James Lifshutz, who also developed the Blue Star Arts Complex, and Chef Hernandez were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of Big Tex, which already has tenants.
According to a release, the city agreed to provide nearly $5 million in incentives for the project including a 15-year abatement/rebate on city property taxes, city fee waivers, SAWS impact fee waivers and an Inner City Incentive Fund Grant. Bexar County also assisted with a 10-year, 40 percent abatement of County Ad Valorem taxes, with an estimated value of $485,747.
CHEF JOHNNY HERNANDEZ TO OPEN AT BIG TEX IN 2017
“You always want to align yourself with the most meaningful opportunities … I moved into Southtown almost nine years ago, even then, it felt like the place to be,” Chef Hernandez said. “This is why San Antonio is a great place to live, it’s been a goal of the city to build special places to keep our youth and talent here.”
Chef Hernandez remembered when Dan Markson showed him the sketches five years ago.
“Dan had this beautiful corner where he wanted a grand entrance and he felt a restaurant belonged there,” Chef Hernandez explained.
The space, which is right on the river, is huge. So to make the model work and manage costs, the chef proposed two concepts he always wanted to bring to SA. The first, Villa Rica, is a Mexican seafood concept.
“Our seafood concept will not only showcase the cuisine of Vera Cruz and that part of the coast, but we’re going to have a lot of fun with the Mexican theme of the Pacific and Baja California,” Chef Hernandez explained. “We are always designing restaurants, concepts and experiences to the audience – and there’s nothing I love more than playing to the audience of Southtown, very youthful. They’re willing to take a chance and try something different and nontraditional – that’s what I live for.”
The second concept, Burgerteca, will feature burgers that spotlight the different regional flavors of Mexico. The chef also plans to serve shaved ice and paletas, with all the ice cream and syrups made in-house.
“What will make it iconic are the silos. We hope to install a bar so Burgerteca will have this inventive, cool, funky silo bar,” Chef Hernandez added.
For more information, visit www.bigtexflats.com.
