LOCAL CHEF HAS BECOME HOUSEHOLD NAME IN SAN ANTONIO

WORDS BY KIMBERLY SUTA

Johnny Hernandez is a veritable house- hold name in San Antonio, synonymous with authentic Mexican cuisine. He has so many restaurants and concepts (about eight, he says) in the works that it’s challenging for even him to keep track. But Hernandez’ world isn’t just chef-driven, it’s also community- driven, and it all started with family.

His dad , Johnny Hernandez Sr., set the bar by lending a hand to folks in need, helping out at the family’s church, cooking at events, and teaching his kids the joy of service, commitment and hard work.

“Dad would always say to give more than you receive, and ‘to whom much is given, much is expected,’” says Hernandez. “He lived by that, but it wasn’t until thirty years later after Dad had passed away, and I drove by the house we grew up in on the Westside — it’s about the size of my living room now — and thinking about the words he would say and how they impacted me. We didn’t have a lot, but we always felt very blessed, like we had everything. And that’s rare.”

It was after his dad passed that Hernandez took off for New York to earn a degree from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. After graduating, he launched his first catering company in San Antonio, followed by his first restaurant, La Gloria, 10 years later at the Historic Pearl.

“I’ve been catering for 27 years,” says Hernandez. “It prepared me for battle. It’s the hardest thing to do in our industry — to do it well and at a high level. I was the first one in town to bring in international flavors, the first doing sushi bars. My career has been very well-rounded, from community, business and creative to going into the restaurant industry.”

One of Hernandez’ current projects dovetails back to his childhood love of history, culture and food. His company has taken over the programming for Maverick Plaza in the La Villita Historic Village as they lay the groundwork for three new restaurants, including an Alsatian concept, a Texas barbecue joint and Hernandez’ Norteño Tejano eatery. They also have an outdoor kitchen used for teaching during events and have launched a residency program.

“It all ties back to our food heritage and where those traditions come from — the different cultures and nationalities that settled here,” he explains. “I was very involved in helping San Antonio get recognized as a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO, and I want to continue to share that story of our cultural history. I’m really focusing on the cultural influences that shaped San Antonio in its earliest years of establishment.”

In the meantime, if you visit Maverick Plaza for Market Days on Saturdays, you can expect to see La Villita flourishing with festivals year-round, including Dia De Los Muertos, Oktoberfest, and a celebration of the Indigenous groups that dwelled on this land before colonization.

“We’ll really be bringing the village to life during the holidays in honor of the Alsatian holiday markets, with music and food,” says Hernandez, with a little zest of anticipation.

La Villita was the brainchild of Mayor Murray Maverick, whose original mission was for the space to serve as a working artisan village. The new concepts and events Hernandez and his team are implementing align with Maverick’s original mission, but with the addition of a culinary component. Although the restaurants aren’t anticipated to be completed until 2026, the event programming is well underway, and a new coffee bar is already open daily.

As if that’s not enough to keep this chef- restaurateur busy, Hernandez’s team has plans to open a second Super Bien (there’s already one in the San Antonio International Airport in Terminal A) downtown. This Tex-Mex cocina, the first of its kind for Hernandez who typically focuses on authentic Mexican cuisine, touts breakfast tacos with homemade corn or flour tortillas, burrito bowls and wraps. True to his roots, Hernandez is determined to keep everything in his kitchens, including Super Bien, scratch-made.

And, the next time you’re at a Spurs game, check out the new tequila fusion bar upstairs at La Gloria. Although The Fruteria is more known for this type of programming, Hernandez says it’s delicious. He also has a new La Gloria location at Brooks City Base that features Mexican grilled specialties, such as cabrito (goat), pork ribs, whole chicken and other authentic Mexican street eats that are grilled using the traditional Mexican live-fire cooking method over mesquite.

If you haven’t been to Burgerteca at Blue Star in awhile, now might be a good time because not only does this eatery serve up Mexican-inspired burgers, but they’ve also just added a Margarita Garden along the Mission Reach River Walk extension of their patio and opened Southtown Coffee, which features traditional Mexican brews like café de olla. Hernandez was proud to share that Southtown sources cocoa beans from the Mexican state of Tabasco that they then hand grind. They also serve their coffee in handmade clay vessels. It’s this level of commitment and attention to every aspect of his craft that makes Hernandez a true legend.

I get a lot of satisfaction from knowing I have motivated and inspired others to pursue a dream, like start a business or open a restaurant or a food truck,” Hernandez says of his work. “Dad was always like, ‘Set an example. You set it and you live it.’”

About the Contributor

Kimberly A. Suta is editor of Edible San Antonio, a filmmaker, food writer, event planner, culinary tour guide and has a media company called Homegrown Chef. She loves nothing more than sharing the phenomenal food, chefs and restaurants that San Antonio and Texas have to offer.