Owner of San Antonio food truck park Bésame will rebuild after last week’s fire

The owner of colorful Bésame Bar and Food Truck Park, which was ravaged by fire last week, plans to rebuild “bigger and better than ever.”

Ray Perry, an Air Force veteran, told the Current he’s already working to reopen the north-of-downtown dining and nightlife fixture, located at 511 E. Grayson St. just off Broadway. Even so, the main structure that provided Bésame’s indoor bar was completely gutted by the blaze.

“The plan is to reopen the outside bar first,” Perry explained, adding that his team is gathering funds to rebuild the main structure, a converted 1910s-era home.

First, though, the crew needs help restoring power to the food trucks outside. The line providing electricity to the mobile kitchens was separate from the one supplying power to the house, according to Perry.

While Bésame rebuilds, Perry encouraged patrons to visit Ay Que Chula, 1503 N. Main Ave. Bésame‘s bartenders have been working at the Main Strip establishment while he undertakes restoration of his off-Broadway property.

“We’ll be back, bigger and better than ever,” he added.

Authorities are still investigating Bésame’s fire, reported around 4 a.m. Thursday, March 6, but Perry said early indications suggest it was the result of a gas leak.

“A resident that lived near Bésame heard what she described as an explosion around 4 a.m.,” he said.

Perry said he reviewed security video footage leading up to the fire and saw no suspicious individuals around the building. That likely rules out arson, he added.

“And luckily, nobody was hurt,” Perry said.

Founded by Ricky Ortiz, Bésame was a continuation of the restaurateur’s dedication to his late brother Armando, who was killed in a wrong-way driver accident in 2017 on I-35 near Walzem Road.

In 2021, Ortiz opened El Camino, a color-drenched food truck park on the Museum Reach, as an homage to his late brother’s favorite car. Bésame launched the following year, continuing El Camino’s theme of using a color-drenched bar as a centerpiece to attract a variety of food trucks.

Ortiz eventually sold Bésame to Perry.

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This article appears in Mar 5-18, 2025.