The Pig Stand In operation for 101 years, the Pig Stand was one of the nation’s iconic diners, and many commuters passed it daily on Broadway as they traveled to work downtown. The restaurant closed in 2023 after a development company bought it to make way for more projects along the gentrifying corridor. Credit: Sanford Nowlin

A longtime Broadway landmark and a piece of San Antonio culinary history is in a developer’s crosshairs.

San Antonio-based real-estate company GrayStreet Partners wants to tear down the Pig Stand diner along with other Lower Broadway properties it now owns, the San Antonio Business Journal reports, citing city documents.

GrayStreet filed with the city’s Office of Historic Preservation to knock down buildings at three lots it holds on Broadway, according to the Business Journal. The demolition work would require approval from the Historic and Design Review Commission, the story reports.

GrayStreet bought the Pig Stand, located at 1508 Broadway, in February 2023 as it gobbled up property along the fast-gentrifying Broadway corridor. The restaurant’s 76-year-old owner made the deal after deciding to retire for health reasons.

GrayStreet General Partner Kevin Covey didn’t respond to the Business Journal‘s request for comment. However, he told the Government Hill Alliance in 2023 that the group would be “thoughtful” in incorporating the site into projects it plans nearby.

Built in the 1960s, the Mid-Century Modern Pig Stand was a downtown dining mainstay that many commuters passed on their daily commutes.

The restaurant was the last remaining outpost of a Dallas-based company that once operated more than 100 units and is sometimes credited for being the nation’s first drive-in restaurant chain.

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This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...