District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and former District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda smile in front of their jointly owned business venture. Credit: Michael Karlis

A pair of San Antonio politicos are getting into the tattoo business.

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and Melissa Cabello Havrda, who represented District 6 on council until 2025, released a video revealing they’re launching a new tattoo shop in the Pride Cultural District, which they called San Antonio’s “gayest neighborhood.”

The shop’s handle, Zorra London, is a combination of the names of each of the pair’s pet dogs. Located at 1428 N. Main Ave., the business is expected to open full time in coming weeks, the duo said.

“It sounds very international while also getting very close to home for us,” McKee-Rodriguez said of the moniker.

Cabello Havrda, who ran for mayor during the city’s prior election cycle, told the Current she and McKee-Rodriguez had long discussed going into business together, but were waiting for the right opportunity.

McKee-Rodriguez and Cabello Havrda saw their chance when North Main’s Culture Hair Studio closed earlier this year and the space hit the market,

“It was a space for the LGBTQ+ community to get their hair done, and when I found out they were closing, for me it was important to remain a safe space for that community,” said McKee-Rodriguez, who became San Antonio’s first out council member when he was elected in 2021.

Indeed, the shop’s launch coincides with the Texas GOP’s ongoing attacks against the LGBTQ+ community. Late last year, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the removal of all street markings that conveyed political ideologies. That included San Antonio’s rainbow-covered crosswalks at the intersection of North Main and East Evergreen Street — steps away from the tattoo shop.

Cabello Havrda said the location and messaging were intentional.

“It’s a perfect location for us,” Cabello Havrda said. “Both of us wanted to support the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Although the council members jointly own the shop, neither will be slinging ink.

Instead, McKee-Rodriguez is charged with the shop’s artistic vision. Meanwhile, Cabello Havrda, an attorney by trade, is handling the business and legal side.

“Everything is up to code,” Cabello Havrda joked.

And staying up to code includes barring people from getting inked up while intoxicated, something prohibited under the Texas Health and Safety Code.

McKee-Rodriguez said he and Cabello Havrda are taking that issue seriously.

“It’s because they can’t give consent [when intoxicated],” he added.

Although Zorra London had a $25 flash pop-up over the weekend to coincide with San Antonio’s Pride Parade, the politicians are still working out the kinks and hope to open full-time in August or September.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...