Historic Southtown San Antonio building gutted by 2020 fire could have second life as coffee shop

A Southtown building that’s sat vacant since a 2020 fire will be reborn as a Japanese-style coffee shop, the Express-News reports.

The 1920s-era structure, known as the “Triangle Garage” to the city’s Office of Historic Preservation, is set to become Oak & Saint, a coffee shop inspired by owner Andres Jasso’s travels to Japan, the daily reports. Jasso, a local web designer, has submitted plans to the city’s Office of Historic Preservation to build the café inside the former gas station at 1501 S. Flores St.

A fire gutted the building in 2020, leaving little more than its exterior brick walls. At the time, it housed the offices of the Sweb Development digital advertising agency, which has since relocated.

Jasso told the Express-News the café will serve coffee in a quiet and service-oriented fashion once a new building and outdoor seating areas are constructed within the historic walls.

“I never went to a coffee shop in Japan where they wouldn’t come out and serve you the coffee,” he told the daily. “It’s a very elevated experience in terms of that, but it’s also very quiet inside.”

Oak & Saint will roast coffee beans from around the world, including brews from Rwanda, Ethiopia, Colombia and El Salvador, the Express-News reports.

Jasso told the paper he doesn’t have a set timeline for the café’s opening, but expects construction to take “a year or two.”

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