Aaron Peña, owner of San Antonio bars Squeezebox and Amor Eterno, is teaming up with the pros at Bar Loretta for a pair of Southtown ventures: a dark, sexy nightspot and and a neighborhood wine bar.
Both will be located in the Southtown space previously occupied by gastropub Francis Bogside, each separate and boasting its own vibe, according to Bar Loretta Beverage Director Michael Neff. The sultry club Gimme Gimme club and wine bar A Perfect Day will open later this month at 803 S. St. Mary’s St.
“You can see it stylistically, they’re both very, very different,” Neff told the Current. “A Perfect Day is lighter, it will be open earlier, it will have wine, some beer, wine and cocktails in bottles. It’s a neighborhood thing with small bites too. So you can get a bottled Boulevardier and some snacks, if you want.”
Neff is the mind behind the cocktails at Southtown’s Bar Loretta, owned and operated by San Antonio native and restauranteur Roger Herr.
Meanwhile, Gimme Gimme will offer “dark, loud, sexy” vibes and a more developed food menu, Neff said. Bar Loretta chef Paul Petersen will oversee the food offerings at both spots, which will offer items “fast, affordable and easy to eat,” Neff added. A pork Bahn mi sandwich and cheese curds are among his favorites.
Those who frequented Francis Bogside before it closed its original location will remember its apportioned layout, clunky raised booths and massive bar. The bar remains, Neff said, but the rest is history.
“It’s going to be a more ’50s-style club, where you go when you want to dress up a little bit — and you want to dance maybe, so you’re gonna reserve a booth,” he said. “We just want to elevate it to a point where it’s not like anything any of us have ever put out there before.”
The launch of Gimme Gimme and A Perfect Day precedes the impending closure of Squeezebox, which Peña chalked up to the city’s long-delayed St. Mary’s Street construction. He called the financial losses from the lost traffic “too great to recover from.”
Gimme Gimme will host its soft opening as early as this week, according to Neff.
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This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 11, 2023.
