San Antonio’s The Local Bar was opened to serve local customers, including downtown service-industry workers. Credit: Dennis M. Ayotte

After a decade slinging ice-cold longnecks in the shadow of the Alamo, The Local Bar has served its last, MySA reports.

The downtown watering hole’s lease was up in May, and co-owners Luis Muñoz and Eric Hanken took the landlord up on a month-to-month arrangement at that point. Last week, they finally pulled the plug, the news site reports.

The Local Bar’s last day of service was August 4, according to social media posts.
As its name suggests, the tavern, located at 600 N. Presa St., was opened to serve local residents, including downtown service-industry workers.

“It wasn’t our decision,” Muñoz told MySA. “We would be there for the next 30 years if we could.”

The landlord opted not to renew the lease because he envisioned using the space for a fancier, craft cocktail-driven concept that would attracted a tourist crowd, Muñoz also told the news site.

“This is a bar for the locals, for the industry people downtown,” Muñoz said of his conversation with the property owner. “We’ll change the name, but I don’t want to change the concept.”

Muñoz told MySA he and Hanken will now focus their energy on cocktail spot The Modernist, which they recently acquired together.

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This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 9, 2022.

Nina Rangel uses nearly 20 years of experience in the foodservice industry to tell the stories of movers and shakers in the food scene in San Antonio. As the Food + Nightlife Editor for the San Antonio...