A rendering of the new Rosario’s at 722 S. St. Mary’s St. Credit: Courtesy Image / Douglas Architects

The end of a Southtown culinary era is upon us.

South-of-downtown dining staple Rosario’s Mexican Cafe Y Cantina on Sunday, Nov. 27 will permanently close its South Alamo Street location in anticipation of a move into new digs just down the street.

“It will be sad to say goodbye to a space we’ve occupied for the past 23 years, but we are so excited to be moving into our new forever home, where we look forward to continue serving and creating many more wonderful memories with our faithful followers in the years to come,” Rosario’s owner Lisa Wong said in an emailed statement.

The new location comes after years of planning — and drama. Let’s get you up to speed.

In 2020, Wong announced plans to demolish most of the old El Mirador restaurant on South St. Mary’s Street to build a 14,000-square-foot, two-story building to house the Southtown business she started 28 years ago.

Plans for the upsized eatery include an interior dining area, lounge, rooftop bar and exterior elevator tower along with outdoor dining and seating areas. In 2021, Wong duked it out with Peter Selig, owner of neighboring eatery Maverick Texas Brasserie, over the proposed building’s proximity to Maverick’s patio.

Wong’s design included a 20-foot wall built mere inches from Maverick’s patio space. Selig argued the structure would block airflow and natural light, rendering his patio unusable.

In March of last year, Wong won final approval from the Historic and Design Review Commission to move forward with the plans.

The grand opening of the new and larger Rosario’s will occur in mid-December with the formal date forthcoming, according to Wong. In the meantime, the restaurant it replaces will serve its last cold margarita at 9 p.m. on Nov. 27.

During the brief transition, many of the servers from the Southtown location will be working at the Rosario’s at 9715 San Pedro Ave.

Coming soon: SA Current Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting San Antonio stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Related Stories

This article appears in Nov 16-29, 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...