San Antonio bar owner Aaron Peña raising money for cancer treatment with weekend benefit

Aaron Peña, owner of bars Gimme Gimme and Amor Eterno, will host a benefit Sunday to raise funds for his treatment following a cancer diagnosis.

The entrepreneur was diagnosed with testicular cancer in April and begins chemotherapy in June.

“The community has come together to organize a benefit for Aaron to help offset his medical bills during treatment,” said Natalia Prieto, a vice president at San Antonio public-relations firm Giant Noise and Peña’s significant other.

The 21-and-over benefit will be held at Bar Gimme Gimme, at 803 S. St. Mary’s St., on from 5-9 p.m. Sunday. The bar will stay open until midnight following the event.

For a $20 suggested donation, attendees will get a plate loaded with fresh beef fajitas, chicken fajitas, sausage, rice, beans and potato salad.

Additionally, guests can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a Blackstone grill, a Yeti cooler, a 55-inch TV and gift cards from popular local restaurants. DJ Texas Papi will provide the Tejano and conjunto sounds for the occasion. The bar also will serve specialty cocktails by Live Oak Vodka as well as Twang Micheladas.

Peña opened Gimme Gimme and adjacent wine bar A Perfect Day in 2023 with the team behind Bar Loretta. However, the adjacent wine bar was recently converted into a second San Antonio location for record shop Friends of Sound. The store continues the rock ‘n’ roll theme for the spot — Gimme Gimme is a nod to the Ramones song “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment,” while “A Perfect Day” was a reference to a Lou Reed song.

Peña’s Amor Eterno opened in 2021 as a sexy Southtown craft cocktail lounge. He also helmed The Squeezebox, a St. Mary’s Strip staple that opened in 2016 with an emphasis on Tex-Mex music and culture. That bar closed in 2024 after seven years in operation, only to become the short lived Neon Moon, followed by its current iteration as a goth club called Cream II.

Sponsors who have donated to make Sunday’s fundraiser possible include Live Oak Vodka, Twang, The Fajita Lounge, The Lighthouse Lounge, Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, Gigi’s Deli, Buddy’s Big Trouble and Bucán Rodeo, according to organizers.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

Neon Moon on San Antonio’s St. Mary’s Strip rebranding after just 2 months

Neon Moon’s owner says the club will become Cream II sometime in early December.

Owners of San Antonio’s Gimme Gimme turn adjacent wine bar into second Friends of Sound location

The transformation will allow patrons of the Southtown cocktail spot to browse vintage vinyl while they drink.

San Antonio drinkers prefer tequila to vodka by nation’s widest margin

The city beat out Los Angels, Miami and Houston in our thirst for the Mexican spirit.

San Antonio nightspot The Squeezebox closing permanently at end of July

The losses from the city’s long-delayed construction on St. Mary’s Street were “too great to recover from,” owner Aaron Peña said.

Sexy new Southtown bar Amor Eterno will open its doors to San Antonio on New Year’s Eve

California’s Pokéworks chain to open 10 San Antonio-area restaurants

The fast-casual concept specializes in Hawaiian-style poke bowls, which include a mix of raw fish, rice and veggies.

San Antonio’s McNay screening 1990 dark comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Saturday’s screening ties in with the museum’s ‘Designing Shakespeare Through the Ages’ special exhibition.

San Antonio lecture looks at the perseverance of the Karankawa and Tonkawa tribes

The discussion of the tribes, who were among the area’s earliest inhabitants, will take place Saturday at the Mammen Family Public Library.

10 fun ways to celebrate Memorial Day weekend in San Antonio

From family fireworks shows to cool pool parties to crave-worthy crawfish boils, these spots are serving up good times.

This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.