San Antonio Tex-Mex staple Cha-Cha’s has reopened with a vegetarian-friendly remake

Fans took it hard when beloved San Antonio Tex-Mex spot Cha-Cha’s permanently closed its doors of its Bandera Road restaurant. Now, four years later, a remade version of the eatery has opened with a new generation at the helm.

Bania Ruiz, daughter of Cha-Cha’s founders Margarita and Ricardo Ruiz, has ushered in a new era for her family’s business that includes a menu overhaul, new location and new moniker: Cha-Cha’s New Gen Café, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Though a few of the original eatery’s standbys made it onto the new menu — including caldo, fajitas, steak a la Mexicana, chalupas and six different types of enchiladas — Bania Ruiz has tapped into her culinary training to introduce a large offering of vegetarian-friendly eats, the daily reports.

“I wanted to make sure that we represented the restaurant my family built while also making it my own,” said Ruiz, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin. “People want to start eating healthier now, so I am putting a lot of energy into that to make us a little bit different.”

Along with plant-based dishes such as meatless burgers and chicken, Thai eggplant red coconut curry and a vegan pasta dish, Ruiz is also slinging what she calls “smoothies on steroids,” the Express-News reports. Diners can amp up their liquid fuel with organic ingredients such as mushroom powders, fruit, cocoa nibs, hemp powder and wheat grass.

Cha-Cha’s New Gen Café, located at 6417 Evers Road, is open 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

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