Moses Rose’s is the last critical hurdle to clear for work to start on the proposed Alamo Visitor Center and Museum. Credit: Screen Capture / Google Maps

The war over Moses Rose’s Hideout, the downtown bar whose property the city and state want to use for the $150 million Alamo Visitor’s Center, has spread online.

Supporters of the embattled business are voicing outrage on Facebook over a weekend editorial by Bob Rivard, founder of online news site the San Antonio Report, on the city’s recent move to invoke eminent domain to force a sale.

Rivard — a one-time executive editor at the Express-News — said he opposes the city’s use of eminent domain “at this juncture,” adding that the state and the city should make a final, good-faith offer to buy out Moses Rose’s.

Even so, Rivard characterized Moses Rose’s owner Vince Cantu’s demand for $17 million for his establishment as a “greedy desire to hold out.” He also questioned claims by the “dive bar owner” that the city hasn’t tried to enter fair negotiations.

The blowback on the San Antonio Report’s Facebook page came swiftly. A link to the editorial has so far racked up 173 comments, many excoriating Rivard.

“This is not journalism, it is a one sided opinion piece by a man with an obvious bias,” Facebook user Chica Laura commented on the San Antonio Report’s post.

Rivard’s son, Alex Rivard, is the director of education at the Alamo Trust. However, in the opinion piece, the elder Rivard maintains that his son isn’t involved in the trust’s property acquisition management.

Poster Brandon Cross blasted Rivard as “the new face of ‘Karen’ for San Antonio.”

“Rivard, always the Development cheerleader,” commented poster Letica Vela.

The last offer made to Cantu — one based on an independent appraisal valuing his property at $2.8 million in 10 years — stands at $3.5 million, Alamo Trust officials have said.

Meanwhile, Cantu has reportedly said he’ll take nothing less than $17 million, basing his valuation on the property’s hypothetical increase in value once the Alamo Museum project is complete.

“I was never contacted to actually negotiate the sale of my property,” Cantu said in a rebuttal to the editorial posted Wednesday on his own Facebook page. “The Alamo Trust Foundation never wanted to negotiate with me. Their plan was to steal it from me all along.”

One thing is clear amid the online sniping: as the clock ticks down on Cantu’s ability to reach a deal for his property, the controversy around the city’s invocation of eminent domain isn’t going away.

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This article appears in Jan 25 – Feb 7, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...