John Brand, vice president of culinary at Hotel Emma, used to ride his bike over to the Naco food truck for lunch. Lizzeth Martinez and Francisco Estrada, the husband-and-wife team behind Naco Mexican, told TPR and the San Antonio Report that Brand later asked whether they wanted to open a new concept at Pearl. Years earlier, Pearl had turned down their pitch for a stall in the Bottling Department food hall. Their restaurant, Santonia Cantina, is now due at 200 E. Grayson St. before Thanksgiving.
That story shows how Pearl is replacing the restaurants it lost. In 2025, Cured, Full Goods Diner, Carriqui and Chilaquil all announced closures, and Cured served its last guests the first weekend of 2026. By spring, most of those addresses will have new tenants. Pearl picked them for the story behind each operator, and the new openings sit mostly on Grayson Street and East Elmira, toward the district's northern edge.
Pearl's Selection Test Is the Story Behind the Restaurant
Potluck is the hospitality arm of Pearl's developer, Silver Ventures. Ryan Howard, its managing director, described the selection standard to TPR:
"We want to know, 'What is the story and personality behind the shop.'"
Howard placed the new group alongside the chefs who built Pearl's reputation: John Brand, Steve McHugh, Andrew Weissman, Jeff Balfour and Johnny Hernandez. The new tenants fit that description. Three come from San Antonio's own restaurant scene: the Naco founders, the team behind Box St. All Day, and Rico Torres, co-owner of the Michelin-starred Mixtli. Two come from elsewhere in Texas: Houston's Bludorn Hospitality Group and Dallas-based Nori Handroll Bar.
Address by Address: What Replaces What
Pearl's dining map is changing one building at a time. Here is where each former space stands.
| Address | Previous tenant | New tenant | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 403 Pearl Parkway | Allora | Amar | Open since late September |
| 200 E. Grayson St. | Full Goods Diner | Santonia Cantina | Due before Thanksgiving |
| 239 E. Grayson St. | Carriqui | Bludorn Hospitality Group, name not announced | Renovation projected to finish by Nov. 30, no opening date |
| 306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 101 | Cured | Rosso | First quarter of 2027 |
| 1118 E. Elmira St., Building 2 | New space | Loverboy House Eats | Announced, no firm date |
| 1118 E. Elmira St., Building 1, Coopers Row | New space | Nori Handroll Bar & Sushi | Spring 2027 |
Amar is already serving. It opened in late September in Allora's former space on the street level of the Credit Human building along Broadway. Allora cooked from Italy's seafood traditions. Amar keeps the coastal focus and moves it to Mexico and Latin America. According to the Express-News, co-founders Carlos and Clarece Clavijo built the concept from their travels through Tulum and Oaxaca. Opening dishes included tuna carnitas, carrot and crab bisque and ceviche, and some of the cocktails use Alma de Campo, a mezcal the Clavijos also produce.
Santonia Cantina moves into the former Full Goods Diner. Its tagline is "North Mexican. South Texan. No rules." Martinez, a native of Nuevo Laredo, told TPR she wants it to be "one table in between San Antonio and Monterrey." The menu includes pork shanks, ribeye tacos, shrimp flautas, pozole and guacamole with brisket chicharrón. Martinez named the chamorro, a marinated pork shank meant to be shared, as the dish to order. The bar centers on sotol, mezcal and tequila. MySA has reported a late-November launch, which fits TPR's before-Thanksgiving target.
Bludorn Hospitality Group has taken the 19th-century Boehler's Liberty Saloon building, Carriqui's former home. The restaurant has no name yet. Renovations are projected to wrap by Nov. 30, and no opening date has been announced.
Rosso takes the building Cured occupied for years. Three chefs are behind it: Rico Torres of Mixtli, Austin chef Gabe Erales, who won Top Chef season 18, and André Natera, founder of the culinary podcast Chef's PSA. In September, MySA expected the Italian pasta-and-steak concept by the end of 2026. TPR's Oct. 13 report put the opening in the first quarter of 2027.
The Newest Addresses Sit Past the Original Brewery Grounds
The four replacements fill existing buildings. The two new concepts go further out, to East Elmira Street.
Loverboy House Eats comes from Edward Garcia III, Caroline Garcia-Bowman and Daniel Treviño, the trio behind Box St. All Day. It is planned for coffee, cocktails and "approachable" food at 1118 E. Elmira St. MySA listed it for fall 2026. TPR placed it next to Perlen House, a boutique hotel scheduled for completion in May, so the opening date is still open.
Nori Handroll Bar & Sushi is a Japanese concept with Korean-inspired flavors. It is coming to Coopers Row, the apartment building at East Elmira and Schiller streets, named for the barrel makers who once worked at Pearl Brewing Co. The San Antonio Current reported construction running from September 2026 through April 2027, with a spring 2027 debut.
Taken together, the openings shift Pearl's center of activity. Two of the next three restaurants face each other across Grayson Street, at 200 and 239. Two more will occupy new ground on Elmira. Only Amar and Rosso, both on Pearl Parkway, sit at the district's established core.
The Next Retail Starts With Two Grayson Street Demolitions
Grayson Street is also where the next big project begins. In August, the Express-News reported that Oxbow Development plans 10 retail buildings along Avenue A, estimated at $18 million in state filings, with construction starting early next year and finishing by 2028. To make room, Oxbow plans to demolish a former can-recycling building at 300 E. Grayson St. and the former Pearl Brewery garage at 250 E. Grayson St., a designated historic landmark. The San Antonio Business Journal reported Oct. 8 that the expansion had won approval.
The plan also changes the street people already walk. Pearl Parkway has been closed to through traffic since 2020. It is set to be repaved with new material, with shade trees and benches added and separate zones marked for delivery and fire vehicles and for pedestrians. No retail tenants have been chosen. Oxbow plans to announce them at groundbreaking in early 2027 and is aiming for a mix of local, regional and national names that "reflect Pearl's distinct identity."
So the street with two restaurant openings this season is also the street where demolition clears the way for Pearl's next round of retail on Avenue A.
What Runs on Schedule While the Kitchens Get Built
None of this construction interrupts Pearl's regular calendar. Through the end of November:
- Wednesday Night Market, a free evening market along the River Walk at 303 Pearl, runs every Wednesday through Nov. 25.
- Saturday Farmers Market brings farmers, ranchers and more than 50 local vendors to Pearl on Saturday mornings, rain or shine, with free admission.
- Sunday Makers Market features local artisans.
- Día de los Muertos at Pearl fills Pearl Park on Nov. 1 from 5 to 9 p.m. It includes ofrendas curated by local artists, a community altar, live performances, local vendors and the Catrin & Catrina contest.
If the timelines hold, Santonia Cantina's opening falls between Día de los Muertos on Nov. 1 and the last Night Market on Nov. 25. The Bludorn renovation is also scheduled to wrap before the end of November.
Pearl picks its restaurants by asking for the story behind them, and the same approach shapes how a well-presented home is sold. If you own near Pearl, Tobin Hill or Museum Reach and want to know how the new Grayson Street could figure in your home's story, Paulette Jemal can prepare a private valuation and a presentation plan built around your address. Request Your Luxury Home Valuation.
