This article has been updated.
Sichuanese fare will soon be one of the newest dining options on the grounds of the 1968 World’s Fair.
Selected last summer by Hemisfair officials, a sister restaurant to Dashi Sichuan Kitchen & Bar and Sichuan House is the latest tenant to join a growing number of food and beverage operators in the historic urban park district.
Hemisfair officials want to build a rear addition on the 138-year-old house, install fencing and rear porch railing plus accessibility ramps. The Historic and Design Review Commission approved the request on Wednesday.
The work could begin on the 1,100-square-foot house this fall, and the restaurant, called Kusch Faire, could open in spring or summer 2024, said Dashi owner Kristina Zhao.
“There’s a big story behind [Hemisfair] with the ‘68 fair and just so much passion and love that’s going into making that a great destination for our city and for people visiting our city,” Zhao said of Hemisfair’s redevelopment. “To have representation there and showcase what the city has to offer is an incredible honor.”
More than 1,300 homes and businesses were razed to make room prior to HemisFair ’68. But the house built by Polish-born stonemason John Kusch on land purchased by his wife, Josepha, remained.
During HemisFair ’68, the Folk Victorian-style house served as a Mexican restaurant called La Fonda Santa Anita, according to the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
The house sits in the eastern zone of Hemisfair near The ‘68 apartments and at the confluence of Yanaguana Garden, Civic Park — now under construction — and the planned Tower Park.
In recent years, it was used as storage and office space for contractors working at the park. The last business to operate in the space was a jewelry and gift store.
In February 2020, Hemisfair officials announced that it had received a $750,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to restore the Kusch House.
Kusch Faire is the creation of restaurateur Zhao, a San Antonio native who also founded the Chinese eatery Sichuan House at 3505 Wurzbach Rd., which opened in 2015.
In 2021, Zhao opened Dashi Sichuan Kitchen & Bar at 2895 Thousand Oaks Dr. The same year, she participated with La Gloria Chef Johnny Hernandez in hosting a dinner for the James Beard Foundation Taste of America series.
Sichuanese is often considered the spicy variety of Chinese restaurant food. Zhao’s restaurant dishes include toasted chili peppers, peppercorns, garlic and ginger, fermented rice, fruits and even cassia bark and pine needles.
The Hemisfair restaurant’s menu will have similar flavors, Zhao said. But in addition to the classic Chinese fare offered at her other restaurants, there will be some new items, including grab-and-go options.
The restaurant also will have a bodega with items from the Zhao family’s Asian Market, located at 5732 Evers Rd., to serve residents in the area, she said.
Kusch Faire joins a growing menu of dining venues operating in historic structures within the park, including Paleteria San Antonio, which soon will be joined by Künstler Tap & Brat-Haus in the 1883 Pereida House.
Commonwealth Coffee House & Bakery occupies the Koehler House and Dough Pizzeria operates in the OK Bar Building.
The Bombay Bicycle Club opens in August at the expanded Espinoza House, where the Spanish restaurant Carmens de la Calle will also share space.
In fall 2023, construction is scheduled to start on the Caribbean eatery Jerk Shack-Port Royal, similar to the other two Jerk Shack eateries in San Antonio, which will be a full-service restaurant at the Schultze House in Civic Park.
The first phase of construction on Civic Park is on schedule, a Hemsfair spokeswoman said. Tree planting has begun and limestone blocks from Lueders, Texas, are being put into place. The first event in the park, Jazz Alive, is scheduled for the end of September.
