Bringing people together is Aaron Peña’s gift.
Firing up the grill. Cranking up the music. Popping open a round of cold ones. The guy knows how to kickstart a street party.
For three years, Peña has taken The Fajita Lounge, a traveling pop-up, to spaces and places across San Antonio. Supported by sponsors, he served food for free until it ran out, and on occasion, donated tips to local hospitality workers.
Now it’s Peña’s turn to benefit.
Local chefs and friends have organized a fajita plate sale on Sunday to support Peña, a beloved bar owner who was diagnosed with testicular cancer on May 6. He begins chemotherapy in June. Even with insurance, the treatment is expensive.
“I live 100 miles an hour because of work,” said Peña, 37, owner of Southtown bars Gimme Gimme and Amor Eterno. “But this has slowed me down.”
The plate sale at rock-n-roll bar Gimme Gimme, crowned Bar of the Year by CultureMap San Antonio, starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.
For a suggested donation of $20, supporters will receive a plate of beef and chicken fajitas, sausage, rice, beans, potato salad and “fixins.”
“If you can only give $5, then give $5,” said Matthew Garcia, an event organizer. “Give what you can. Any donation is helpful.”
Donation options are Venmo: @aaron-pena-21 and Cash App: $yungguayabera.
Raffle tickets ($20 for 10 tickets) may be purchased for a chance to win more than 35 prizes, including a 55-inch TV, a Blackstone grill, a Yeti cooler and gift cards to local restaurants.
Tejano and Conjunto music will be provided by DJ Texas Papi.
The Fajita Lounge is supporting the event, along with other bars and eateries and a litany of chefs, among them: Luis Colón (Spot On Hospitality), Paul Peterson (Bar Loretta), Matthew Garcia (Gigi’s Deli), Jacob Gonzales (Jacob’s), Michael Barrera and Roy Baker (Bucán Rodeo) and Javi Gutierrez and Jackie Giddens (Buddy’s Big Trouble).
“I appreciate the outpouring of support,” Peña said. “I haven’t had to sit with my diagnosis alone. When I do, my mind starts to kind of wander and go down these black holes. But people haven’t allowed me the chance to overthink this too much.”
How it all started
It began with a crawfish boil. In the summer of 2022, Peña, Garcia and Gonzales, then the chef at Rebelle, were trying to attract business for Squeezebox, a since-closed St. Mary’s Strip bar run by Peña.
After the crawfish was gone and chicken hit the grill, someone asked what the trio was doing.
In reply, the guys offered a wisecrack, “This is the fajita lounge.” The name stuck. Thereafter, the three tíos, as they called themselves, launched a mobile, food give-away.
The Fajita Lounge origin story made it to Texas Highways magazine in January, along with the tios’ tips on how to properly marinate fajitas.
Three or four times a year, the tíos loaded a pop-up with protein and sides. They posted their destination and arrival time on Instagram and pulled into the designated spot. For the past year, that’s been Tony’s Siesta at 206 Brooklyn Ave.
People show up, hundreds sometimes, and often bring their own contributions: salsas, tortillas and bacon-wrapped jalapenos, for example. Peña turned up a boombox that blared Tejano favorites and the gathering ate and drank into the night.
“Aaron created a space that was needed,” Garcia said. “I’m so blessed to be part of something like that. Now many in the community have been willing to step up. As you pour into other people’s cups, they pour back into yours.”
Waves of highs and lows have carried Peña from winter to spring. The Fajita Lounge drew a big turnout on Feb. 16. Gimme Gimme won Bar of the Year on April 10. “I was thrilled for the accolade,” Peña said. “It meant a lot to be recognized out of those great bars that were in that category.”
Days later, a doctor ordered x-rays and an ultrasound. The cancer diagnosis came on May 6. An oncologist set a schedule for chemotherapy.
“I did get in my head and pretty low for a bit,” Peña said. “Thankfully, my family and friends got me right back up.”
Colón, the former chef at Fig Tree Restaurant, knew how to help.
“I can cook,” he said. “That’s what I do. That’s my love language.”
The kitchen at Gimme Gimme on Sunday will be filled with chefs, volunteering to help a friend.
“It’s kind of come full circle,” Peña said. “Now it’s my turn to be the beneficiary. But the idea is the same: to get people together and have a good time.”
