The historic Barn Door Restaurant and Meat Market, a recently-closed steakhouse that opened in 1953, will be bulldozed next month to make way for Soluna, a popular Mexican restaurant on Broadway.
“We’re going to tear the Barn Door down and build from the ground up,” said Gerardo Calvillo, general manager of Mamita’s Cuisine, Inc., which owns Soluna and El Mirasol restaurants. “We’re hoping to start demolition within the next month. But those details are still kind of up in the air right now.”
The Barn Door sits on a 1.6-acre lot formerly owned by the Strauss family in Alamo Heights, a property valued at $1.9 million, according to Bexar Central Appraisal District.
It will take time to demolish and rebuild.
“We plan on opening for Fiesta 2028,” Calvillo said.
According to the general manager, Soluna has two years remaining on its current lease, less than a mile from the new lot. Gerardo Calvillo and his brother, Mamita’s Cuisine owner Jesse Calvillo, plan to build a two-story restaurant with an upper rooftop bar and kitchen, a main dining room downstairs and two patios.
“We’re still working with architects,” Gerardo Calvillo said.
The Barn Door closed on Mother’s Day, May 10, after 72 years.
Before the steakhouse served its final customers, he told the San Antonio Report that Soluna would move into the space known for grilled ribeyes, chicken fried steak and red-checkered table cloths.
Randy Stokes, former Barn Door owner, could not be reached for comment. In an April 27 social media post announcing the closing, the Barn Door wrote, “You welcomed us into your traditions. You trusted us with your milestones. You filled our dining rooms with life, and you made The Barn Door what it became. We have been through so much together, and it has truly been the privilege of a lifetime to serve this city the steaks you have come to love.”
Barn Door was known as a place where big deals were brokered and finalized. It was inside the iconic steakhouse in 1984 where developer Marty Wender closed a deal to sell the land on which Sea World was built.
The Calvillo brothers are sons of Jesse and Carmen Calvillo, who founded La Fogata Mexican Restaurant in 1979. It was there that Jesse Calvillo Sr. created his own take on a skinny margarita, a famous San Antonio cocktail known as the chispa.
After selling La Fogata to new ownership in 1997, the first of three family-run El Mirasol restaurants opened in 1998. The family opened Soluna in 2003.
Five years ago, the Calvillo brothers began looking to relocate, largely to accommodate the demand for more parking. The Barn Door property, they learned, became available over the past year.
“We weren’t sure if they wanted to pull the trigger or not, and they finally did,” Gerardo Calvillo said. “We closed about a week and a half ago.”
The recent transaction stirred memories. Gerardo Calvillo remembers dining at The Barn Door in his youth.
“I’d go there for birthdays with friends,” he said. “You’d have your name on the billboard. I’m very proud of the move and the opportunity to take over such a historic area.”
Soluna on Broadway holds memories, as well.
“I worked with my dad there,” he said. “I met my wife (Alexis) there. She was a customer. I went in there the other day by myself and started looking around. So many memories after 23 years. It’s kind of bittersweet.”
