Once tucked away on the far outskirts of town, the Barn Door Restaurant and Meat Market has seen San Antonio grow up around it since it opened in September 1953.
Now the city will have to say goodbye to the iconic steakhouse.
When reached Friday, Gerardo Calvillo, the general manager of Mamita’s Cuisine Inc., which owns El Mirasol and Soluna Cocina Mexicana, said the company plans to move into the Barn Door space, though plans are still being finalized.
The restaurant sits on a 1.6-acre lot owned by the Strauss family, known for their role in civic leadership, business and politics with roots dating back to 1870. The land is valued at $1.9 million, according to the Bexar Central Appraisal District.
For 72 years, customers knew the Barn Door for its grilled ribeyes and chicken fried steak, special events and red-checkered table cloths and for its marquee that announced people celebrating birthdays by name.
“Over the decades, we have had the honor of watching generations grow up at our tables, sharing meals, laughter, and stories that became part of our history. Through it all, San Antonio, you have been there with us,” read a recent post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The Barn Door will close on Sunday. Until then, the steakhouse is operating only by reservation, which can be made on the restaurant’s website.
“Thank you for walking through our doors, sitting at our tables, and making this place feel like home for more than seven decades,” the restaurant wrote in its farewell message. “You gave us purpose, and you gave this place its soul.”
Beyond the parties, dinners and social gatherings, the Barn Door was a place where big deals were brokered and finalized. Developer Marty Wender closed a deal in 1984 to sell the land on which Sea World was built.
“Most of the stuff I did at Westover Hills was done at the Barn Door,” he said. “I’m sure there are a million stories about things that happened there.”
William C. “Bill” Tassos cut the first deal. In 1953, he opened the Barn Door on a distant site once occupied by Frazer’s Country Kitchen. Within months, the San Antonio Light reported that Tassos was “offering steak dinners in exchange for old saddles, which he hangs on the fence for atmosphere at his N. New Braunfels Ave. eating spot.”
Over the years, the Barn Door made off-beat news. In 1957, for example, The Light newspaper reported that Tassos set a 4 1/2 pound steak in front of golfer Mike Souchak to see if he could finish it within a set time. The steak cost $11.50 but the golfer was not charged because “within an hour Souchak consumed it with minutes to spare.”
In 1963, the Barn Door, Grey Moss Inn and Menger Hotel received awards from the Ford Motor Co. According to the Express-News, “the honored restaurants were selected for their ‘truly choice’ foods and featured recently in an issue of Ford Times.”
The Barn Door marked its 40th anniversary in 1993 with a special. All menu items were offered at 1953 prices for those born in the month of August, according to the Express-News. A club steak, served with baked potato, salad and buttered rolls, went for $2.60. Rainbow trout with the same sides sold for $1.75, shrimp cocktail for 65 cents, a bowl of vanilla ice cream for 10 cents.
Beneath the restaurant’s rustic wood beams, history flows. “If these walls could talk,” Wender said.
He has some stories. Wender helms the Civic Leaders Club, a group comprised of past chairmen of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and other local leaders.
The club, which once included the late billionaire Red McCombs, met for breakfast at the Barn Door every Wednesday for decades. In the History Room, dedicated to veterans of World War II, former Mayor Henry Cisneros, banker Pat Frost, Wender and others discussed issues and ideas to improve San Antonio. They also listened to guest speakers, often local and state leaders.
“Red McCombs brought me into the club,” Wender recalled.
The club will move to the nearby Petroleum Club, Wender said, but meeting elsewhere won’t be the same. The Barn Door is San Antonio’s oldest steakhouse.
“It’s been an institution,” he said. “I hate to see it go.”
Disclosure: Pat Frost serves on the San Antonio Report’s board of directors. For a full list of board members, click here.
