Bill Miller Bar-B-Q wants tax relief from Bexar County as it seeks to move its headquarters from downtown to the West Side. And the county wants to provide it.
The Bexar County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to allow staff to begin negotiating exact terms for a property tax abatement, following the company’s request for it. Staff in the county’s economic development department has already recommended the regional chain based in San Antonio be given a 10-year, 75% tax abatement valued at an estimated $1.1 million over the term of the incentive.
The tax relief would enable the regional chain to relocate its downtown commissary, bakery and warehouse to the new headquarters site, the company said in its application to the county. These new facilities, located at the intersection of Highway 151 and Old Highway 90, would allow it to continue to expand the chain, supplying five to 10 additional restaurants a year, the company said.
The company aims to invest an estimated $55 million into the project. Its current headquarters and related facilities have since 1971 been located near the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and César E. Chávez Boulevard. The company has said it plans to keep that site as a production facility.
The move will create 24 new jobs and allow Bill Miller to retain 413 currently existing ones, the company said. The company also is seeking a waiver of development and permitting fees.
The company’s efforts to build a new headquarters on the West Side has been in the works for several years. Last year the company bought 57 acres from the City of San Antonio at the site. In 2020, the company filed plans with the state to build a new two-story office building on Highway 151.
The site, appraised by the county at around $4 million, is next to an Amazon sorting center and across the street from the San Antonio Food Bank.
The regional chain also indicated in its request for incentives that it was also considering building these additional facilities in Schertz or Selma.
“For a 69-year-old company, this project will allow us to continue to grow our footprint for another years and double our store count,” said CEO Jim Guy Egbert.
Over the course of the 10-year abatement, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q’s project with the expanded amenities would contribute an estimated $6.8 million in property taxes to Edgewood Independent School District. It also would pay more than $137,000 to the flood control district and $1.6 million to the University Hospital System.
“This would be a boon to Edgewood ISD,” said David Marquez, executive director of Bexar County’s economic and community development department.
Bill Miller BBQ employs 2,300 full-time employees and 3,000 part-time employees, according to the incentive application. Most are based locally. The company listed the average annual salary as $42,232.
