When developer Marty Wender was trying to seal the deal on the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in Westover Hills, he was faced with the daunting challenge of finding investors. This was during the 1980s, when many Texas banks were failing amid plummeting oil prices and real estate values.
Looking for outside backers, Wender began negotiating with the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. It was a delicate dance, Wender said, as the Japanese banking executives were cautious. Wender knew he had to make a good first impression, so he arranged to have a business meeting with the officials at his favorite San Antonio restaurant, the private Club Giraud.
One meeting turned into about a dozen meetings with the bank officials — all at Club Giraud — before a deal was done.
“You don’t just talk to the head guy and make the deal,” Wender said. “That’s not how it works. They send different people to talk over the details.”
He got his financing, the resort opened in 1987, and it remains one of the region’s top resort destinations. Over the decades, Wender has closed hundreds of deals at Club Giraud, he said, from convincing the owners of SeaWorld to build a location in West San Antonio to selling Microsoft the site for the first of its three data centers in Westover Hills.
“I use Club Giraud to help sell San Antonio and convince companies to move to town,” he said. “It really gives people a taste of what this city is all about.”
A new landlord
While it remains somewhat under the radar, the members-only Club Giraud has long been a popular destination for the city’s movers and shakers to meet, talk business and close deals. Bill Lende, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist noted for establishing the 644-acre Cibolo Preserve, came up with the private dining club’s original concept, according to general manager Bryan Worden.
A board of directors further developed the idea and opened Club Giraud in 1983 on the historic downtown campus of what was then the Southwest Craft Center (the name was changed to the Southwest School of Art in 2010). The club is owned by its membership, Worden said, and members created a philanthropic arm to support the historic preservation of the buildings on the 6.6-acre campus, as well as the school’s arts education programs.
A significant change occurred in August 2021 when UTSA and the Southwest School of Art announced they were merging.
As part of the merger, UTSA retained the art school’s named galleries, studios and buildings, including the one that houses Club Giraud. UTSA and SSA officially combined their programs into an expanded new school in UTSA’s College of Liberal and Fine Arts in fall 2022. Club Giraud’s members still own the restaurant, while the buildings and property are owned and managed by UTSA, Worden said.
Worden has been at Club Giraud since it opened in 1983, starting as the chef and working his way up to general manager. He oversees a staff of about 50, some of whom have been with him since day one.
“[The restaurant] is run similar to a family business,” he said. “We take care of our people. It’s a special place to come to work.”
Menu items include steak, seafood and a variety of Texas classics, with offerings that range from escargot to “downtown enchiladas.”
“It’s pretty broad, but we try to stick with what we do best,” said Worden.
The club has about 1,000 members, Worden said, and new applicants must be sponsored by three members to join. “It’s a diverse membership with people from all over the city, including a lot of significant folks from the business community.”
Veronica Salazar, UTSA chief financial officer and senior vice president for business affairs, said UTSA receives philanthropic funding and rent from Club Giraud. The university uses both funding sources to preserve the historic UTSA Southwest campus and support a variety of programs, including adult and youth art classes, rotating art exhibits, and ongoing arts curriculum and instruction.
“We look forward to continuing to create new opportunities to honor and grow the San Antonio art community in partnership with Club Giraud and its members,” Salazar said.
‘Stepping into history’
Club Giraud is off North St. Mary’s Street with a back patio overlooking the River Walk. Surrounded by high-rises and office buildings, the two-story stone building is located on what was originally known as the Ursuline Convent and Academy, which opened in 1851 as the first school for girls in San Antonio. Club Giraud, which can accommodate about 300 people, occupies what were the Academy’s kitchen, carriage sheds, music rooms, and laundry facilities.
The dining club is named after Francois Giraud, who served as architect for the Ursuline Academy buildings and is also noted for designing St. Mary’s Church and surveying the boundaries for San Pedro Springs Park, San Antonio’s first public park. He later served as the city’s mayor from 1872 to 1875.
“I feel like I’m stepping into history every time I go to Club Giraud,” said Peggy Walker, managing director, private client manager, at Bank of America.
Walker said she’s been a member since 2001 and typically has lunch at the restaurant a few times a week.
“I take clients I care about and who are special to me,” she said. “A lot of important decisions are discussed and agreed upon at Club Giraud, and you can’t do that at just any restaurant.”
While it has a piano player, Walker said Club Giraud is relatively quiet, so you can have conversations without shouting over loud music or raucous crowds. And there are multiple private dining rooms, which are ideal for business meetings, she said.
Moreover, she said the staff is always gracious and helpful, and they know what she likes (fish of the day, always grilled, with tequila cilantro beurre blanc and capers). “I’m proud to take friends and business associates there,” she said. “They always take good care of us, and I know it will be a memorable experience.”
Walker said she’s such a fan of Club Giraud, she going to have her wedding reception and luncheon there when she ties the knot with local attorney Myron East Jr. in May.
“I can’t think of a better place to have an event that is really important to me.”
Kenny Wilson is another longtime member of Club Giraud and usually has lunch there a few times a week.
He said that when UTSA absorbed the Southwest School of Art, he, along with other members, employees and board members were concerned about the future of Club Giraud.
“People were worried that UTSA might not want to keep the restaurant,” said Wilson. “But just the opposite has happened. They continue to support Club Giraud and it’s been a great relationship.”
Wilson served as a longtime San Antonio market president for Bank of America and as president and CEO of Haven for Hope from 2016 to 2021.
Like Walker, Wilson said he appreciates the quiet, privacy, food and attentive staff that Club Giraud offers, all of which make it an ideal place to host business meetings.
“There are a lot of great places to eat around San Antonio, but none are like Club Giraud,” he said. “I see all kinds of people from the business community there. It’s a good mix.”
Wilson said he was a regular at Club Giraud when he worked at Bank of America, and continued to dine there when he oversaw Haven for Hope, which turned out to be a blessing during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said while other restaurants closed, Club Giraud stayed open, as did Haven for Hope.
“All of us were scared and worried,” he said. “We were taking every precaution that we knew of, but we still had to come to work every day.”
During this frightening time, Wilson said he would regularly take staff members to lunch at Club Giraud. “The staff would take care of us and it was a wonderful respite from all the stress and uncertainty. It really helped us get through a tough time.”
