The owner of a popular River Walk bar broke ground Thursday for a similar concept in a part of San Antonio already known for its slew of attractions.
Elsewhere Garden Bar & Kitchen owner Terrin Fuhrmann announced the start of construction on Elsewhere Too, an indoor-outdoor bar and restaurant on the far North Side, at 4507 N. Loop 1604 West.
Elsewhere Too will be much like Fuhrmann’s original place at 103 E. Jones Ave., the half-acre site where outdoor seating, lawn games and swings overlooking the river give the place a laid-back vibe.
The new establishment will have a bar and swings, but also something unique — a custom-made, 52-foot Ferris wheel shipped by boat from Turkey.
There will be a flower tunnel and big-screen televisions on a 6-acre lot that is a stone’s throw from multiple other attractions in the fast-growing corridor.
Plans also call for fire pits, an expansive greenhouse designed for private events, a secret garden and a hedge maze. Elsewhere Too will have ample vehicle parking — something that its sister bar cannot provide in the urban core.
The venue is expected to open in summer 2025.
“We can’t wait to ‘cheers’ you on top of the Ferris wheel,” Fuhrmann said at the groundbreaking event on Thursday.
Fuhrmann has worked in the bar industry for 21 years, and previously owned the Ivy Rooftop club on North Loop 1604.
He and business partner Nolan Ellis opened Elsewhere in January 2020 after acquiring the outdoor patio restaurant known as The Luxury from Chef Andrew Weissman.
Elsewhere represents a turning point in Fuhrmann’s career to concepts he said are more sustainable and inclusive of all stages of life. “As I’ve gotten older, my tastes have changed,” he said. “As far as going out, I’m kind of over the nightclub scene.”
Customers at the downtown Elsewhere, which gets a mix of tourists, downtown residents and other San Antonians, marshaled his return to the far Northwest Side.
Using artificial intelligence technology called Placer.ai that scrapes phone data, Furhmann determined that many of his customers were making the drive from near North Loop 1604 to visit Elsewhere.
The area is desirable because of its proximity to the University of Texas at San Antonio main campus, he added, and affluent neighborhoods like Shavano Park, the Dominion, Stone Oak and Rogers Ranch, as well as The Rim shopping center.
“That whole 1604 and I-10 corridor has now turned into this little entertainment district,” Fuhrmann said. “It’s just an ideal spot in town.”
The kickstart to fun in the area can be traced back three decades.
In 1992, the former USAA Real Estate Company redeveloped a former rock quarry at La Cantera into a musical show park known simply as Fiesta Texas.
Three years later, Time Warner acquired the park and rebranded it Six Flags Fiesta Texas and started its transformation into an amusement park with added rides and a water park.
Today the emerging spaghetti of highway overpasses, frequently tied up in construction-related traffic, is encompassed by destinations for fun.
In 2006, Santikos built the Palladium, a 19-screen IMAX movie theater in The Rim shopping center. The same year in the same area, Bass ProShops opened its mega store and rifle range.
Nearby, other entertainment options have sprung up, including Bowl & Barrel, The Escape Room and Sandbox VR.
Nearly a decade ago, in 2015, the TopGolf International franchise erected its signature boundary netting 15 stories tall for a swanky driving range and lounge at 5539 N. Loop 1604, just east of Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
Now Andretti Indoor Karting & Games and iFLY Indoor Skydiving share the quadrant with TopGolf, where in recent years the gaming venue Kung Fu Saloon was built.
Also in the vicinity are two golf courses, two indoor gun shooting ranges, the Coyote Dog Park, Chicken N Pickle, and for the outdoor enthusiasts, Salado Creek and Leon Creek Greenway trailheads.
In 2023, Spurs Sports & Entertainment completed The Rock, site of its new training center, the Victory Capital Performance Center, and late last year, opened Frost Plaza — a public square where games are broadcast live.
Also in the area is an abundance of dining options and nightclubs, budget and luxury hotels, day spas and fitness clubs — and retail stores for everything from clothes to cars and books to baseball bats.
In the midst of what has become a densely developed area in the last decade or so is at least one sizable exception: the Martin Marietta-Beckman Quarry.
“They’re still taking limestone out of there, so I don’t think they’re stopping anytime soon,” Fuhrmann said. “But that was another one of the pluses for that piece of property.”
The Elsewhere Too site he purchased this year is set back from the highway, nestled among trees and adjacent to the quarry, he said. “When we were looking at spaces, I wanted obviously to be accessible, but I also didn’t want to feel like you’re right on top of the highway here.”
