Commentaries at the San Antonio Report provide space for our community to share perspectives and offer solutions to pressing local issues. The views expressed in this commentary belong to the author alone.
San Antonio is a city of creatives, innovators, and problem solvers. We have incredible talent in marketing, manufacturing, professional services, and the trades.
It’s about time we recognize our community’s strengths and start leaning on our own.
That is why I am proposing a policy that would require the city to start tracking exactly how much each department spends with local businesses.
Because when a San Antonian takes a risk and turns an idea into a living, that is a big deal. For a lot of families, starting a business is how they buy a house, send a child to college, and build a legacy. Entrepreneurship is one of the clearest paths to economic mobility in our community.
That kind of mobility matters even more as our city grows and many families feel the pinch of a struggling economy, which is why we should be unwavering about scaling our local businesses.
The City of San Antonio (CoSA) can be a major contributor to that mission.
CoSA is one of the biggest economic players in the region, spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year on goods, services, and contracts. Where that money goes, whether with a local vendor or a company two states away, contributes to which businesses thrive and which ones shudder. That gives us real leverage, and we should be using it to benefit our neighbors here at home.
Right now, we do not have a clear way to track and report how much of our city’s spending is going toward local businesses. What we do know, from a 2024 Aspen Institute analysis of San Antonio’s procurement economy, is that a meaningful share of public dollars is leaking out of the metro and out of the state.
My policy proposal is simple: ask city staff to track exactly how much each city department spends with local businesses. This will allow us to align our goals for that spending, identify gaps in the local business landscape, prepare our workforce to fill those gaps, and hold ourselves accountable.
You cannot put your money where your mouth is until you know where your money is going.
Our City Council talks often about the importance of keeping our dollars local, but unless we are sure that is happening, this is all just talk.
The city has already shown the power of a local-first strategy.
Seventy-five percent of the new concessions coming online at San Antonio International Airport are locally rooted, with San Antonio favorites such as Bakery Lorraine, 2M Smokehouse, Southerleigh, Pharm Table, Tre Trattoria, and Freight Fried Chicken joining the lineup, along with two new concepts from Chef Johnny Hernandez: Chef Johnny’s Mercado and Horseshoe Tequila Bar.
Just recently, Feliz Modern, the beloved Olmos Park pop-art and gift shop, opened its doors in Terminal B, putting the work of dozens of San Antonio artists in front of people from all over the world.
That is something to celebrate, and it is the kind of local-first culture we should bring to every department and project where it makes sense.
With major projects such as the Sports and Entertainment District coming online in the next several years, I hear from neighbors and businesses asking how they can participate in the building of our downtown.
It is at this moment that understanding our local spending — ensuring that San Antonio area businesses are front of mind — is more important than ever.
The city has a chance to set the standard here. When we spend with intention, others will follow. That is how “local-first” becomes the default across the region instead of the exception.
The talent and the businesses are already here. The question is whether our city’s spending reflects that, and if it doesn’t, then it’s imperative that we make it happen.
