The folks behind Terry Black’s Barbecue are planning to build a restaurant — with a side of hospitality — in San Antonio.
The group with restaurants in Austin, Dallas and Lockhart has submitted to the city a site plan for property it owns in the 2100 block of Broadway Street near the Pearl.
But they say it will be part of a larger development where the family of restaurateurs can do more than smoke ribs and brisket in the city they once called home.
The plans show the 1.4-acre lot transformed into a spacious restaurant served by six barbecue pits plus a three-story hotel and spa and a 110-space parking garage.
But, “that’s nothing like what it’s going to look like,” said Mark Black, who owns the property with his brother, Mike Black, and other family members.
Those plans are preliminary and “nothing’s really set in stone,” he said.
While a Terry Black’s Barbecue restaurant similar to others is in the works, Black said the “hospitality component” on the site will be distinct from the eatery and will feature more of a bathhouse than a spa.
“It’s going to be a multitude of buildings, all green spaces and courtyards — something a little more unique than a typical box hotel,” Black said.
They are also making plans for a member’s club and another high-end restaurant there, he said. The parking garage will be underground.
The family is developing several similar properties in other Texas cities.
“We were pretty fortunate to be able to buy good real estate from Terry Black’s Barbecue and we’re trying to maximize the footprint,” Black said. “We love that area on Broadway.”
Though they want to maximize their investment in the real estate, he said, the Blacks aren’t planning any high-rises in that location.
The Blacks’ 4M Broadway investor group acquired the property, which was owned by former City Councilman Roberto Treviño, who renovated an existing small building there into an office, in 2021. The building is no longer there.
The property is situated along Broadway and adjacent to the offices of the Alamo Colleges District to the east. Black cited its proximity to the Pearl, Alamo Heights and the River Walk as attractive for development.
A construction networking website estimates the project to be a $5 million development and shows it is scheduled to start in November. But Black said it’s too early in the planning stages to estimate the cost or the timeline.
Terry Black’s spun off from the family-owned Black’s BBQ, founded in 1932, after a family feud. Mark and his brother opened the Austin restaurant in 2014.
“We’re excited to come to San Antonio,” he said. “We were all born there and my parents lived for over 20 years and my uncle lives in the King William District.”
The development follows a pattern of explosive growth along the Broadway corridor driven by the success of the Pearl and ever-increasing residential options in the area north of downtown.
South of the Terry Black’s-owned site is a large swath of Broadway-frontage property owned by a group that includes GrayStreet Partners. The group has long positioned future development there as a mixed-used, retail-intensive project.
Almost a year ago, GrayStreet also acquired an additional .8 acres where the Pig Stand restaurant sat for more than a century.
