There’s something familiar about the newest restaurant at the Pearl.
Painstakingly restored and expanded to include a massive kitchen, custom smokehouse and outdoor patios, the century-old Boehler’s House has a new address down the block, a new name and a gleaming storefront.
Yet it feels a lot like an old friend you haven’t seen in years — and given the time it took to relocate and renovate, in some ways it is.
Opening at 239 E. Grayson St. on Sept. 2, Carriqui (pronounced KHER-ih-key) is the latest restaurant concept from the people behind the former brewery transformed into a mixed-use development where everything old is seemingly made new again.
Patrons pining for the quirky character they remember from the building’s time on Josephine Street won’t be disappointed. Even many of the new elements lend a homey feel to the new-and-improved buildings and come by way of local artists and artisans.
And if they yearn for the slanting floors and precariously tilting walls of the former Liberty Bar restaurant, which occupied the building from 1985 to 2008 before relocating to Southtown, the long-awaited reveal should satisfy.
“There are places and spaces that warrant special attention, that warrant special care, because they have a history, they have a meaning, but they also have a kind of a character to them,” said Elizabeth Fauerso, CEO of Potluck Hospitality, a sister company to Pearl developer Silver Ventures. “People love this building.”
An old building’s odyssey
Rio Perla Properties, a Silver Ventures affiliate, purchased the property in 2014 and set about stabilizing the 1890 structure that once served as a saloon run by German immigrant Fritz Boehler. Over time, pests and leaky air conditioning combined to seriously damage the foundation, giving the walls a distinctive leftward lean.
Righting the structure was necessary to make the building usable again, perhaps for another 100 years, but was a process that could not be rushed, according to the architecture team. Neither could obtaining the permissions of the Historic and Design Review Commission to relocate it.
Finally, in 2020, with the long-sought approval in hand, workers embarked on the ambitious effort to lift the historic house, reorient it and move it to the opposite corner, where the building now faces the Pearl.
The project took time because the structure wasn’t built to be a restaurant, said architect Don McDonald. “This was built like a house,” he said.
And there’s no fountain of youth for a building of that age. It no longer leans like it once did, causing the floors to slant by up to a foot, McDonald said. Though it won’t be apparent to most, “just let me say, it is in no way level.”
The overhaul of the interior and exterior, undertaken with the historic fabric and character in mind, wasn’t inexpensive. In a 2019 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the developer estimated the project to cost $5 million.
Fauerso would not reveal the final price tag, but said, “It was a very significant investment. Just the time alone is a significant investment.”
Seating for 380
In an era when many restaurants are struggling with rising costs and labor shortages, the Pearl team felt it was also a safe bet. “We believe that kind of human need to gather together around a table and share food and feel connected and celebrate doesn’t go away in crisis,” she said.
In the restaurant’s new spot, a caliche courtyard with outdoor seating and a bar was installed to complement the old house and the new two-story, limestone structure adjacent to it that brings the total restaurant seating to 380. The complex also includes a smokehouse with custom pits made by Mill Scale Metalworks in Lockhart.
The building’s drooping balconies have been shored up to provide seating for al fresco dining overlooking Grayson Street. From the back porch area, diners can peer into the smokehouse and through tall windows into the kitchen to watch the chefs at work.
Fauerso said the developer also partnered with the City of San Antonio to widen sidewalks along Grayson and install new street lighting to improve pedestrian safety in the area.
The entire block has changed considerably. Gone is a Pearl parking lot and an old single-story house that once sat on the property. Demolished to make way for Carriqui, its materials were salvaged and repurposed in the new restaurant.
‘Traditional bona fides’
The Pearl family of companies has a talent for finding unique places that need attention, said Fauerso, who was promoted in June from chief marketing officer at the Pearl to the top post of the newly formed Potluck Hospitality.
“This building is one of those places,” she said. “It has the kind of traditional bona fides of being a really cool historic building with a long history.
“But then it also has the Liberty Bar chapter, which still rings important for so many people in San Antonio.”
Potluck owns and operates Carriqui and is part-owner of several other restaurants within the Pearl, including the upcoming Ladino and Full Goods Diner restaurants also opening in September.
In keeping with the way the organization operates, Fauerso and Pearl leaders spent time talking first about what the building should be and how it should look. Then began what she called an “archaeological” process of peeling back layers of material and discovering what could be maintained, restored, salvaged or repurposed.
Carriqui became a “project of passion” with skilled craftsmen, carpenters and masons working to restore parts of the structure and build new sections that blend with the old.
Designer Kristen Weber — responsible for selecting the furniture, fixtures and equipment for the new restaurant — has been working on the project for eight years. She said she can still see and appreciate the imprint of all those who have worked on the building throughout its history.
“Even though you don’t know them, you can’t talk to them, it’s like you can almost think see what they were thinking,” Weber said.
Some of their archaeological discoveries will be on display in the new restaurant, along with vintage photographs showing the old bar and restaurant once frequented by brewery workers.
The work of two local artists, Ricky Armendariz and Lloyd Walsh, with visual interpretations of the restaurant name Carriqui, a green jay that inhabits South Texas, also hangs on the walls.
A city’s greatest culinary hits
On a recent afternoon, more than 100 waitstaff, kitchen workers and bartenders sat through training in preparation for the restaurant’s opening. The refinished bar, a remnant of the old saloon, was lined with a delivery of liquor and wine waiting to be stored.
Executive chef Jaime Gonzalez was on hand to talk about the menu he developed. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, Gonzalez is the former executive chef at Supper at Hotel Emma and now leads the Carriqui kitchen.
He said the flight path of the Carriqui inspired the menu, which features fresh seafood from the Gulf, Rio Grande Valley-inspired botana platters and pit-cooked barbacoa and sliced brisket with a fruit-based mole sauce.
It also represents San Antonio’s “greatest hits,” Gonzalez said. “This place is full of Tex-Mex [and] Mexican food, but I think what we’re going to do is just the best of everything — the best of nachos, the best of ceviche.”
The prices on the menu range from moderately expensive ($10-$25) to expensive ($25-$45), Fauerso said. “You can push it [and order the ribeye], but there’s always going to be enchilada plates, super affordable happy hour, super affordable lunch.”
She said the vision for Carriqui was to become an iconic restaurant in San Antonio that was spacious enough to accommodate large family and group gatherings but also felt cozy. “We didn’t want it to be a boutique restaurant,” she said. “We need to be able to have big tables and big parties [that can] walk in.”
Both the main restaurant and Rock House have spaces for private dining for events and parties.
Carriqui will be open Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations can be made at the restaurant website, carriquitx.com.
This article has been updated to correct the name of Mill Scale Metalworks.
