The Broadway location of chain restaurant La Madeleine on Broadway abruptly closed in December, surprising many of its fans. Other locations in San Antonio remain open.
TPR’s Jerry Clayton recently spoke with Mike Sutter, restaurant critic for the San Antonio Express-News, about this and other happenings in the restaurant business in San Antonio.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Clayton: La Madeleine on Broadway was a long-time San Antonio institution. From what you can tell, what’s happened there?
Sutter: Well, they were there 32 years, and when they started out, they were charming. But remember that charm is a shelf-life commodity, and locals have stepped up and kind of filled that gap. We’ve got La Frite. We have Julia’s Bistro, Brassiere Mon Chou Chou.
That stretch of Broadway is evolving too. The corner where Broadway 5050 is is for sale … and Las Volare, the Italian restaurant next door. … I think La Madeleine lives and dies by those same market factors.
Clayton: 2024 saw a lot of restaurant closures. That’s the subject of a story that you have now in the Express-News. What are some of the ones that you feel like had the most impact?
Sutter: Well, I think two of the ones that made the biggest news were Allora and Arrosta, the twin sister Italian restaurants that were part of the adjunct Pearl properties. And that proved to me that not even the aegis of the Pearl can necessarily protect restaurants from themselves, from market factors, from the fickle tastes and preferences of the people who come to them.
One of the ones that hit me the hardest was Lala’s Gorditas on Roosevelt. Steven Pizzini, his family, has been in the Tex Mex game in San Antonio for 85 years, and I was there the last week he was open. Guy behind me in line says, “Man, I’ve always wanted to come here. I read that they were closing, so I wanted to get here before they were gone.” But what kind of delicious irony is that? That these places that we really want to support, we don’t show up until we find out they’re about to be gone.
Clayton: You and I both know that the restaurant business is tough. Is a lot of it financial stress, or is it simply just that the concepts are sort of timing out?
Well, if you’ve ever looked into getting into a commercial property, the lease terms are brutal. You have to pay for your equipment every year. You’ve got the upkeep of the complex that they’re in. So that’s a market factor … your expenses can go from $500 a month to an extra $3,000 the next month. Then it’s just those market factors.
One of the things that Steven Pizzini said was, “it’s nobody’s fault.” He said, “I don’t want to blame the people who are showing up at the last minute.” Where’s the love, the kind of steady curiosity that turns into loyalty, that turns into a legacy, sometimes the time and place and [for] food and fortune just to work out?
Clayton: We all know that it’s way more expensive to go out and eat these days. Do you think that could be a factor as well?
Yeah, but it’s just as expensive to go buy the groceries to make that same kind of food at home. San Antonio thinks that a $5.99 plate of cheese enchiladas is a birthright, but you’re not making any money if that’s all you’re charging. So yeah, it’s a factor, but I think it’s also a reality we all have to face.
Clayton: You have a new article about restaurant closures in the Express-News. Tell us about that.
You and I both know, Jerry, that there were dozens of closures throughout the city — hundreds, I would say. But I picked out 25 to talk about that. That really kind of struck home with me. Places at the Pearl like Botika, Allora and Arrosta, Godai — the sushi bar that switched hands, Up Scale, the fancy place on South Alamo closed down. The wave of brewery closings.
You can see that story right now on expressnews.com, and if you’re looking for restaurant stories, read the Taste newsletter. You can sign up for on the website.
