SAN ANTONIO – Multiple local and chain restaurants in San Antonio announce closures this year, reflecting industry challenges.
Local chef Jason Dady operates several area restaurants and closed Jardín at the San Antonio Botanical Garden this summer.
“A lot of people look at closing restaurants as a big negative,” Dady said, “and sometimes it can be a positive, or at least I think that’s our approach.”
“I certainly had restaurants that closed because maybe they weren’t very good or it was a bad location,” Dady continued. “I’ve also had a lot of restaurants that I’ve closed just because we felt that it wasn’t smart for us to continue.”
The Jason Dady Restaurant Group is comprised of five restaurants with catering and events services throughout the San Antonia area.
Dady told KSAT 12 that each restaurant in the industry that closes has its own personal reasons.
For example, Good Time Charlie’s Bar and Cafe, a community staple for over 45 years, officially closed its doors after the land was sold to the DoSeum next door.
However, one of the co-founders said the sale had nothing to do with their decision to close.
“I think it’s really unfair for people to point fingers and say, ‘Oh, you know, I went there and it was terrible, that’s why they’re out of business,’” Dady said. “You have no idea why or how they went out of business.”
The Texas Restaurant Association said the industry is facing a difficult time right now.
“Texas families are seeing a lot of financial pressure, so they have fewer dollars to spend dining out,” association spokesperson Kelsey Erickson Streufert said.
San Antonio restaurants that have closed this year include Bandit BBQ and Burgers, Carriqui at the Pearl, Cascabel Mexican Patio, Dry Dock Oyster Bar, and many more.
>> LIST: These San Antonio restaurants closed their doors in 2025
“We just came out of what I believe to be the slowest summer I’ve seen in probably 20 years,” Dady said. “Everybody’s hurting. You’re not alone. Everybody’s restaurants are slower than they were last year.”
“You just got to buckle down, be smart with every dollar, and take care of the guests,” Dady continued.
With over 20 years in the industry, Dady has faced almost every challenge a restaurant can see.
“I mean, 25 restaurants in 25 years, I’ve had great successes and I’ve had failures and I have had the tears,” Dady said. “I have learned more from my closures than I have from my great successes because you learn that that didn’t work or that’s not really working here, but maybe we can use that here.”
Dady says the key to keeping his restaurants running is genuine hospitality.
“The best advice I could ever give is you’ve got to take care of the people that are walking in that door,” Dady said.
“That’s why it takes that team mentality of understanding about hospitality, being genuine to who you are, and building that culture is what makes great restaurants. It’s the culture within the walls,” he said.
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