Tony’s Siesta

There's a bar across the street from my alma mater that's been a holdout for probably 30 years. The university has managed to buy all the real estate and businesses around it and gut it into administrative buildings and a Raising Cane's but the owner of this old dive refuses to sell. I heard him talk about it once and he said something along the lines of, "My house is in the neighborhood, I've been doing this for 30 years, if I sell the place what am I gonna do? Sit at home all day?"

Dive bars close for all sorts of reasons, whether it's bills piling up, a purchase offer, or the owner simply wanting some peace and quiet. For good reason too—30 years is a long time to mop up puke and listen to conspiracy theories.

But it was the numbers game that did in Tony's Bar, the beloved San Antonio cantina that finally threw in the towel in 2019. Owner Tony Lopez had been running the show since 1999, but things just weren't working out anymore. Responding to the 'San Antonio Express-News' in 2019, he said “It was profitable until about six months ago, but all the apartment projects (on Broadway) have replaced the businesses. Now there are only about 10 people employed in the area.”

So new operators swooped in, signed a 5-year lease, picked up a liquor license (it was beer-only before that), spruced the place up, and reopened it as Tony's Siesta. All things considered, things turned out pretty well. They kept Tony's name as an homage and retained a casual ambiance. And the building is staying put since it has an official historic designation from the Conservation Society of San Antonio—portions of it date back to the 1800s.

Sure, Tony's Siesta has one of those Instagram-ready neon lights and a cocktail menu now. But you can still find signs of its blue-collar cantina past. The windows still have metal bars on them and the gravel lot outside is as good a place as any to try some truck-made fare. So, all in all, it's a good thing that Tony's did not succumb to a perilous fate.

After all, it could've turned into a Rasing Cane's.