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These 13 San Antonio-area restaurants will be closed in 2022

Posted on03/11/202230/11/2022Author

San Antonio saw quite a few restaurant openings this year and there is still another on the way with a California hot chicken chain set to open next month. But 2022 also saw a lot of restaurants closing their doors this year. The summer saw a lot of restaurants close, whether they announced their last days or just shuttered abruptly.

Hello Paradise

The Pearl-area outdoor lounge concept from local restaurant and cocktail guru Jeret Peña just celebrated one year of being in business. Then in February, Peña said Hello Paradise would close its doors.

You can't grab these pork ribs and turkey from Bandit BBQ anymore. — You can’t grab these pork ribs and turkey from Bandit BBQ anymore.

Mike Sutter /Staff file photo

BBQ bandits

Chef and pitmaster Brandon Peterson and business partner Mark Garcia announced in May that it would close San Antonio barbecue favorite Bandit BBQ after only two years. However, Peterson and Garcia said they would team up to open Bad Animal at the former Hello Paradise spot.

Alamo BBQ

Lauded San Antonio chef Jason Dady said in May that he was bringing an end to the Pearl-area barbecue joint Alamo BBQ after four years.

Playland

This one kind of came out of nowhere, but Chef Stefan Bowers took to Instagram in June to say that he would close the downtown San Antonio pizzeria Playland with plans to open a new concept elsewhere. Now the old building will be home to Voodoo Donuts.

Cerroni’s Purple Garlic

In keeping with the pizza theme, a longtime Italian eatery called Cerroni’s Purple Garlic on Austin Highway announced in July it was going to close the beloved spot after over 20 years.

Cerveceria Chapultepec

This closure took people by surprise only because the Mexican chain Cerveceria Chapultepec shuttered both of its San Antonio locations in late June without any word after just a year.

William and Addie Garner, owners of Mr. and Mrs. G's Home Cooking and Pastry on WW White Road, closed the restaurant this year. — William and Addie Garner, owners of Mr. and Mrs. G’s Home Cooking and Pastry on WW White Road, closed the restaurant this year.

JOHN DAVENPORT, Staff Photographer / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Mr. & Mrs. G’s

This San Antonio soul food staple on the Eastside announced via social media in July that the restaurant would close after serving the community for 32 years.

5 Points

This European concept at 1017 N Flores said that it would close its doors in July because it had trouble finding staff after the COVID-19 pandemic.

You could find the Big Over Easy Pizza with eggs at Broken Stone when it was open.

Chuck Blount/Staff

Broken Stone Pizza Co.

This Boerne pizzeria that opened its doors 10 years ago said in a Facebook post in July that it would have to close at the end of the month, saying that it was the only option they had.

Flagstop Cafe

Another Boerne restaurant that fed the community for 36 years closed its doors in August. Any chance at a return to the same location was dashed as the building was later demolished.

Sol Y Luna made a variety of giant cookies.

Yelp / Tara T.

Sol y Luna Baking Company

A popular bakery on the Northside known as Sol y Luna Baking Company closed in August after 14 years because the family decided to “hang up our rolling pins” and retire.

Hometown Burger closed all of its chains abruptly.

Google Maps

Hometown Burgers

This local burger chain abruptly closed all eight of its locations in September with very little explanation in a Facebook post that said: “It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing the permanent closing of all of our Hometown Burger locations. We thank you for your business over the years. We’ll see you on the flip side.”

Truth Pizzeria

Truth Pizzeria, a pizza joint on the Eastside that received praise, announced “with a heavy heart” that it would close its doors in October.

Study Finds Earliest Evidence of Cooking

Posted on03/10/202230/11/2022Author

A recent study found what could be the earliest known evidence of ancient cooking: the leftovers of a fish dinner from 780,000 years ago.

Cooking helped change our ancestors. It helped fuel our evolution and gave us bigger brains. Later, cooking would become central to the eating celebrations that brought communities together.

The new study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, is based on material from Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in Israel — a watery place near an ancient lake.

Ancient objects from the area suggest it was home to a community of Homo erectus, a kind of early human that walked upright, explained study lead writer Irit Zohar of Tel Aviv University.

Naama Goren-Inbar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem led the research digs. She said researchers found fish remains, especially teeth. Many of the teeth were from two different kinds of fish known as carp.

The remains were found near places where researchers also found signs of fire. Testing showed the teeth had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot. This suggests the fish were cooked low and slow, rather than being put right onto a fire, Zohar explained.

With all the evidence together, researchers concluded that these ancient human relatives had used fire for cooking some 780,000 years ago. That is much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, about 170,000 years ago, which showed Stone Age humans ate cooked roots in South Africa.

This illustration provided by Tel Aviv University depicts hominins preparing Luciobarbus longiceps fish on the shores of the ancient lake Lake Hula. A recent study found the oldest evidence of using fire to cook, dating back to 780,000 years ago. (Ella Maru/Tel Aviv University via AP)

Cooking might have started even earlier

The researchers — like many other experts — believe cooking started long before this, even though physical evidence has been hard to find.

“I am sure that in the near future an earlier case will be reported,” study writer Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University said in an email.

That is in part because using fire for cooking was an important step in humans evolution.

Cooking food makes it easier for the body to digest and get nutrients, explained David Braun of George Washington University. Braun was not involved with the study. When early humans figured out how to cook, they were able to get more energy, which they could use to fuel bigger brains.

Based on how human ancestors’ brains and bodies developed, scientists estimate that cooking skills appeared nearly 2 million years ago.

“If we’re out there eating raw items, it is very difficult to make it as a large-bodied primates,” Braun said.

Those first cooked meals were far different from today’s food. And in the many, many years in between, humans started not just eating for fuel, but for community.

Cooking food to build community

In a 2010 study, led by Natalie Munro of the University of Connecticut, researchers described the earliest evidence of a feast. The feast was a specially prepared meal that people brought together for an event 12,000 years ago in a cave in Israel.

The cave, which served as a burial place, included the remains of one special woman who seemed to be a religious leader for her community, Munro said.

This “first feast” came at an important turning point in human history, right as hunter-gatherers were starting to settle into more permanent living situations, Munro said. Gathering for special meals may have been a way to build community and reduce tensions now that people live closer to each other, he said.

Munro said he believes ancient feasts are served a lot of the same social uses that modern gatherings serve: People exchange information, make connections, or try to improve their position.

“This is something that’s just quintessentially humans,” Munro said. “And to see the first evidence of it is exciting.”

I’m John Russell.

Maddie Burakoff wrote this story for The Associated Press. John Russell adapted the story for Learning English.

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Words in This Story

evolution – n. the process by which changes in plants and animals happen over time

expose — v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected by something

digest — v. to change (food that you have eaten) with a biological process into simpler forms that can be used by the body

raw – adj. not cooked

primates – n. any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys

quintessentially – adv. the perfect example of something

Season of Sharing helps Bay Area food banks seeing unprecedented need as costs soar

Posted on23/09/202230/11/2022Author

The economy and job creation are bouncing back in the wake of the pandemic, but the Bay Area’s need for food is as high as ever, as soaring inflation and gas prices put pressure on people’s budgets — and also strain the food banks themselves, some of which are experiencing a dropoff in donations.

After seeing unprecendented demand during the first two years of the pandemic, Bay Area food banks are still struggling with a heavy need from low-income residents and those who are out of work. That’s despite the COVID case and death rates falling and many businesses are reopening and rehiring workers.

“Today, it feels like the need is just as high” compared to the worst periods of the pandemic, said Regi Young, executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “It doesn’t feel like it’s getting any better.”

The Oakland organization estimates that one in four Alameda County residents are now experiencing food insecurity, up from one in five before the pandemic.

“So many families and individuals, even if they might be back at work, (are) still really struggling,” said Leslie Bacho, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, which operates throughout Silicon Valley. “Our community is so fragile right now.”

Workers move vegetable pallets through the warehouse at the Alameda County Food Bank, which has had to shift the food items it buys, focusing on lower-cost items that can be purchased in higher quantities.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

In September, Second Harvest served 460,000 people, 80% more than pre-pandemic levels.

The Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund: Since its inception in 1986, the Season of Sharing Fund has distributed $177 million to help Bay Area residents with critical needs. Administrative costs are covered by The San Francisco Chronicle and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. fund. To donate, visit www.seasonofsharing.org/donate.

Second Harvest and the Alameda County Community Food Bank are among the Bay Area food banks that have received funding from The Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, which has funneled $28 million to these organizations since 1986.

During the 2021-22 fundraising campaign, the Season of Sharing Fund distributed nearly $2.4 million to Bay Area food banks, enough to fund more than 5 million meals. About 15% of the funds the Season of Sharing Fund raises goes to food banks across the Bay Area’s nine counties.

The fund will continue to support food banks this year as rising costs have added a new hurdle.

Nationally, the inflation rate was 8.2% in September compared to the prior year, and food prices were up 11.2%. California gas prices were near record highs over the summer. Many pandemic benefits such as federal unemployment assistance and eviction moratoriums have expired, further straining residents.

Volunteers from various agencies work at the Alameda County Food Bank in Oakland.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Second Harvest buys around a quarter of its food — the rest is donated — and has seen big price increases on staples like milk, eggs and chicken. As a result, it’s now delivering a half-gallon of milk per household each week, instead of a gallon. It’s also no longer buying more expensive items like peanut butter, though it still receives donations.

The high cost of gas also hurts food banks, which must transport food both into warehouses and out to partners.

Despite low unemployment at just over 2% around the Bay Area, many workers are struggling due to rising costs and the expense of living in the Bay Area, said Bacho.

The group conducted a survey over the summer which found that 93% of clients were buying less food this year and 73% were worried about paying rent or mortgages. Many’ savings have been wiped out families, with 60% of clients saying they had less than $250 in savings.

Bacho said support from the Season of Sharing Fund provides a “steady source of reliable revenue” that helps the organization meet its mission. Second Harvest works with hundreds of non-profits, schools, affordable housing providers and others to deliver food.

Young said he appreciated the Season of Sharing Fund, both financially and as a way to make the community more aware of how prevalent food insecurity is.

Harold Brooks (left) of the Alameda County Food Bank helps Miguel Sanchez of Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana loading his truck with goods to take back to the church.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Alameda County Community Food Bank has also had to shift the food items it’s buying, focusing on lower-cost items that can be purchased in higher quantities.

The organization is now spending as much as six times more per month on food than before the pandemic, or up to $1.5 million a month.

Unlike for-profit businesses, which can pass on higher expenses by raising prices for consumers, food banks don’t