Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Taylor: roach, sunshine)

[tcs]

Wasn't that Record Hole #1, #2 being on Babcock and Callaghan Rd.

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by Snowglobe

I was looking at a diary from 1983-1985 and I wrote about going to some places that I don't think have been mentioned before:

Edge of Town--where was it? I want to say it was in the Perrin-Beitel & 410 area.

People's restaurant/People's Lounge--located at 410 and Blanco?

Olga's in Ingram Park Mall--can't remember what they called the wrap-type sandwiches they served, but I remember they were really good.

El Farolitos--Mexican food restaurant on Wurzbach near I-10

Barbados restaurant--in the Tesoro building? They had a really good lemon sole

Brooks clothing or department store--probably more than one--location(s)?

I definetly remember Barbados, I can even remember the radio jingle they used to play:

"Come to.......BarBAdos!"

I think that was the first place in San Antonio to have coconut shrimp. I always used to get their teriyaki steak. They were also famous for some kind of exotic ducks or geese they had living out in a little garden area on the side. Primo is right, it was where Arjon's is now, near, but not at, the Tesoro building.

I was really bummed when they closed. I always wondered what happened to those ducks.

[GWhopper]

Speaking of Arjon's, does anybody remember Ruffino's? They had two locations, one on the riverwalk, the other off of Wurzbach and I-10, where Wasabi is now (but used to be: Tommy Kramers, Tony Roma's, then a Thai place for many years)?

I used to love that place, the excellent service and the great italian food, and a few years ago did a little research on it. The owner was, of all people, Arjon!!! He owned a few restaurants in Houston, and expanded them to SA with Ruffino's on Wurzbach. Eventually he opened up a Riverwalk location. A few years later he sold the Wurzbach location, but held on to the Riverwalk location for a year or two more before selling it. This was all in the 80's and 90's. I found a quote from him in a Houston newspaper saying "San Antonio can't support upscale dining". I hope with all the changes here in the last few years, he reconsiders and brings back Ruffino's.

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by tcs

Wasn't that Record Hole #1, #2 being on Babcock and Callaghan Rd.

You may be right. I think Sound Warehouse bought them out in the mid or early 80's. Before getting bought out themselves. I forgot who bought Sound Warehouse, Blockbuster or Sam Goody?

[GWhopper]

Here is the actually news story on Ruffino's and Arjon's. It was in the SA Business journal, not a Houston paper. Sorry, bad memory.

Arjon's International Club taps a new beat - San Antonio Business Journal:

[Primo]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

What's interesting is the Olga's reopened just a year or so ago on Blanco and Huebner in the shoppinbg center on the corner where The Point Martini bar and Double Dave's Pizza are. I went there and had a gyro and fries and they were the same. I asked the employees there if it were the same one from Ingram and they said yes, same family. Sadly, however, they closed down after being open only six months.

I also remember the Peoples near Ingram Park Mall. Both locations had the long benches with the different shoes sticking out for legs. Does anybody remember what the Blanco location became after People's shutdown? I think it was called Meatball's or something like that and was owned by the same familiy that owned Fratelli's.

I think you are confused with the greek place called OPAH's.

[Primo]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

Was this in the middle of the mall? And did it have a lunch counter? I remember a five and dime type store in the middle of the mall on the second floor that had a little lunch counter that servered wonderful soft tacos and enchiladas.

The WoolWorth (or maybe it was Wool Co?) had the little lunch counter...I remember I always wanted to eat there because it smelled good. But my Mom said they severed everything with roaches.
Winn's was directly across from it. Both were 5 & Dime type stores.

[Primo]

Originally Posted by GWhopper

Was it Shannon Smith's Hot Dogs? They used to have a location Wonderland and I think in Ingram as well. My dad used to take me there while my mom got her hair cut at Great Expectations hair salon in the mall.

Was Great Expectations the salon that had an Orange Hexagon entrance? Very 70's/80's looking that were in just about every mall.

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by Primo

Was Great Expectations the salon that had an Orange Hexagon entrance? Very 70's/80's looking that were in just about every mall.

Yep, that was it. Each station was also Hexagonal with two little hexagonal cubbies on each side. When I was a kid I used to imagine they were the quad laser cannons from Star Wars.

[disappear-here]

Originally Posted by Dube665

Anyone remember Iries?

Yes! WE used to go to Irie's a lot in around '88 '89. It was on Fred Rd. a little ways up from Lyndy's.

They always had some good live Reggae music and a cool atmosphere.