Say Goodbye to Earl Abel's.

[TheWriter]

Condominium planned on site of Earl Abel's restaurant

Tricia Lynn Silva

Local commercial real estate firm Koontz McCombs plans to develop a new high-rise condominium at the corner of Broadway and Hildebrand -- at the site of Earl Abel, a landmark San Antonio restaurant.

Earl Abel's has been located at that site for some 65 years.

"Our goal is to build something that will help ensure that this historic area of the city continues to thrive for many generations to come," Koontz McCombs President Bart Koontz says. "We believe this development will be something the neighborhood and all of San Antonio can be very proud of."

Koontz adds that he believes this project will serve as a catalyst for the redevelopment of Broadway -- and thus will help breathe new life and vitality "into the heart of this great city."

The project has yet to be christened with a name. Construction is slated to begin in late 2006, and is set to come online in 2008.

Meanwhile, restaurant owner Jerry Abel is still considering the future of his restaurant business.

"It's hard to walk away from it, but at the same time the building is old and needs an awful lot of maintenance, which is quite expensive," he says of the current Earl Abel's site. "It was really getting to a point that it stops making good business sense to keep going in this facility."

Abel says he is still considering options for the future of the business. He says he is open to the possibility of moving the restaurant to a new location. However, he has made no final decision.

http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/11/14/daily6.html?jst=b_ln_hl

[SequSpur]

Senior Citizen Forum.

[samikeyp]

"don't call me a communist" forum.

[Mark in Austin]

hmmm. they should do ground floor retail in the condo bldg. Earl Abel's could possibly take some of the space.

[Sec24Row7]

All the 80 year olds that eat there would get lost going to a new location.

[ZStomp]

Never been there.

[CharlieMac]

"don't call me a communist" forum.
:lol

It's sounds like it's moving to a new location, which isn't a big deal. Actually, I've been there once, so it isn't a big deal either way.

[maxpower]

heard the chicken fried steak was good....is it still open?

[ZStomp]

Goodbye.

[Faccia di Angelo]

wow, thats kinda sad. My dad worked there since I was a kid and all those years I never ate there.

[timvp]

I went there when I was about eight years old with my grandma. She found a spider roasted on the skin of a baked potato and I've never been back.


P.S.

That is a rather odd place to put condos though.

[Das Texan]

are they trying to get some people from incarnate word to live there?

[ObiwanGinobili]

:( :depressed

I've eaten there. it was yummy. (the steak & desert) ...also thier take out fried chicken was quite delicious. :p

[KEDA]

<<< gets kleenex for Buddy Holly

[Vashner]

I was eating there and table next to me had Henry B. Gonzales eating a chicken fried steak with some of his friends.

[T Park]

She found a spider roasted on the skin of a baked potato and I've never been back.


absolutely disgusting.


Goodbye never missed you.

[Kori Ellis]

When I was a little girl, I went to this well known Mexican restaurant in Phoenix and there was a ton of ants in my rice. :vomit For my trauma, they gave me a pack of gum for the inconvenience. :lol

I never ate rice again until I was 20 years old.

[/true story]

[T Park]

Well known?

Wich one Kori, I might remember!

[Kori Ellis]

I think Carlos and Charlies or one of those other big Mexican restaurant chains.

[TheWriter]

WOAI's news story on this highrise:

http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/[email protected]

[Extra Stout]

All the old folks will just have to go to Jim's now.

[Old School Chic]

The only memory I have about this place Is about 2 years ago, my family and I wanted to try something new so I said let's go to Earl Abels'.

We all walked In to the place and they sat us down. They all took a good whif at the way the restaurant smelled and they all walked out while I was washing my hands In the restroom. I came out and I felt so embarrased to see that all my family was by the door waving at me to get out. :oops

[Extra Stout]

We all walked In to the place and they sat us down. They all took a good whif at the way the restaurant smelled and they all walked out while I was washing my hands In the restroom. I came out and I felt so embarrased to see that all my family was by the door waving at me to get out. :oops
Did it smell kind of like a poorly-run nursing home?

[Shelly]

Funny thing is last night the granddaughter was on KENS last night insisting it wasn't closing.

[Old School Chic]

Did it smell kind of like a poorly-run nursing home?

It just smelled like Jim's restaurants' smoking section. :smokin

I went to eat at Chipotle's during lunch today the one on Broadway and passed by Earl Abel's and they literally have a sign outside that says "This restaurant has not been sold" :wtf

[ObiwanGinobili]

It just smelled like Jim's restaurants' smoking section. :smokin

I went to eat at Chipotle's during lunch today the one on Broadway and passed by Earl Abel's and they literally have a sign outside that says "This restaurant has not been sold" :wtf

yeah, i saw that on the news at noon... they spoke with the owner and he said it means that the restaurant is still open seeing as how the realestate deal has not closed yet.
also said he's not sure if they will re-open at another location or not.

[Old School Chic]

I don't think It would be that same for those custmers that are used to going to that same location If the restaurant opens somewhere else.

[Extra Stout]

I don't think It would be that same for those custmers that are used to going to that same location If the restaurant opens somewhere else.
True. They get lost easily enough as is.

[pache100]

:( :depressed

I've eaten there. it was yummy. (the steak & desert) ...also thier take out fried chicken was quite delicious. :p

Yes. I've had many delicious meals at Earl Abel's. We used to go there from work when I worked at Ft. Sam. And it was one of my Dad's favorite places for a long time, so the family went, too.

It is a strange place for condos. Are they trying to rejuvenate that area? I haven't been to that area in years, I don't even remember the last time. But, when I was working at Ft. Sam, that was not that nice a neighborhood.

[Old School Chic]

True. They get lost easily enough as is.

Jim's Is a few buildings down. Hopefully, they won't get too lost.

[Das Texan]

My grandmother worked there many many years ago back in teh 60s and 70s and all, probably into the 80s also.

[TheWriter]

Earl Abel's to go

Web Posted: 11/15/2005 12:04 AM CST

Sanford Nowlin
Express-News Business Writer

Earl Abel's, the 72-year-old San Antonio restaurant known equally for retro decor and retro cuisine, likely will close its doors early next year to make way for a decidedly modern high-rise condo development.

Development group Koontz McCombs quietly put the Alamo City institution, located just north of downtown, under contract late this summer and could raze it as early as January to make way for a proposed 25-story, 80-unit condo tower, owner Jerry Abel said.

The developer wants to start construction on the 2.4-acre property, at the busy intersection of Broadway and Hildebrand Avenue, early next year and finish by 2008.

"Everything just came together perfectly," Abel said of his decision to end his restaurant's successful run.

"This building is old. I'm old. So, with that in mind, the proposal from Koontz McCombs made so much sense."

The developer still needs to gain zoning changes before it can build, and the height of the building may provoke opposition from neighbors.

The sixty-something Abel wouldn't discuss financial terms of the deal but said he's "tired" of operating the restaurant his father started in 1933. Abel grew up working in the family business and has served as its president for 20 years.

Theater organist Earl Abel opened his first namesake eatery on North Main Avenue after the Great Depression put him out of work. He later opened a handful of other locations, including the Broadway restaurant — the chain's sole survivor.

Earl Abel's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade pies have sustained generations of customers from thrifty downtown workers to Alamo Heights bluebloods.

Seemingly trapped in a time warp, the wood-paneled and red-wallpapered dining room has been the site of countless business lunches and family breakfasts. It gained further notoriety in 1986 as the place where U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez slugged a fellow diner for calling him a communist.

Koontz McCombs principal Bart Koontz said he talked with Abel for at least a year about the property before settling on a deal.

He wouldn't say how much his group plans to spend developing the high-end condos, which would overlook nearby Brackenridge Park and downtown San Antonio.

Koontz said he plans to landscape the area around the tower — the property currently has no trees — and install pedestrian-friendly walkways. Houston-based Ziegler Cooper Architects is designing the building, which Koontz said would fit in with the area's architecture.

"We just wouldn't feel right about putting some sort of 21st century glass monolith in there," Koontz said.

Koontz wouldn't say how much his group, backed by auto magnate B.J. "Red" McCombs, plans to spend on the project. Nor would he discuss prices for the units — other than saying they will be "moderate-expensive to expensive."

Councilman Kevin Wolff, whose district includes Earl Abel's, said he has known of plans for the condos for several weeks.

"It's kind of a neat layout," Wolff said. "The bad part is — are we going to lose an icon? Yeah."

Wolff, who last week attended a Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association meeting, said leaders there seemed to accept the redevelopment plans. Koontz McCombs officials have been talking to neighbors about the tower's design.

Before it can begin construction, the developer must ask the city to rezone the property so it can accommodate multifamily dwellings. Wolff said doesn't foresee significant resistance to the rezoning plan.

Joyce Felter, vice president of the Mahncke Park association, said the group doesn't know enough about the project to take an official stand.

However, she added, "if it's a high rise, there are individual members who are opposed to having a high rise in the neighborhood."

Another residential high-rise building is already located nearby at Hildebrand and North New Braunfels Avenue.

Real estate officials say Broadway south of Hildebrand — long a string of vacant car dealerships and storefronts — is poised to take off as the city's economy grows and its downtown business climate improves.

The planned condos likely would appeal to professionals looking to cut their downtown commute time, said Stephen Poteet of Broadway Developers, which is building an office complex a few blocks south of Earl Abel's. They also could be attractive to empty nesters looking to downsize their living space.

"I think it would be an especially good site because it's well-positioned between the downtown business sector and the northeast suburbs," Poteet said.

Longtime Earl Abel's diners say they understand that times are changing, but they lament the loss of yet another San Antonio landmark.

"Where am I going to eat?" asked Hazel Wheeler, 83. "I've been coming here so long, I don't recall just how long it's been my favorite restaurant."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA111505.1A.earlables.ca78811.html

[Das Texan]

Earl Abel's to go


Real estate officials say Broadway south of Hildebrand — long a string of vacant car dealerships and storefronts — is poised to take off as the city's economy grows and its downtown business climate improves.



it would be helpful if they finish that one set of homes before they start knocking out more. Its going to take a lot more than high rise dwellings to really get broadway back into gear. obviously its going to take some mixed use buildings, along with a city wide (i.e. leadership specfically city hall) focus on broadway and its re-development in various beautification projects for residents. You will also ultimately need HEB to buy into it as well at a minimum.

[TheWriter]

it would be helpful if they finish that one set of homes before they start knocking out more. Its going to take a lot more than high rise dwellings to really get broadway back into gear. obviously its going to take some mixed use buildings, along with a city wide (i.e. leadership specfically city hall) focus on broadway and its re-development in various beautification projects for residents. You will also ultimately need HEB to buy into it as well at a minimum.

It's a section of Broadway, not the entire corridor.

From NoDo to about Hildebrand is where the redevelopment is going to be.

This plus the four story office complex and the announcment that the old Buttercrust building has been bought and is going to be redeveloped, the new townhomes, and that mix use complex that is currently 60% finished (but the owner is in court because the builders did a crappy job) and not to mention the massive River North project is just the beginning of the lower Broadway redevelopment.

[ShoogarBear]

Earl Abel's sucks.

But hell, it's been there so long, it's sad to think of it going away.

[ShoogarBear]

I came out and I felt so embarrased to see that all my family was by the door waving at me to get out. :oops

:lmao :lmao

See, with stories like that, they can't let it close!

[ShoogarBear]

I've eaten there. it was yummy.

You must've been pregnant.

Oh, wait, what am I saying, of course you were.

[tw05baller]

goodbye

[Puppy Dog]

i said goodbye to earl abel's the 1st and last time i ate there....

i can always eat at a local nursing home if i'm so inclined...:tu