PerenniallyBlossoming

Culture, cuisine and convention savvy have San Antonio and the Hill Country in full bloom

By jeff heilman

s8 Meetings Focus october 2013

Mission san Jose

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The city that gave the American lexicon one

of its signature phrases—“Remember the Alamo”—has a special talent for creating unforgettable memories.

As any conventioneer or visitor knows, the nation’s seventh-largest metropolis offers numerous memorable interactions, from River Walk and its landmark Spanish Colonial missions to vibrant art and culture, sizzling culinary offerings and exuberant festivals. San Antonio does not rest on its laurels, however. Earlier this year, in a stroke of especially creative wooing, the San Antonio CVB sponsored a multifaceted marketing campaign called “City of Yellow

Roses” (marrying the state’s symbolic flower with Valentine’s Day) that included handing out yellow roses to passersby in other cities.

The aim of the campaign, as San Antonio CVB Executive Director Casandra Matej told the New York Times, “was to own the holiday season devoted to romance and drive people to San Antonio during that time frame” as well as “educate them about just how romantic San Antonio is year-round.” It’s hard to resist such a classy invite, and to borrow the analogy, the city is also enticing planners and groups with a bright bouquet of new offerings. From a dramatic convention center upgrade to a further ex-pansion of the Pearl Brewery complex to yet more offerings in its cultural and culinary mix, San Antonio, already in full bloom for meetings, continues to blossom for the years ahead.

Conventional AuthorityPresently hosting more than 450 events each year with over 750,000 convention delegates from around the world, the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown on River Walk and incorporating the 2,400-seat Lila Cockrell Theatre, is San Antonio’s centerpiece group asset.

In August 2013, the versatile facility

released plans and schematics for a $325 million transformation that includes approximately 360,000 square feet of new exhibit hall, meeting room and ballroom space along with renovations to approxi-mately 78,000 square feet of existing spaces. According to a release from the San Anto-nio CVB, the “highly anticipated” transfor-mation, set for completion in fall 2015, “will be accomplished while the center remains operational, with no disruptions to events and customers.”

In addition to seeking Silver LEED Cer-tification, other announced enhancements include what will be the largest ballroom in Texas, at approximately 55,000 square feet; larger and more flexible breakout rooms; improvements to circulation and wayfind-ing; and new well-defined entrances.

“Strong infrastructure combined with a distinct visitor experience is what makes San Antonio one of the top convention destinations in the nation,” stated Matej in the release. “This project will allow us to offer convention clients a flexible, innova-tive facility that is built to meet their needs, providing benefits to all groups meeting in San Antonio, no matter the size.”

The new convention facilities will com-plement the city’s existing lineup of impres-sive meetings-ready properties, including venerable historic gems such as Omni La Mansion del Rio and Hotel Valencia, both situated on River Walk, and the Menger Hotel, located next to The Alamo.

Reaching OutThe nearly complete expansion of Riv-er Walk includes the largest-ever urban ecosystem restoration project in the nation, involving the planting over 10,000 pounds of native wildflower and grass seeds (repre-senting over 60 different native species) and planting over 23,000 trees and shrubs (over 40 different native species).

Scheduled for completion this October, the project, representing an investment of approximately $358 million, principally restores an eight-mile stretch of the San Antonio River reengineered into a drainage ditch back in the 1950s. Known as Mission Reach, the revived section links River Walk to the four 18th century Spanish missions south of the city that comprise San Antonio

s10 Meetings Focus october 2013

Henry b. gonzalez convention center

A lso known as The Heart of Texas, the Hill Country, stretching nearly 150 miles from San Antonio to Brady,

Texas, literally rolls with hub and spoke opportunities for San An-tonio groups. In August, the 500-room Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa celebrated its 20th anniversary, coinciding with the completion of a $35 million expansion and renovation project that doubled the pioneering resort’s indoor function space to 70,000 square feet while adding a 20,000-square-foot ballroom. Awash in springtime wild-flowers and lavender fields, Fredericksburg, founded by German settlers in 1846, sits at the heart of Hill Country and Texas Wine Country. With its historic Main Street offering eclectic shopping, art and dining, outdoor adventures include Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, a billion-year-old granite dome ideal for hiking and enjoying spectacular views. Nearby, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park offers groups the opportunity to visit a working Texas

ranch and tour The Texas White House. Visitors can end their days with live Texas music at a biergarten on

Main Street or two steppin’ in the historic dance hall at Luckenbach, Texas.San Marcos, meanwhile, is one of the nation’s best shopping destinations, offering the largest outlet mall in the U.S. along with group attractions like Wonder World Park, the nation’s only earthquake-formed cave opened for tours.

—Jeff Heilman

The Hills are Alive

Hyatt regency Hill country resort and spa

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Missions National Historic Park. Along with the Alamo, River Walk is practically syn-onymous with the San Anto-nio experience, and as one of the most-visited attractions in Texas, contributes a stag-gering $12 billion to the local economy each year.

Western WorksSan Antonio’s diverse cultur-al campus gets an exciting new addition this October with the grand opening of the Briscoe Western Art Mu-seum. Named for late Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe Jr. and his wife, Janey, the museum preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of the American West through exhibitions, educational pro-grams and public events.

Located on River Walk in downtown, the Briscoe, oc-cupying the historic former home of the San Antonio Public Library, sits on an acre and a quarter of land comprising two buildings and the expansive McNutt Court-yard & Sculpture Garden, which has hosted events ranging from outdoor weddings and cocktail parties to corporate confer-ences, meetings and luncheons since April 2012. The adjacent Jack Guenther Pavilion features three floors of customizable event space, while the museum’s main building, at nearly 38,000 square feet, includes nine galler-ies on three floors.

Hungry for MorePresently offering 10 restau-rants, 12 unique retailers, the largest farmers market in San Antonio and a growing resi-dential component, the Pearl Brewery complex, dating to 1883, is a triumph of mixed-use reinvention. Anchored by the Culinary Institute of America’s San Antonio campus, the Pearl offers the city’s densest concen-tration of innovative dining and is a destination unto itself for visitors and groups. With more exciting developments on the

horizon for the Pearl (see Zoom In, page s12), San Antonio as a whole continues to evolve as a culinary destination.

The new Fruteria-Botanero in Southtown is Chef Johnny Hernandez’s contemporary interpretation of fruit stands found across interior Mexico during the day, and at night, a hopping cocktail lounge. Fellow CIA-trained alum Andrew Weissman, who put the city on the fine dining map with his celebrated Le Reve back in 1998, opened his fifth restaurant, French bistro-style Minnie’s Tavern, this summer. Other new arrivals include Kimura, a hand-crafted ramen noo-dle shop from Chef Michael Sohocki, 2013 semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest from the Beard Foundation and owner of old-school fine dining establish-ment, Restaurant Gwendolyn.

Another 2013 Beard semifi-nalist for Best Chef Southwest is David Gilbert, who after partnering with celebrity Texas Chef Stephan Pyles at Sustenio

Restaurant at the city’s Eilan Hotel & Spa, is opening his first restaurant this fall. Located in San Antonio’s emerging River North neighborhood, Tuk Tuk Tap Room is Gilbert’s homage to authentic Southeast Asian street fare.

San Antonio loves its festi-vals, and food and drink are no exception. Scheduled for next May, the celebrated Culinaria Wine and Culinary Arts Festival will feature internationally renowned vintners, top Texas wine producers and the hottest San Antonio chefs. In January,

meanwhile, the city welcomes the inaugural San Antonio Cocktail Conference. Modeled on the wildly popular Manhat-tan Cocktail Classic and New Orleans’ Tales of the Cocktail event, the conference is the first of its kind in Texas. mf

San Antonio’s gracious gift of yellow roses only further inflamed longtime Meetings Focus contrib-utor jeff HeilMan’s passion for the city, which he recently covered in the 2013 Meetings Focus Texas supplement.

CONNECTBOErNE CVB 830.249.7277 www.visitboerne.org

FrEdEriCksBurg CVB 830.997.6523 www.visitfredericksburgtx.com

grEaTEr NEw BrauNFEls COC 830.625.2385 www.nbcham.org

saN aNTONiO CVB 210.207.6700 www.visitsanantonio.com

saN MarCOs CVB512.393.5930www.toursanmarcos.com

For more San Antonio/Hill Country content, visit MeetingsFocus.com/Texas.❯

s12 MeetingS FoCuS oCtober 2013

ZOOMQ & A with Elizabeth Fauerso, Chief Marketing Officer, Pearl Brewery (www.atpearl.com) iN

How has the Pearl’s ongoing evolution benefited san antonio’s tourism and group appeal?The original idea behind the devel-opment of Pearl was to create a true neighborhood that is a culinary and cultural gathering place. In the last year we have opened seven new restau-rants, five new retail locations and have completed 300-plus residential units at the Can Plant Apartments, which are now 100 percent occupied. Because Pearl is a living, breathing neighbor-hood, it offers both locals and visitors truly distinct San Antonio culture—from our weekly farmers market to our 10 chef-driven restaurants and our vibrant, all-local retail community, there is nothing else like it. Located along the Museum Reach, Pearl is a great jump-ing-off point for seeing the public art along River Walk, jogging or exploring the many museums and parks along the river.

what are some of the latest developments at the Pearl, and what can visitors look forward to in the future?Next year, we will open roughly four more culinary establishments; open the doors to the Hotel Pearl, a four-star boutique hotel in partnership with Kimpton, located in the original Pearl brewhouse; and partially complete Pearl Plaza, a roughly two-acre plaza and park directly in front of the hotel. We are also excited to continue with our yearly series of culinary and cultural events, such as our annual Tamale festival, on the first Saturday of every December, and to debut Meatopia Texas, a weekend celebration of meat and mirth in early November.

what makes the Pearl Brewery such an attractive choice for meeting and event planners and their clients?

Pearl is a truly distinct environ-ment

and our venues tell a story and create an atmosphere that enhances the experience of event attendees. From the historic Pearl Stable to the contem-porary Pearl Studio, we offer distinct options for any kind of event. We often find that event attendees like to wander the historic property, shop, walk the river and make a day of it. There are also many opportunities for group activities such as cooking classes at the Culinary Institute of America, private shopping parties, private events in our chef-owned and -operated restaurants, historic and architectural tours of the property, Farmers Market activities and more.

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