Imagine taking a scenic cruise on a Saturday morning. The soft breeze brushes your cheek as you gently chug past the towering downtown hotels and businesses alongside the San Antonio River.
The boat makes its way through the channels, past the museum, and as you round the corner, there it is in the sky, the familiar Victorian architecture and lofty smokestack that have called the Alamo City home for more than a century. Within moments you are docked and set foot on a beautiful landing at the historic Pearl Brewery.
Located on 22 acres north of downtown, Pearl is being transformed into a culinary gathering place where you can eat, live, learn and play. Plans for the adaptive re-use of the former brewery, a San Antonio landmark in operation from 1883 until 2001, combine renovation of historic structures with new construction.
The site includes a mix of grand 1890s architecture featuring Victorian-era ornamentation along with mid-20th century industrial buildings being renovated with a modern, urban aesthetic.
“Our goal was to create a gathering place on the river for locals and visitors alike,” said Darryl Byrd, managing director of Pearl. “The site plans incorporate the historic structures into a tapestry of gardens, plazas, public pathways, open spaces and tree-lined streets. The San Antonio River, a tie to Pearl’s past, is vital to Pearl’s transformation, creating a quiet oasis in an urban environment.”
When San Antonio’s famous River Walk was extended north of downtown earlier this year, Pearl became the northernmost navigable point on the river, culminating in a wide turning basin for river barges. The landing provides not only an access point to Pearl but will also serve as a stage for an amphitheater to be built into the riverbank in 2010.
Among the completed projects at Pearl are the initial building for the Culinary Institute of America - San Antonio; Pearl Stable meeting and event facility; Aveda Institute San Antonio; Texas Farm-to-Table Café; and Andrew Weissman’s Italian dream: osteria il Sogno.
The iconic Can Recycling Building, with the giant Pearl Beer can on top, includes loft apartments, The Synergy Studio and Run Wild Sports. The Full Goods Building, a former warehouse re-developed into office, retail and residential space, features the largest solar power installation in Texas as well as the Melissa Guerra Tienda de Cocina, the Texas headquarters for the Nature Conservancy, the AIA-San Antonio and in time for the holiday shopping season, The Twig Book Shop.
There are also several projects under construction that will make Pearl an even more amazing culinary destination. The CIA campus is expanding with a new building that will add 25,000 more square feet of space to the culinary school. That project is expected to be completed in mid 2010.
“With our expanded education and research center, our goal is to raise the profile of Latin American cuisines and culinary traditions, with Latino chefs at the forefront of the movement,” said Shelley Grieshaber, director of education at the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio. “Over time, the CIA program here will accommodate up to 150 students, and we expect as many as 1,500 culinary professionals a year to participate in continuing education programs, industry research services, and conferences at the campus.”
Although not a graduate of the CIA, San Antonio, Andrew Weissman, who was schooled at the New York campus, was not content with just one amazingly successful restaurant at the Pearl Brewery. He is also moving his highly popular Sandbar Fish House and Market to Pearl. The casual oyster bar will be located at the southwest end of the Full Goods Building and open in late 2009.
Another popular new addition to Pearl quickly became a Saturday morning staple this past summer – the Pearl Farmers Market. The bell rings promptly at 9 a.m. and the producers-only market is officially open for business. Even before the bell sounds, there are hundreds of people milling about, basking in the sunshine and scanning the goods that will fill their baskets.
As you enjoy the peaceful walk from the river to the market, you can see the crowd is abuzz with activity over luscious commodities like fresh cut flowers, local honey, plump ripe tomatoes and grass-fed beef so tender it makes your mouth water.
Your feet – or is it your nose – naturally lead you to Chef Johnny Hernandez’s delightful MesAlegre chef’s table. And you’re just in time! This CIA graduate has prepared an amazing feast of epic proportions. You sit down and prepare for a culinary delight for the eyes, ears and taste buds.
As the plated masterpieces treat your mouth to a flurry of flavors, spices and tempting textures, each bite will leave you wanting more. Later, on the barge as you’re floating back downtown, you catch one last glimpse of the cupola atop the historic Pearl brewhouse.
The Pearl Brewery, a piece of history, a path to the future and a place to just be.
