Enter the Creamery: A Look Inside One of San Antonio's Newest Venues
By Nick Blevins
Photography by Bethany Castro & Nick Blevins
The Creamery District, located at 875 E. Ashby Place, contains a number of unique concepts, including coffee spot Crème
San Antonio is big. While you likely don’t need me to tell you that, you’d think that there’d be more consideration given to the sheer amount of travel time it takes to get anywhere in town. Plotting a day that includes multiple stops frequently means having to account for mood-altering levels of traffic at some point, and the closer you get to downtown, the more likely you are to have to pay for the time your vehicle spends parked.
More recent developments like the Pearl have begun to address certain aspects of the issue, but it can still be challenging to find places that catch the interest of everybody in the party. Where’s a person looking for more good options in a reasonable radius to go?
Have you heard of the Creamery, friend?
What was, once upon a time, the Borden milk plant in Tobin Hill is now home to seven (with an eighth in the works) unique restaurants, cafes, lounges, and a sports bar, collectively known as the Creamery District. Scene In SA sat down with owner and operator Moris Saide to discuss the various and carefully crafted concepts within, and the thought processes behind their inception.
There really does seem to be something for everybody. In addition to a barber shop and gift shop, both operating out of the glistening, silver Airstreams parked on site, other concepts within the Creamery District include the delicious, wide-ranging fare from Hook: Land and Sea, and Tribute, a sports bar to accommodate your various sports-watching needs. Another interesting prospect in development involves a barge on the nearby river. Looking out to the community beyond the Creamery, we asked Saide about potential plans going forward.
Creamery District owner and operator Moris Saide inside Easy Baby
Each location has a very distinct identity. Were there any unique challenges in bringing these concepts to fruition?
“I love that question. I’m better when I explain myself in sports analogies. Okay, so I really like soccer. You can train and prepare for the World Cup with the best team that you brought, and you can plan all the plays. But once you get to the country that you’re going to play, and you’re going to play against a different team, you can plan for whatever you can—but then things change, and you have to adapt or pivot, whatever you need to do to win the match or to recover from a loss.
The way I see it in these types of projects—and the fact that it’s a historical building, in the industry that we are, that is hospitality—is that it’s an ever- evolving industry; it doesn’t stop.
When we started, one of the main ideas was to have a food hall. Back then it was a big trend. But then COVID hit, and it showed us that it could be a big challenge to have a food hall.
And then we said, ‘How can you create a concept or multiple concepts that coexist in the same environment and help each other be successful?’ [We were] trying to figure out the target demographic, and then reverse engineer that.
How can we create a concept that is not just coffee? We landed with the idea of a European-style coffee shop because in Europe, you can go to a coffee shop in the middle of the day and have an espresso, read the newspaper, or smoke a cigarette, or have a glass of wine and read a book, or have a beer and have a meeting, or have a date and share a piece of an apple pie.
That’s the concept and twist behind Crème: How can we create something [where there’s] always an excuse to come visit? It’s not only for coffee. That’s why Crème is a gathering spot.
And then after that, okay, what’s next? Drinks. So, okay, a bar. What type of bar? We started with Amelia, for one very particular reason: it’s the space inside the Creamery that I believe has the most history, you know, or the most character.
It was a machine room. Out of all the spaces that we had, this one had the most machines, and they were all connected and they all served a particular purpose; 100 years ago, 90 years ago, so I don’t know what the purpose was. But, you could feel the importance of this space.
How do you translate that to a concept? And how do you give [it] the amount of importance that the concept needs? We decided to name it after somebody that made history: Amelia Earhart, because for us, it’s to pay homage or celebrate all the successful businesswomen that we have in San Antonio, and there’s a lot!”
I’d like to ask about Chika. Phenomenal. Chef Jonathan Reyes had a story for every piece, and he had this central refrain of wanting to tie these exotic, interesting ingredients he was using to the heart of San Antonio. Are you still trying to keep it low-key?
“Going [back] to the original [analogy]—that you have a plan in mind to go win the World Cup, but then things change along the way: that [was] the whole purpose of Chika, to keep its secrecy. But a lot of people and friends kept asking; have you opened? And I don’t have social media, so I don’t broadcast anything. I said, guys, you know what? Let’s launch [an] Instagram. Let’s keep it—maybe let’s not boost it throughout the, I don’t know, entire world, but at least let’s do something so that people know that Chika is there. Because it’s a pretty cool experience.”
Sometimes a name really can say it all. Hook: Land and Sea offers attractively-presented, elevated takes on surf and turf classics with light, low-key ambiance. Try the tuna carpaccio for a fresh fish featuring an engagingly-punchy dressing, or tuck in to the newest fish and chips in town – you can’t go wrong.
Crème is a bright, roomy coffee lounge with ample comfortable seating, and work-on-the-go-friendly accommodations. Featuring tea and cocktails alongside a solid coffee selection, there’s no bad time of day to check it out. While I didn’t end up trying one of the many sweet treats on offer near the checkout, the mocha is chocolatey and mild– an ideal afternoon pick-me-up. Also, for all you lavender lovers out there, try ordering a Lainey, and thank me later.
Pleasantly dark and cozy, Amelia looks to offer a cool respite after a long day out in sunny San Antonio. Private, furnished corners provide space for those working into the evening, and the bar’s healthy selection of cocktails give plenty to choose from for those looking for something tasty to drink.
“How can you create a concept or multiple concepts that coexist in the same environment and help each other be successful? [We were] trying to figure out the target demographic, and then reverse engineer that.”
Conversation inside Amelia
The whole experience is very well considered.
“By the end of the night when you finish your omakase experience, everybody in that bar knows everyone in that bar. And maybe a friendship is going to start out of that.
In the omakase, it’s more quiet, you have a good conversation, great dinner, and then you walk outside and it’s Easy Baby, and it’s a different beat. Going back to the original question ‘How do you start crafting all these concepts [so] that they don’t compete, they coexist?’ Because we can start having dinner at the Omakase at 6 p.m., and then at 7:30, the live jazz starts, so why don’t we have a couple of martinis here? The party’s going to keep going by 9.30; you know what? Let’s go to Easy Baby for another drink.
So, people end up staying here, guests can stay here for five, six hours; that was the whole purpose. Free parking, easy access. Multiple reasons for you to stay here. If you don’t like the vibe here, go 20 steps up, and it’s Lunatique.”
If not, go 20 steps down, and it’s Easy Baby. If not, go to Chika. So, there’s different, I want to say, opportunities for people to enjoy the Creamery, and stay here.”
As far as events and partnerships go, do you have specific concepts in mind or projects coming up?
“So, yes. The next one is going to be a festival here for the city of San Antonio at Hemisfair Park, and we’re working with several strategic partners to make it a pretty cool, successful one, covering every angle of the festival.
We want to develop more of a concept than just a festival with stages and music. We love music. We love to entertain. We love to provide the food, the drinks, [the] experience.But how do you make that into a concept and execute something that is for the city of San Antonio and to showcase our city to the people that are not from San Antonio?
They will travel for this type of festival; you know, like the Day of the Dead. I think they have been executing it so well that you see how the numbers of attendees grow per year.
There’s a lot of things in San Antonio, but there’s always kind of like a— the way I see it, when we bring artists from out of town – names like Steve Aoki, Above and Beyond, Purple Disco from Europe, Afrojack [for example] – when they come to San Antonio and they see what we have to offer, they fall in love with the city, all of them.
But they usually go to either Houston, Dallas, [or] Austin. But San Antonio has a lot to offer, so when we’re doing that festival that we have been planning for, I want to say a little bit more than two years, it’s going to be great. It’s going to represent all of that. When people come visit, they’re going to see what San Antonio is made of.” ■
This interview was edited for clarity.
The Creamery District is located at 875 E. Ashby Place.
For more information, check out their website at www.thecreamerysatx.com
Chika is, in a word, an experience. Greater than the sum of its parts – and it’s got some pretty great parts– the intimate, neon-lit omakase spot helmed by Chef Jonathan Reyes turns on his bustling economy of creative culinary concepts. Every single ingredient is thoughtfully implemented, and has its place. Often, they were unexpected, but with the exception of a whitefish adorned generously with parmesan (and being cheese-averse, I realize I’m in a very small minority, here), virtually always welcome. Flavor and aesthetics are in harmony within those walls; I won’t spoil all of the surprises here, but make sure to arrive with an open mind and an empty stomach!
Just a few steps from Chika lies Easy Baby. A prominent DJ booth bearing the purple-and-orange neon nom de l’entreprise overlooks the dancefloor, leading to a lamp-lit, well-stocked bar. Tastefully-dim lighting and comfortable seating abound, and popular records from across the decades adorn the walls in this aesthetically-pleasing nightclub.
Lunatique, billed as a “rooftop garden”, looks to offer good views, refreshing brews, and light chews from the top of the Creamery District. In a neat artistic consideration, as the small trees planted along Lunatique’s perimeter grow and spread their canopies, corresponding leaves will be added to the metal-work tree gracing the center. Though an afternoon get-together there might be a touch warm at present, expect this location to fill up as the weather cools down.
