Hemisfair has signed the first tenants for the newly re-designed Southwest sector of the park, scheduled to open later this year.
Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation officials say four tenants have signed on to offer food and refreshments to the first visitors to Hemisfair's Yanaguana Garden - the first sector to be developed in the former World's Fair site downtown.
HPARC selected the tenants through a process that began with a public Request for Interest (RFI) last year that asked businesses to submit ideas for the use of the historic homes and surrounding property within Hemisfair.
The vendors include a bar and kitchen combination, Con Safos; the San Antionio Brewing Company which will serve beer; Revolucion Coffee which will offer healthy food, kombucha, yoga, and, of course, coffee; and Paleteria San Antonio - which will serve aguas frescas, ice cream and paletas.
All four businesses were accepted into the “Break Fast and Launch” program, hosted by Café Commerce. It's a first-of-its-kind accelerator program for culinary businesses that places promising startups in touch with a network of experts to mentor and guide them.
When it's completed, Hemisfair will have three separate parks within the district. They are planned to open in phases: Yanaguana Garden this year, Civic Park in 2018 and Tower Park in 2020 which will connect Hemisfair to the river.
