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THE PAISANO
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community /PaisanoOnline
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A decade down the drain Teddy B’s closes its doors By Dustin Vickers Managing Editor
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fter a long renovation, operation changes and temporary closures, Teddy B’s has officially decided to close its doors. On Oct. 13, the local burger establishment announced they would be ending their operations at the end of the month — no specific date was mentioned. Teddy B’s opening was the result of Teddy B’s owner, Edgar Cavazos, and an unnamed partner “[wanting] to be their own boss.” Since its opening in September 2014, Teddy B’s has had a larger-than-life menu with an equally charismatic staff. Cavazos has created their large menu to ensure there is “a little bit for everyone because not everyone likes burgers.” Their menu includes a range of options from veggie burgers, grilled cheese, funnel cakes, agua frescas and much more. Among their staff is the restaurant’s namesake — which is immediately evident from their logo — Cavazos’ eight-year-old English Bulldog, Teddy. He is alive and well, and turning nine in December. From day one, the restaurant shared space with the gas station located at 6392 Babcock Rd, with outdoor seating and minimal indoor seating that bled into the main space of the station. While it worked for most of their tenure, they had to expand into a space that was their own. On May 1, 2023, renovations began on their own space, and operations were temporarily moved to their food truck outside the same gas station. With their facilities reduced to the food trailer, they had to switch to reduced hours that fluctuated
heavily due to the high summer temperatures. Their food trailer operation had to cease because they were not turning a profit with the truck operating and bills continuing to pile up. “I ended up getting rid of [the food trailer] to get some money to pay some bills,” Cavazos stated. “Product prices [have] affected everybody. We’re still dealing with the main part, [which] is our meat, that went from $2 a pound to $4 a pound,” a harsh reality that many other business owners have to face, especially
receiving grants that allowed their business to continue to stay afloat. The problem Teddy B’s faced once they reopened was people and their memory. Although their customers were very loyal to them, as Cavazos stated, “People have short-term memory, and there’s so much competition, so if you’re not available, then people forget.” All of these culminated in Teddy B’s announcement on Aug. 4 that “[they] have experienced a notable decline in customer traffic, which has significantly
w h e n the price of produce has doubled in recent years. Although the restaurant has been struggling recently due to its location, Teddy B’s was very successful during the pandemic. “We actually did pretty good during Covid,” Cavazos stated. Gas stations being considered an essential business at the time played a hand in their unlikely success. Customers from the gas station were still able to order through the drivethrough and across the counter, even at the peak of the pandemic. They were also assisted by the city,
impacted [their] ability to maintain cost,” and “in upcoming weeks [they] will make the hard decision if [they] need to close [their] doors.” The message gained traction reaching local San Antonio food reviewers, some of whom made content for the restaurant to help revitalize their business. Cavazos was thankful for the wave of support, stating “just the way everybody rallied around us. It’s little things like that. Everybody coming through; we appreciate it.” Aug. 7 Teddy B’s put out another announcement on their social media saying, “Every individual who has walked through our doors has
brought back hope to us. The future is uncertain, but we are deeply appreciative of the immense support we have received. If we are able to keep our business afloat, we aspire to continue being your preferred choice for meals. Your backing of our small business has been priceless, particularly in these trying times. It’s important to recognize that many local businesses are facing hardships, and not all may have had the chance to convey their thanks. Each and every one of you has left a lasting impact that goes beyond words and expressing our gratitude. A genuine thank you, Teddy B’s.” Teddy B’s rode the wave until they could no longer, and on Oct. 13, the owners announced their goodbye to San Antonio. On Facebook and Instagram, the bulldoglogoed restaurant thanked the San Antonio community for its loyalty and support. “Teddy B’s customers, we are writing to inform you that our establishment will close its doors at the end of this month,” it’s Facebook page wrote. “We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our customer base for their loyalty over the past 10 years. We aim to preserve our menu offerings for the remainder of our operation. Thank you sincerely for your unwavering support.” Fans of the gas station spot flocked to the comments to beg the establishment to stay and many others shared this sentiment. Luckily for fans, hope may still be on the horizon. “If I can find something else we’ll try to make it work. We have some locations that we’ve been looking at, but fingers crossed,” Cavasos stated. Armin Suljovic/The Paisano
Election timeline: A crunch time guide By Noah Hernandez Staff Writer In less than two weeks, America will once again be reinventing itself by practicing one of its civic duties: voting. This process, however, is not always straightforward, as there are multiple ways to cast a ballot and a flurry of dates to remember. As such, The Paisano has compiled a timeline of the key dates and necessary information leading up to and following the election below. First day of early voting: Oct. 21 For those registered to vote, early voting has begun and will continue until next Friday. A map of the various polling locations can be found on the official Bexar County website. UTSA is a designated early voting site with the polling locations being held within the Bexar room in the Student Union. Early voting hours are listed below. Oct. 21 through Oct. 25 – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 26 – 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. Oct. 28 – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 28 through Nov. 1 – 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received not postmarked): Oct. 25 The final day to apply for a mail-in ballot is this Friday, with the application needing to be fully mailed and inside the respective voting office, not just postmarked, by Oct. 25. The application can be found on the Texas Secretary of State website and can be printed and completed by hand. For those planning on participating in voting, they must fall into one of the four categories listed below. 65 years of age or older on Election Day Sick or disabled Not physically in the during Early Voting and Election Day
Confined in jail or other involuntary civic obligation but still able to vote All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day at 7 p.m. Ballots can be tracked using the Ballot-ByMail Status Tracker online. Last day of early voting by personal appearance: Nov. 1 Nov. 1 is the last day of early voting in person and will have locations open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who have not voted prior to or on this day will have one more opportunity on election day. This does not apply to mailin voters, who can still send in their ballots at any time until election day. Election day: Nov. 5 Election day will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Bexar County will feature over 300 polling locations which can be found on the Bexar County elections departments website. UTSA is one of these sites and will host polls at the HEB Student Union Ballroom and the HEB Student Union. If the voter is physically unable to enter the polling location without assistance, calling the elections office at 210335-8683 and informing them of the need will prompt them to notify the selected polling center and allow them to provide curbside voting services for said voter. For all in-person voting, one of seven acceptable ID forms must be present, with the full list being able to be found on VoteTexas.gov. Following election day, the Electoral College will hold its vote on Dec. 17, and Congress will count these votes on Jan. 6. The inauguration for whichever candidate wins will be held on Jan. 20. Any additional election information can be found on the Bexar County Elections Department website at bexar.org/1568/ElectionsDepartment.
Theft, mischief, harassment By Mogbekeleoluwa Shebioba Contributor In compliance with the Clery Act, UTSA keeps a public daily crime log for all on-campus crimes. The log summarizes the case’s date, time, location, incident and current status. The crimes detailed below are taken directly from the crime log, showcasing the trends premiered from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17. Larceny and theft On Sunday, Oct. 13, a theft was reported at University Oaks Building 34. The incident took place from Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11:53 a.m. to Sunday, Oct. 13, at 6:20 p.m.. Another case of theft was reported on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Main Building. Both cases remain active. Disorderly Conduct Later that Sunday, disorderly conduct was reported at Brackenridge Ave. Lot 1. The incident took place between 1:34 a.m. and 2:01 a.m. The case was closed by exceptional means. Criminal Mischief On Monday, Oct. 14, criminal mischief was reported in the Science & Engineering Building. The incident took place from 2:33 a.m. to 2:46 a.m. It resulted in damages of less than $100. The case was cleared by arrest. Harassment Later that same day, a harassment report was made. The incident is said to have occurred from 8:50 a.m. to 8:55 a.m. in the Multidisciplinary Studies Building. The case is still active. Stalking On Tuesday, Oct. 15, a stalking report was made. The incident occurred in the Biotechnology Sciences & Engineering Building on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The case was closed by exceptional means.