Restaurant Equipment and Supply for San Antonio, New Braunfels and the Hill Country
San Antonio has been feeding crowds in its plazas since the Chili Queens sold chili con carne there in the 1880s. UNESCO named it a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017, the second US city and the first in Texas to earn the title, and the city's kitchens still run on Tex-Mex, puffy tacos, barbacoa with a Big Red, and pan dulce from Market Square.
Up I-35, New Braunfels cooks German Texas food. Naegelin's Bakery has baked there since 1868, Krause's Cafe dates to 1938, and every November Wurstfest fills Landa Park on the Comal River for ten days of sausage. In Gruene, the Gristmill has served diners on decks above the Guadalupe River since 1977.
Since 2015, The Restaurant Warehouse has shipped to thousands of commercial kitchens in every state. San Antonio-area orders ship from our Houston warehouse, so San Antonio and New Braunfels restaurants get the same low prices and freight delivery right to San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Leon Valley, Live Oak, New Braunfels, and Gruene. The most common orders here are reach-in refrigerators, freezers, fryers, griddles, ice machines, and food truck equipment.
Puffy Tacos, Chili Queens and Market Square
Market Square, or El Mercado, moved to its site in the 1890s and has more than 100 vendors. The city's tourism bureau, Visit San Antonio, calls it the largest Mexican market in the United States. Pedro and Cruz Cortez opened Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia there in 1941 to feed the farmers selling at the market. The puffy taco is San Antonio's signature: Ray Lopez opened Ray's Drive Inn on SW 19th Street in 1956, its crispy tacos became the puffy taco, and his youngest brother Henry opened Henry's Puffy Tacos in 1978. Texas Monthly notes that Caro's in Rio Grande City also claims the dish, so the origin is debated, but in 1989 the San Antonio Missions made a puffy taco named Henry their mascot. SA Current's list of San Antonio food origins also includes Fritos and ballpark nachos.
Puffy taco shells, gorditas and chips come out of fryers with fast recovery, while fajitas and breakfast tacos run on griddles and charbroilers. Panaderias need ovens and countertop display cases for pan dulce, and taquerias keep salsas and fillings cold in sandwich prep tables and reach-in refrigerators.
City of Gastronomy, Pearl and the CIA
San Antonio applied to UNESCO in June 2017 and was named a Creative City of Gastronomy that fall. Visit San Antonio says it is one of only two US Cities of Gastronomy. Much of that cooking clusters at Pearl, the former Pearl Brewery, which opened in the early 1880s and closed in 2001. It is now a district of restaurants, shops and the Hotel Emma, named for Emma Koehler, who ran the brewery after 1914. The Culinary Institute of America has its Texas campus at Pearl, and the Pearl Farmers Market runs every Saturday for farmers and ranchers and every Sunday for artisans, with vendors from within 150 miles of San Antonio, according to Pearl. Citywide, Fiesta San Antonio brings food booths and crowds every April.
Market-driven kitchens need two-door reach-in refrigerators for big produce and meat deliveries, chef bases and undercounter refrigerators on the line, and ranges and ovens that hold up to a full service. Bars in an old brewery district run on draft beer coolers, back bar coolers and ice machines that keep up through Fiesta.
Wurstfest, Naegelin's and German New Braunfels
Wurstfest started in 1961 as a one-day event organized by Ed Grist, a veterinarian and the city's meat inspector. It now runs ten days every November at the Wurstfest Grounds in Landa Park and drew more than 240,000 visitors in 2021. Alsatian immigrant Edouard Naegelin opened Naegelin's Bakery in 1868, and it has been in the same building since 1870; Visit New Braunfels calls it the oldest bakery in Texas, known for strudel, kolaches and pecan pretzels. Gene Krause started Krause's Cafe in 1938 as Gene's Place on the main plaza, and it reopened in December 2016 with a German beer hall, a biergarten and 80 taps. The New Braunfels Smokehouse, founded in 1945, still produces and sells smoked meats, and according to SA Current's food history, William Gebhardt first made his chili powder blend in New Braunfels.
Sausage, schnitzel and smoked meats call for griddles, fryers and freezers with room for bulk product. Bakeries need ovens, work tables for rolling dough and countertop display cases, and beer halls need draft beer coolers, bar refrigeration and glass merchandisers.
Restaurant Supply Store in San Antonio
We ship straight to your San Antonio restaurant. Most San Antonio-area orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Houston warehouse, with free freight and free lift gate service. Will-call pickup in Houston is available for verified restaurant businesses, but most kitchens skip the drive to Houston and let us ship it. Inside San Antonio, Metro Health issues food permits and inspects food establishments, Bexar County inspects restaurants in unincorporated areas, and the City of New Braunfels oversees food safety for food service businesses plus mobile and temporary food vendors. Most calls here are for a fast replacement, like a reach-in refrigerator or ice machine that quit in the South Texas heat, or for a full equipment package for a new taqueria, panaderia, beer hall or food truck. Tell us what you are cooking and how much space you have, and we will help you size the line.
Why San Antonio Restaurants Buy From The Restaurant Warehouse
Every piece of new Atosa equipment we sell is run-tested for 24 hours at the factory before it ships. It carries Intertek's ETL Sanitation and cETLus listings, which certify it to the NSF/ANSI food equipment standards and US and Canadian safety standards that inspectors from San Antonio Metro Health and the City of New Braunfels look for. Refrigeration comes with a 3-year parts and labor warranty and a 5-year compressor warranty, gas cooking equipment comes with a 1-year parts and labor warranty, and extended warranties are available.
- Free freight on qualifying orders, no lift gate fees
- Built for scrappy startups, food trucks and independent kitchens
- Founder Sean Kearney answers calls, texts and email at (206) 419-5801 or therestaurantwarehouse@gmail.com
Serving San Antonio, New Braunfels and the Hill Country
San Antonio is our hub for Bexar County and Comal County, from Market Square to the Guadalupe River at Gruene. Restaurants across the area get the same equipment, free lift gate freight, and warranty, and they talk to the same team.
San Antonio
From Market Square to Pearl, San Antonio kitchens cook for a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Operators searching for a restaurant supply store in San Antonio usually need a fast replacement, so we ship reach-in refrigerators, freezers, sandwich prep tables, and fryers across the city.
Alamo Heights, Leon Valley and Live Oak
Cafes, taquerias and bars in these Bexar County cities order griddles, undercounter refrigerators, and ice machines.
New Braunfels
Wurstfest every November, Naegelin's strudel and Krause's biergarten keep New Braunfels kitchens busy. Kitchens here order draft beer coolers, ovens, and freezers.
Gruene
Gruene Hall opened in 1878, the historic district joined the National Register in 1975, and New Braunfels annexed Gruene in 1979. River restaurants and dance hall bars order bar refrigeration, charbroilers, and ice machines.
San Antonio Restaurant Equipment FAQ
Do you ship restaurant equipment to San Antonio?
Yes. The Restaurant Warehouse ships commercial restaurant equipment to San Antonio and the rest of South Central Texas by freight, with lift gate delivery to your door.
Do you deliver to New Braunfels, Gruene, Alamo Heights, Leon Valley and Live Oak?
Yes. We deliver across the San Antonio area, including Alamo Heights, Leon Valley, Live Oak, New Braunfels, and Gruene.
How fast is delivery to San Antonio?
Most San Antonio-area orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Houston warehouse, depending on item availability and carrier routing. Contact us if you need equipment urgently.
Do you offer free freight?
Yes. Free freight is available on select models and qualifying orders. Contact us to confirm freight options for a specific item.
Do you charge lift gate fees?
No. We do not charge lift gate fees.
What types of restaurant equipment do you sell?
We sell commercial refrigerators, freezers, prep tables, griddles, charbroilers, deep fryers, ovens, ice machines, bar refrigeration, and food truck equipment, plus many other categories for professional kitchens.
Can I get help choosing the right equipment?
Yes. If you can't find what you need, call or email us and we'll help you source the right product for your kitchen.
Can I pick up my order?
Yes. Verified restaurant businesses can arrange will-call pickup at our Houston warehouse. But why lose a day renting a truck, strapping it down and unloading it yourself? With free freight and free lift gate service, most San Antonio-area orders arrive at your door or curb in 1 to 3 business days. Call (206) 419-5801 to set up either option.
Up I-35, our Austin page covers Round Rock and Central Texas, and southeast our Corpus Christi page covers Victoria and the Coastal Bend.
Restaurant Equipment Across Texas
The Restaurant Warehouse delivers commercial restaurant equipment across Texas from our Dallas and Houston warehouses. Find the page for your region: