Jacala, one of San Antonio’s oldest restaurants, went up in flames early Thursday morning and residents mourned

Jacala, one of San Antonio’s oldest restaurants, went up in flames early Thursday morning, the damage so extreme fire officials deemed it a total loss. The West Side Tex-Mex institution opened in 1949, amassing a loyal following of regular customers over the years. Jarrett Vocke, a batallion chief with the San Antonio fire department, said that the loss of the restaurant was personal to him, because it was the gathering place after his own father’s funeral. “This is a huge loss to the community, there’s no other way to say it,” Vocke said. Lucille Hooker, who co-owns Jacala with two sisters, said Thursday afternoon she was in shock. “I don’t have any idea what the future holds ... It’s just gone.”

No one was in the building when the blaze started around 6:30 a.m., and fire officials are still investigating the cause, Vocke said. Twenty units were called out to he scene of the fire, which burned for nearly three hours. Fire crews were forced to mostly flatten the building to extinguish the fire. As of 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jacala was still smoldering. It was the second fire in the restaurant’s history. A fire in 2016 forced a six-week closure for repairs. Rudolph G. Quiñones and his wife Adelfa opened the restaurant in 1949 at the intersection of Culebra Road and Wilson Boulevard. In 1952, they moved it to its current location at West Avenue near Hildebrand, a space with just four booths and two tables. It would go on to grow to into a space with five dining areas that could seat 250 guests. Jacala expanded and had eight locations between San Antonio and Tyler, but the West Avenue location was the last of its kind before the fire. Jacala’s classic Tex-Mex garnered many awards from the Express-News, which over the years has lauded its excellent enchilada, puffy tacos, tamales, fajitas and combo plates. The bar featured drinks such as the Sangria Swirl and the Chamoy-A-Rita. A video of the fire posted on Jacala’s Facebook page had more than 750 comments by Thursday afternoon, many of them from regulars mourning the loss. One comment addressed to the owners said, “Lucille, Yolonda & Cindy, my heart breaks for all of you. What a devastating and historical loss. Some of the best times of my life were spent with you all,” wrote Lynda Diann. Others commented on their own family’s longtime history eating there. “This is my family’s favorite restaurant. We’ve been going since I was a kid (and my parents have been going since way before I was born). Heartbreaking!” Staci Chriswell Moore wrote.