By Valentino Lucio
vlucio@express-news.net
Updated 02:26 p.m., Friday, August 5, 2011
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- Developer David Adleman and San Antonio-native and television star Ricardo Chavira are working to redevelop the former Taco Land.
From the local bands that blasted rock 'n' roll from the disheveled bar's cramped stage to its harsh, yet warm, owner, the late Ramiro “Ram” Ayala, one thing about Taco Land is that it gave people a platform for expression. And although the new owners aren't looking to develop the property themselves, they do hope it will have elements of music and art.
Tacoland Studios LLC is made up of Ricardo Chavira, who plays Carlos Solis, the husband of Eva Longoria's character on Desperate Housewives, and David Adelman, a principal at Cross & Co., a local development firm. Taking his first crack at a commercial real estate venture, Chavira approached Adelman, a high school friend, earlier this year about the property, which is assessed at $190,000, according to the Bexar Appraisal District. Both men noticed how the area around the Pearl Brewery has turned around in recent years, and they wanted to build upon that.
Chavira stayed tight-lipped about any specifics but said that whatever goes there should have elements of what it was.
“Whatever it becomes, it's got to be good,” he said. “Good art, good music, all that stuff. Would I love to see something like that down here? Hell yeah. San Antonio needs it.”
Chavira said that his main reason for getting involved was to invest back in his hometown. He added that basically reopening Taco Land could a possibility.
“I know there are people out there talking about ‘keeping it real' and ‘Taco Land por vida' and all that stuff,” Chavira said. “I would love to. I think that's a great idea. But we have to do the best thing from an economic standpoint as well as what's going to be the best thing for this community.”
Although there aren't any deals under contract, Adelman said one group is putting together a business plan tilted toward a restaurant. He didn't name any names, but did mention the interested person is a local restaurateur who is expected to present the idea within 30 days.
“I've talked a lot about place-making as it relates to our urban core and really making our inner city vibrant, dynamic and exciting,” Adelman said. “A place like this will help us do that.”
Still there are obstacles to overcome. Although the building was always in disarray, sitting vacant for six years has not helped. Adelman said it might be torn down, and any renovations would have to respect the integrity of a live oak on the property, which is protected by the city's tree ordinance.
But Adelman has tackled worse, he said.
Agnes Ayala, Ram Ayala's wife, said it was hard to let go of the property. She decided to sell because taxes and maintenance became too costly.
“I hated seeing it get more and more dilapidated,” the 73-year-old said. “It just wasn't a good idea to keep it.”
Taco Land originally opened as a restaurant around 1965, Ayala said, and was operated like that for about a decade. Ram Ayala eventually decided to open only at night and, after adding live music, it evolved into the legendary venue.
Agnes Ayala's not preoccupied with what will go there but hopes whatever it is will in some way honor her husband.
“I feel like it's out of our hands,” she said. “We let it go, but we still have the memories.”
Things abruptly changed at Taco Land when Ram Ayala and doorman Douglas “Gypsy Doug” Morgan were shot and killed and bartender Denise “Sunshine” Koger was seriously injured in the 2005 robbery. The shooter, Joseph Gamboa, was sentenced to death in 2007 and his accomplice, Jose Najera, struck a plea deal a year later and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Jeff Smith, lead singer of the Hickoids, said that although the gritty venue was small and unpolished, it was a haven for local bands.
“The ambience of the place is what made it special,” he said. “It was a pretty shabby little building in a shabby part of town at that time. What could be an otherwise unremarkable band could be the greatest band in the world there.”
To create another Taco Land there would be hard, Smith said, because it was Ram Ayala's personality that made it home.
“I don't believe there's a Taco Land without Ram,” he said.
Ram might disagree. Although he loved Taco Land, he knew all good things come to an end.
“I love what I've done,” he said in a Snowbyrd music video titled “Ram.” “I can't be here forever. Like everybody tells me, there ain't going to be Taco Land (without me). Oh, there will be another Ram. There will be somebody else to take over just like any other things ... it just might not be as much fun.”
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Taco-Land-under-new-ownership-Hollywood-style-1726887.php#ixzz1UHrPsX3X