Two longtime businesses on Blanco Road are using the Beacon Hill neighborhood as a “launching pad” for bigger things this year.
One of those is Karolina’s Antiques, which has been selling decor, accessories, talavera pottery and a variety of other colorful wares in the Blanco Center building at 1709 Blanco Road for 18 years. Uriel Diaz, the son of owner Maria Vega, told MySA that when the business first moved in, there wasn’t much in the area besides Blanco Cafe and a few businesses — DJ Bakery, Blanco Bazaar — that are no longer around.
Around them, trendy restaurants and coffee shops have sprung up, such as Beacon Hill Market & Deli, which opened in 2023, and Bright Coffee, circa 2022, which doubles as a dance studio. There’s also Roundabout, a craft beer bottle shop that replaced an antique store last year.
“Me and my brother used to always tell people like, ‘Oh, this is an upcoming area,’ just to get people to come all the time,” Diaz said. “And eventually it did become that, which is crazy. So it’s changed a lot. A lot of the businesses, too, that are around us either started off as vendors of ours, or were our friends that we brought over here, which is really, really cool. But, yeah, it’s changed a lot.”
The same growth that’s come to the area has impacted Karolina’s Antiques. Three years ago, they opened a second location at 1824 Blanco Road, but Diaz said they feel the business has outgrown both spaces. Come December, Karolina’s will be moved out of both stores on Blanco Road and into Southtown, where they’ve got a new place on S. Flores Street. Diaz said they’re excited to move, as the larger space will allow for more parking, to return to hosting community events and continue to be the place for “puro San Anto” finds.
Their move coincides with wedding and event florists Statue of Design and its sister business, No. 9 Floral (which neighbors Karolina’s location at the Blanco Center), also springing off. Owner David Garcia told MySA that they’ve been in their current location since March 2018, but recent high-profile weddings have given them a need for more inventory space. They’re moving a few blocks away to W. Summit Avenue, where they’ll take over a renovated property and expand to offer ice cream for those hot, San Antonio summers.
Garcia said Beacon Hill has “a little something for everyone” and compared it to a “little bit more localized” version of the Pearl District. He mentioned that when Statue of Design and No. 9 first moved in, the area was “so saturated” with antique stores that people would walk in not knowing they were a flower shop. He credits Bright Coffee with bringing more people to the neighborhood, and “drawing in a sense of community.” He also attributes a bit of its trendiness to the age demographics, which he says are a bit younger, with folks in their mid-20s to mid-40s.
The area feels like a slice of Austin-brand weird in San Antonio, with The Haunted Dollhouse museum nearby, as well as legal cannabis dispensaries, wine bars and tons of public art. Its anchor is just down the block from Karolina’s and No. 9, where a roundabout marks the intersection of Blanco Road and Fulton Street with a 28-foot obelisk designed by local artist Angel Rodriguez-Diaz. It’s hard to miss, partly for its height, but also for its artistry — reminiscent of punched tin lanterns in a style that feels distinctly San Antonian.
“We love the neighborhood. We love the roundabout. It’s definitely evolving since I’ve been here over the last seven years, which I think is a great thing,” Garcia said.
But what’s next for the retail strip? Once his businesses and Karolina’s have moved, Garcia predicts an influx of restaurants, as retail is “constantly changing” (especially in an era of online shopping). MySA reached out to the owner of the building for comment on what businesses might replace them, but did not hear back before publication.