Thai restaurant, tiki bar Hello Paradise now open on East Grayson

Hello Paradise, a new outdoor bar and restaurant by bar developer Jeret Peña, celebrates its official opening today on East Grayson Street in Government Hill.

Peña and his Boulevardier group opened the Thai restaurant and tiki-inspired bar last week.

Peña’s most recent bar, Still Golden Social House, was closed in the spring after Jefferson Bank acquired the land it was on on East Grayson and Broadway to construct its new headquarters building. In two years, he plans to reopen Still Golden in the bank’s new building in a retail spot on the southeast corner of East Grayson and North Alamo, a half-block from Hello Paradise.

Peña said they wanted to wait to find the right deal before opening Hello Paradise, which took over the former Shuck Shack location, and that timing was key.

“We had no other businesses, when Covid hit we were freaking out about what we were going to do,” Peña said.

Hello Paradise includes an outdoor patio area with picnic tables, a giant projection screen, and fire pits. Lights hang over the picnic tables and give off a calmly lit vibe at night, making it ideal for Instagram-worthy photos.

The drink menu offers frozen and classic cocktails, beer and wine that range from $8-$10. Customers can also invent their own frozen cocktails that start with daiquiri, vodka sour and margarita bases, and can be finished with flavors such as mango, matcha, spicy cucumbers, strawberry, mint, and pandan, a Southeast Asian aromatic.

The Thai food menu is operated by the owners of the food truck, Yai’s Mobile Kitchen. Yai’s Mobile Kitchen is run by Peña’s in-laws, Dara and Kusol Maknual, and was previously posted outside of Still Golden Social House. Yai’s food menu includes spring rolls, Thai-fried wings, tom yum noodles, and panang curry, and range from $8-$10.

Hello Paradise is open noon to 2 a.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

Rocky Garza Jr. is a freelance journalist in San Antonio. Follow him at @r0ckssss_ on Twitter