• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
    • Heron jobs
    • Editorial Independence Policy
    • Corrections & Clarifications
  • Who we are
  • About us
  • Newsletter signup
  • Donate
  • Our Business Supporters
    • Join Our Business Membership Program

San Antonio Heron

Telling the complete downtown story

  • Development
  • Housing
  • Neighborhoods
  • Food & Drink

Saved from demolition: Hughes home in San Antonio’s Tobin Hill purchased by chef Weissman, investor Chu

June 10, 2022 By Ben Olivo Leave a Comment

FacebookTweetPrintEmail
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
May Chu (left) and Andrew Weissman exit the Hughes home in Tobin Hill, which the business partners purchased on Wednesday. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron

By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor

The circa-1913 Hughes home in Tobin Hill, which was once on the path toward demolition, has been purchased by chef Andrew Weissman and a preservationist named May Chu, who plan to convert the first floor into a wine-and-cheese bar sometime this year.

The previous owner, the Archdiocese of San Antonio, had proposed demolishing the home, 312 W. Courtland Place, which for decades had served as the Catholic Student Center for neighboring San Antonio College. After learning about the demolition request to the city last year, The Conservation Society of San Antonio, members of the Tobin Hill Community Association, and other preservationists began a public awareness campaign in an attempt to slow down the process. It worked, and their efforts led to the purchase this week by Weissman and Chu, who met just a month ago through the society.

Chu and Weissman said they were both moved to action by the prospect of the structure being razed, and by the Conservation Society’s efforts to save the childhood home of Russell Hughes, who later became a famous dancer in the 1920s and 1930s under the stage name “La Meri.”

The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
Weissman and Chu speak to preservationists at the Hughes home Friday morning. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron

[ Related: 108-year-old Tobin Hill home demolition on hold after SAC says it’s not interested in buying it | Jan. 12, 2022 ]

The home includes four fireplaces, as well as two upper floors and a basement.

“At this point, we’re going to preserve the home, address the things that need to be addressed, and then do an expanded wine-and-cheese bar where it could almost be a community gathering space for Monte Vista and Tobin Hill and surrounding areas,” said Weissman, a James Beard Award nominated chef. “And with what’s happening across the street, I think it will dovetail quite nicely.”

The Hughes home sits across from the 120-year-old Koehler House, which Weston Urban had planned to purchase from San Antonio College, and convert it into a hotel with a restaurant—although it’s unclear whether that deal has closed. The three-story mansion was built in 1901 by Otto Koehler, president of the Pearl Brewing Company.

[ Related: Weston Urban expected to buy Koehler House to serve as hotel, restaurant | Feb. 21, 2022 ]

Chu and Weissman, who chose not to disclose the purchase price, will likely incorporate the porch and front yard as part of the wine-and-cheese bar. Weissman said a wine and cheese concept makes the most sense for the home because a kitchen is not needed. “We want to be true to the house,” he said. They said they don’t yet have plans for the basement or upper two floors.

The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
One of the four fireplaces inside the Hughes house. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron

Weissman and Chu will need to get a variance from the city to sell alcohol because of its proximity to Temple Beth El, where students from Great Hearts Monte Vista South attend school during the week. It will also have to be rezoned.

Chu became aware of the imminent demolition from a blog post written by Vincent Michael, executive director of the Conservation Society, about the Hughes. Then, Chu reached out to Michael who put her in touch with Weissman, who had also expressed interest in purchasing the home.

During a gathering at the home Friday morning, Chu suggested the upper floors could be used as space for lectures on the preservation of old homes. The rest of the home provides many possibilities, Chu said.

“We’re open to ideas,” said Chu, who lives in San Antonio, and who also runs a building inspection company in New York City. “Nothing in stone, yet.”

[ Related: Preservationists helpless as archdiocese seeks to demolish 108-year-old home in Tobin Hill | Nov. 16, 2021 ]

Vincent said the Hughes home is a classic example of the community coming together to save an endangered building of historic significance.

“We kept saying: ‘Test it on the market. Put it on the market and see if someone wants to buy it and restore it’,” Michael recalls the society saying to the Archdiocese of San Antonio. “And, sure enough, we helped identify some people who did want to buy it and restore it, and now we’re here.”

The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
Another of the Hughes home’s fireplaces. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
Preservationists take photos of Weissman and Chu. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
The front room of the Hughes homes. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
Another room inside the Hughes home. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
A biography of “La Meri,” the stage name for the famous dancer Russell Hughes, who grew up in the home, sits on a mantle. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron
The Hughes home in Tobin Hill, 312 W. Courtland Place, was saved from potential demolition when chef Andrew Weissman and investor May Chu purchased the home on June 8, 2022. The two partners in the purchase gave a tour to members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and other preservationists on June 10, 2022.
Frederica Kusher, chair of the historic preservation committee at the Tobin Hill Community Association, checks out one of the home’s sliding doors. Photo by Ben Olivo | Heron

Heron Editor Ben Olivo has been writing about downtown San Antonio since 2008, first for mySA.com, then for the San Antonio Express-News. He co-founded the Heron in 2018, and can be reached at 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter


The Heron turns 4!

Help us sustain our momentum by giving during our 2022 Birthday Campaign.

Prefer to mail a check?
Please make payable to: San Antonio Heron
110 E. Houston St. 7FL
San Antonio, Texas, 78205


2022 NewsMatch

Help the Heron UNLOCK $15,000 from a coalition of NewsMatch funders by Dec. 31.

Prefer to mail a check? Please make payable to:
San Antonio Heron
The Rand Building
110 E. Houston St. 7FL
San Antonio, Texas, 78205

FacebookTweetPrintEmail

Filed Under: Architecture, Conservation Society of San Antonio, Food & Drink, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods, Tobin Hill Tagged With: Andrew Weissman, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Catholic Student Center, Great Hearts Monte Vista South, Hughes house, Koehler House, May Chu, Monte Vista, Otto Koehler, Pearl Brewing Company, Russell Hughes, San Antonio College, Temple Beth El, The Conservation Society of San Antonio, Tobin Hill, Tobin Hill Community Association, Vincent Michael

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

Primary Sidebar

Share

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Support local journalism

If you care about San Antonio’s downtown and urban neighborhoods, consider supporting our 100% independent work with a donation.
Donate

Newsletter Signup

Deep Dives

How municipal bonds work, and a brief history of them in San Antonio

Olivo: How McKee-Rodriguez’s support for a luxury housing project helps shape the Decade of Downtown

The Lofts at River North are under construction at Broadway and Jones Avenue in July.

Analysis: It’s time to call BS on ‘workforce housing’

Copyright © 2023 San Antonio Heron · Site maintained by hmt3design.com

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!