SAN ANTONIO – Cardona Welding Shop has built a 100-year-old legacy led by five generations of family members.
Cardona Welding on the corner of South Brazos and Merida streets is still going strong 100 years after Guadalupe Cardona first opened its doors as a blacksmith shop.
Generations of Cardona men helped build a good reputation for the shop that went beyond Bexar County, says owner Loraine Cardona, widow of Johnny Cardona.
In 2019, Johnny and his son, John Cardona Jr., passed away, leaving daughter Elizabeth Rodriguez to take the helm of the shop.
“The community, they will tell you, please don’t close the shop. And I said, ‘Why now?’ Because they said, ‘It’s like the Alamo of the West Side. It’s historical. It’s a landmark,’” Rodriguez said.
Cardona Welding has helped build and shape San Antonio. Rodriguez said that there are many landmarks that the Cardonas helped create or fix.
She says the business will stay open as long as they can, and hopefully, soon, the next generation of Cardonas will be ready to take the helm of the company.
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