SAN ANTONIO – Years’ worth of headaches and dozens of calls for shootings that kept neighbors on edge is officially over.
The problematic East Side bar, Twin Sisters Cantina, was demolished Thursday morning.
The bar once sat at the corner of South Hackberry and East Drexel Avenue. It later became an after-hours hangout spot, causing an uptick of crimes and shootings in the neighborhood.
After hundreds of service calls and dozens of shootings, including several in January of this year, the City of San Antonio temporarily shut down operations at the bar. A judge issued a temporary restraining order on January 27.
On January 28, city workers boarded up and fenced the property.
On February 10, neighbors saw another sign of peace after the Building Standards Board got an inside look at the property. Pictures showed evidence of dangerous and unsanitary conditions including blood on the ground, holes in the wall, trash and poor construction. It was ultimately determined that the structure should be demolished.
However, certain sections of the building were deemed historical, delaying the demolition.
“Once people had toured it and gave their opinions, the committee did not recommend preserving (it) as a historical structure and moved to order the demolition of the building,” Todd Taylor said.
Taylor is the attorney representing the property owner, Daren Hensley. “(Hensley) had to some pre-demo inspections. He had to engage some people, do some surveys and then he finally had to have the gas line removed.”
The green light to demolish the property was given Thursday morning. The demolition came as a welcomed surprise to neighbors. Many found out about the news as they drove past the site.
“I guess (I feel) a sense of relief, you know, just to actually see it being torn down,” Jasmine Trinidad said. “It feels pretty good, you know, just to know that that’s something we’re not going to have to worry about anymore and that the neighborhood will be, you know, more relaxed.”
SAPD East Side SAFE Officer Michael Fischer has patrolled the area for years.
“I work with the citizens that live in this area on a day-to-day basis,” Fischer said. “I listen to their complaints and look for short and long-term resolutions to their issues and this property here was one of them.”
He witnessed first-hand the dangerous situations neighbors dealt with due to the groups that gathered after-hours.
“It was a source of many issues -- shootings, drive-bys (and) drunk drivers were generated from this property,” Fischer said.
As he walked through the rubble, Fischer picked up a piece. He said it represents the hard work it took, as a community, to see the demolition through.
“It was a huge team effort between the city attorney’s office, code compliance and especially the citizens,” Fischer said. “They were extremely patient. Their cooperation with me really helped get this done.”
As to what comes next, Taylor said there is still work to be done.
“My client’s plan is after he finishes preparing the property, he will put it back on the market for sale,” Taylor said.
Taylor confirmed that Israel Castro, the tenant in charge of Twin Sisters Cantina bar, was finally evicted.
“We have not heard from him,” Taylor said. “We (gave him) notice of the meetings. He did not show.”
KSAT 12 has reached out to Castro on several occasions via phone for comment. However, he has declined to speak.