The Friendly Spot to open a second San Antonio location on Southeast Side

Jody Newman owns the Friendly Spot Ice House and is a member of the city-county economic transition team. Jody Newman owns the Friendly Spot Ice House and is a member of the city-county economic transition team. Photo: Staff File Photo Photo: Staff File Photo Image 1 of / 137 Caption Close The Friendly Spot to open a second San Antonio location on Southeast Side 1 / 137 Back to Gallery

There are plans to make San Antonio’s Southeast Side a lot friendlier.

Jody and Steve Newman, owners of The Friendly Spot Ice House in Southtown, have acquired a space at 2040 W.W. White Road that they plan to convert into a second location. The property sits next to the popular Big Lou’s Pizza and Big Lou’s Burgers and BBQ restaurants.

“Steve and I have been pondering where we would put a second Friendly Spot for years,” Jody Newman said. “We looked at three- to four-dozen properties before we decided on this. We love the feel of it, the traffic and the vibe of the surrounding community.”

They have enlisted the help of architect Nick Melde, a Lavaca neighbor and Friendly Spot regular, to build the new spot from the ground up. Newman said that the property must first clear a rezoning process before they confirm any final designs.

As veteran business owners, they don’t have any expected opening dates planned, other than that “it should happen in 2019.”

“It’s been fun to be able to have someone help us that gets what we are all about,” Newman said. “Our original challenge was making a super old building look new, and now we’ll have to make a new building look old.”

The Friendly Spot, which has been in business at 943 S. Alamo St. for nine years, is best known for its massive inventory of beer and kid- and pet-friendly outdoor space. It offers 76 beers on tap and may feature up to 400 different labels at any given time.

Plans for the new location include food service, with a menu of traditional bar snacks such as chili-cheese fries, a lineup of nachos, sandwiches and lighter options.

The Friendly Spot Ice House, 943 S. Alamo St., 210-224-2337. Hours: 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. daily. Facebook: TheFriendlySpot.

cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: bbqdiver