SoHo Wine & Martini Bar, touted as the first craft cocktail bar in San Antonio, has filed for bankruptcy reorganization.

Morris “Trey” White III, bankruptcy lawyer for SoHo, said the Chapter 11 filing stopped the Texas comptroller of public accounts from trying to “lock them out” of the business at 214 W. Crockett St. over past due taxes.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio’s Best Bars: SoHo Wine & Martini Bar

Kevin Lyons, a spokesman for the comptroller’s office, said he couldn’t comment on whether the agency had planned to conduct a seizure at SoHo.

SoHo owes about $609,272 in mixed-beverage taxes, Lyons said. SoHo disputes the amount.

“We’re not closing the business,” co-owner Ronnie L. Herrera said Monday. “The business is staying open. We just need to be able to restructure.

“We just need more breathing room to pay off that (tax) bill,” he added.

Herrera said SoHo owes “maybe a fraction” of the amount the comptroller’s office seeks to collect. “It’s a ridiculous amount. It’s just crazy,” he added.

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Agency officials went to SoHo with plans to conduct a seizure, but Herrera said they left after he provided a copy of the bankruptcy petition, filed Thursday.

The comptroller’s office can lock up a business’ premises for past due taxes. If the taxes are not then paid within 20 days, the agency can begin selling certain assets belonging to the business, Lyons said. A bankruptcy filing halts a seizure, however.

The taxes allegedly owed by SoHo are from November 2012 through May 2016 and October of this year, Lyons said.

On ExpressNews.com: SoHo Wine & Martini Bar

SoHo listed in its petition estimated assets ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 and estimated debts ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.

SoHo, which opened in 2006, features a long bar built around an old bank vault. The owners restored the old San Antonio Loan & Trust Bank that once occupied the spot.

Close to 450 original cocktails were developed over the years by SoHo. They are served by bartenders decked out in vests and button-down shirts.

SoHo appeared in the San Antonio Express-News’ 2019 “Top 100 Dining & Drinks guide.”

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD