
11 minute read
In the Loop
7600 Broadway on Schedule to Open 2nd Quarter 2022
BY RON AARON EISENBERG
It is impossible to miss the new building casting a shadow along Broadway and Nacogdoches, across from The Shops at Lincoln Heights. The building replaces the aging condominiums and a small retail structure that filled the 4-acre triangle, bordered by Broadway, Nacogdoches, and West Nottingham Dr.
Embrey Partners Ltd. is developing the property. It will feature over 200 upscale residential units and just over 53,000 square feet of office space.
Embrey Executive Jeremy Williams is overseeing the construction of 7600 Broadway. He told 78209 Magazine, “at times, more than 100 workers are on site.” The nose of the building, at the intersection of Broadway and Nacogdoches, will house the professional office space, plus Embrey’s new corporate headquarters.
There will be no retail space and no bars or restaurants in the building. Parking will be below ground and ground level but screened from the street, according to Williams.
When Embrey originally floated plans for the site in 2018, some area residents opposed the concept. But, the Oak Park Northwood Neighborhood Association endorsed the project and supported Embrey’s request for a zoning change to help facilitate development. Work began on the site in 2019.
Adelante Closing One of a Kind Mexican Restaurant in ‘09
After 40 years in business, Adelante Restaurant will permanently close its doors on April 1, 2022.
The Mexican eatery has been serving “healthy Mexican cuisine since before it was cool.”
Owners Deb & Dan Soder have done it all with just minimal staff. Now, Dan told me, it’s time to move on. “I’ll be 65 next year. Deb will be 67. After surviving economic downturns, 9/11, the pandemic, and more, we just figured it was time.”
The couple announced their plans on a board in the lobby of their restaurant to give customers time to digest the decision and to visit Adelante a few times before the doors close for good next year.
Dan laughed when asked if this was just an early April Fool’s joke. “No, but the date is significant,” he said. “Our wedding anniversary is April 4. We’ll have been married 40 years, the same age as Adelante.”
“I don’t like the word retirement; it sounds like you’re heading for an easy chair in a retirement village.” But that’s not their plan. He’d rather call it “living.” “We do it all ourselves in the restaurant. It’s been a lot of work. We have two grandkids now, and life is too short. It’s just time to move on and enjoy life. We’re open to whatever after we close. It’s been a great ride, like being in charge of our own boat. We put two kids through college, and paid off our house in Alamo Heights.” Dan and Deb plan to write a book about Adelante as a lasting tribute to what they accomplished. Their son is a professional photographer, and he will document all of the art and other stuff that fills the restaurant. Before we said goodbye, he added, “I love the outdoors.” He rides bikes and enjoys spending time in one of his nine kayaks. When not with his grandkids, we can look for Dan on area rivers and lakes paddling his way into the future.




Howdy Parade Kicks Off a Celebration of Blue & Gold


The 2021 Howdy Parade stepped off on Wednesday, October 6.
The parade always attracts parents, students, and residents sporting their blue and gold, reuniting with neighbors and friends, cheering for their children, students, and teachers, as they made their way up the traditional parade route along Alamo Heights Blvd. The littlest Mules chased down candy tossed from parade vehicles.
The end of the parade marks the beginning of Howdy Night, the Homecoming Carnival held at Alamo Heights High School, supporting the clubs and organizations at the campus. Silly String was everywhere, another tradition.
The Mule Spirit continued as students celebrated the evening, crowned their King, and lit up the night with the burning of the AH, a unique tradition at AHHS.

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Straight Shooters Since 1959
Some of the most successful enterprises began in a garage. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started Apple Computers in a garage, and the Ramones started their raucous band in a garage in Queens. Likewise, one local family business that has managed to thrive and grow for more than 60 years began in the garage of John L. Dury on the southside of San Antonio in 1959.
John passed away in 2005, but Dury’s Gun Shop is still managed today by John’s wife, Betty, and his sons, David and Johnny. It is a gun lover and hunter’s paradise with a massive bear holding court in the center of the shop. Dury’s carries a vast inventory of firearms and firearm accessories, including optics, magazines, and suppressors. They also feature a large selection of rifles and shotguns from many different manufacturers, or you can commission your own rifle design from David Dury himself. David learned gunsmithing from his father and runs the gunsmith and repair department of Dury’s, which employs six gunsmiths that can handle any repair issue that might arise with your firearm, regardless of its age. David Dury wants customers to know that, “buyers can feel confident buying from Dury’s because they know that our team of highly trained professionals can service the guns that we sell.” This forward-thinking customer service policy is what allowed John L. Dury to build his business from its humble start in the garage to the legacy enterprise it is today. David continues by emphasizing that, “Dad always said, ‘A man is only as good as his word,’ and we instill this in our employees, and our customers know that they can count on us to deliver what we promise.” Betty Dury, or Mama Dury, as some famous and longtime customers lovingly refer to her, is a feisty businesswoman, still cracking the whip at 76. She is outgoing and friendly, and her eyes light up when she tells the story about how she met John in 1967. “I was working at Straus-Frank Company, and John would come in to buy specialty parts. I thought he was cute, so I winked at him one day. I asked one of the guys about him and found out that he was single. The next time he came in, he asked me out, and we eventually got married.” Dury’s Gun Shop moved out of John’s garage in 1972 and moved into their first brick and mortar location on Southcross in 1973. They grew steadily and gained a loyal clientele in San Antonio. They became known for their lifetime warranty when very few businesses offered a guarantee. John truly believed in standing by his products and his customers, and they began to market that promise to the public, attracting more customers who would return time and again. Once Dury’s Gun Shop outgrew their Southcross location, they relocated to a larger space on Hot Wells Boulevard in 2003. They expanded their inventory and gunsmithing department until their move to the Alamo Heights area in 2019. The business doesn’t do much advertising. Most of their customers find them through word-of-mouth recommendations from other customers. Their reputation for honesty and fair prices is what brings in new customers and keeps loyal customers returning. Johnny is the face and voice of Dury’s and handles most of the business’s sales and customer service aspects. When asked about his father’s legacy, he states, “ We do our best to live up to dad’s customer service standards every day.” Dury’s also offers consignment sales, and they buy large gun estates throughout the United States. They are proud of their honesty and transparency when working with customers who are liquidating assets and estates. They offer a fair market value for the collections they buy and do well on specialty gun auction sites. Online gun buyers must purchase through local, licensed gun brokers, and Dury’s charges a straight fee with no surprises. Dury’s Gun Shop is a true family business, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Although Betty stepped down as President of Dury’s last year, she is still very active in the day-to-day activities. David’s wife, Angie, is now the bookkeeper, and all four of the grandkids have even worked for the business. David and Johnny are committed to continuing what their dad started all those years ago, and you can be sure that you will be educated properly and treated fairly when you step into Dury’s Gun Shop.

The Chancellor Team for the Win

They say that it takes a village to raise a child, but for one Alamo Heights family, love and teamwork work in tandem to tackle the challenges of raising a family in this hardworking household. David and Aubrey Chancellor were meant for each other, and it shows. They were both born and raised in San Antonio and will tell you that there is nowhere else that they would rather live.

David attended Lee High School and graduated from Trinity University. He is best known for his career as the lead sports anchor on WOAI-TV for nearly 25 years. He has traveled extensively covering the Spurs and other high-profile sporting events, but as his children were getting older, he decided to take his career in a different direction, and in 2018 he joined the team anchoring the morning news show, News 4 San Antonio Today. David states that “It isn’t much fun to wake up at 2:30 in the morning every day, but I never miss a practice or a game, and that’s what really matters to me. My family is everything.”
David is married to former news reporter Aubrey Mika. The two met at WOAI-TV in 2006. Aubrey went to MacArthur High School and earned her degree at Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University, where she competed on the tennis team. Aubrey says that David caught her attention from day one, and he eventually captured her heart. The pair went on their first date between Christmas and New Year’s in 2006, and they were married in December 2007. David smiles when he recalls what made him fall in love with Aubrey, “We could sit and talk for hours and hours. We just fit, and we make a great team.”
Aubrey left WOAI-TV after four years as a reporter when her son, Luke (now 11), was born. She says, “I wanted to be there for my son. As a new mother, I didn’t want to be knocking on doors and surprising strangers at ten o’clock at night, so I stayed home to support David and raise my children. Their daughter, Emery (10), was born just a year later, rounding out their beautiful family. Today, Aubrey works as the Executive Director of Communications for North East Independent School District. She loves being a part of the team that gets to tell the story of how education in San Antonio is shaping young lives and our communities.
She says that her days are never dull. Where she was once on the media side, asking the questions, now she is on the other side of the microphone, answering questions, managing crisis situations, and educating the public about important issues facing students and the school district. Her schedule allows her to get Luke and Emery to school every day, and then David takes over in the afternoons, picking up the kids and taking them to practice or sporting events. Luke is an avid basketball player and plays for the San Antonio Toros, and Emery swims and takes hip-hop dance lessons. Their life is hectic, but together, the Chancellors make it work.
Growing up in San Antonio, both David and Aubrey feel strong ties to their community. They have lived in their current home for over four years, but they have called Alamo Heights home for many years. David describes Alamo Heights as a small town within a big city and says, “You can count on people in the community because you’ve known them for so long. Everyone looks out for one another, and you can trust your neighbors to be there for your children. Our kids have grown up with each other, and we all cheer for each other, celebrating together.”
Weekends for the Chancellors are filled with basketball tournaments and swim meets, and life is very busy, just as it is for most families. Still, every summer for the past six or seven years, the Chancellors have enjoyed spending a week in Seaside, Florida. It has become their home away from home, and they look forward to vacationing with friends in a place that has become a family tradition. It’s a chance to reconnect as a family and unwind from the hectic pace of life in San Antonio.
It is this time together that strengthens the bonds of this beautiful family and allows them to tackle challenges together. David and Aubrey consider themselves to be truly blessed in their lives together, and they are grateful for the support of a community that comes together for one another.