Originally Posted: March 21, 2017
If the City of Love ever inspired a café for coffee lovers, this could be it.
So when you can’t make it to Paris for your café au lait or pain au chocolat, CommonWealth Coffeehouse & Bakery has you covered, especially since owners José Ramon Campos and Jorge Herrero are about to expand the 2-year-old concept to seven more locations in San Antonio.
One of the first spots will be at Hemisfair, as announced last fall at the one-year anniversary celebration of Yanaguana Garden, phase one of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation’s plan for the former world’s fair site.
Another will open July 1 at the Weston Centre at 112 E. Pecan St.
The charming CommonWealth is an independent coffeehouse and bakery with European flair. Situated in a former cottage just off Broadway Street, the original CommonWealth offers seating under giant oak trees on a cozy patio, indoors at marble-top bistro tables, or in a sunny backyard garden alongside raised plant beds and a quaint henhouse.
On any given day, customers come and go, from sunup to sundown, for Cuvée-brand coffees, artisanal French pastries, and a place to dine, work, meet and study – perhaps unaware that this peaceful little haven for coffee lovers had a rocky start.
Herrero purchased and renovated the dilapidated property that is nestled between a car wash and a residence on Davis Court, intending to open in August 2014 to coincide with the start of the fall semester at nearby University of the Incarnate Word. But two neighbors filed complaints; the City discovered it had not, in fact, zoned the property for commercial enterprise as was advertised, and then-District 2 Councilman Keith Toney pressed City Council to deny a rezoning request.
But with half a million dollars invested in the project, Herrero and Campos didn’t give up. The zoning vote was eventually overturned with the help of current Councilman Alan Warrick, and CommonWealth opened in January 2015. “When we opened, we were busy from Day One. It was packed,” Campos said. “Within six months, we were very busy.”
Born in Mexico City, Campos grew up in San Antonio, attending Antonian College Prep and later Southern Methodist University as a political science, economics, and finance major. For some time, Campos wasn’t sure he would pass his required French language classes at SMU. READ MORE