Moses Roses Hideout bar owner Vince Cantu walks away after addressing the City Council to urge them to vote against the proposal for eminent domain of his property. Council ultimately voted in favor of the measure if an agreement cannot be reached with Cantu and his property on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.
San Antonio Express-News
Scott Huddleston, Staff writer
The owner of a bar near the Alamo said he's rejecting the city's final offer of $5.3 million for his property, even though officials warned he'd end up with less than half that amount through eminent domain.
On the anniversary Friday of the Battle of San Jacinto, the owner of Moses Rose's Hideout — named after the reputed "coward of the Alamo" — announced he'll seek a court order to fight the city's efforts to condemn the property.
Vince Cantu asked the city last month for $10 million — $6 million for the property at 516 E. Houston St. and $4 million for his business, a once-thriving sports bar near the Alamo that has struggled since the pandemic. But he's framed the dispute as a clash of ideals, similar to the 1836 siege and battle that pitted some 200 Alamo defenders against a force of 1,500 soldiers led by Mexican Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna.
"This is more than a fight about money. It's about the principles fought for at the Alamo by men willing to die for freedom and independence. Any deal made here should be done in the freedom and with the honor that their lives represent to all Texans," Cantu said in a statement.
City officials said they'd offered far more than the bar is worth to avoid condemnation — its current market value is $2.1 million. They are working with the Texas General Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Trust to upgrade the mission and battle site.
A five-story wing of a museum and visitor center is set to open in 2026, and project leaders said they need Cantu's property to make the new complex financially self-sustaining.
"The city is making this offer in the spirit of compromise and in a good faith effort to resolve this matter without the need for costly and protracted litigation," City Attorney Andy Segovia wrote in a letter extending the final offer Wednesday.
The legal standoff follows three months of back-and-forth since the City Council voted 9-2 to authorize eminent domain — but only after fair and reasonable attempts could be made to purchase the bar. The tavern is just west of the Alamo's historic footprint and next to the state-owned 1921 Woolworth Building. It's named for Louis "Moses" Rose, who was at the Alamo during the 13-day siege but fled before all the defenders were killed in the early morning battle. Texas secured independence from Mexico six weeks later at San Jacinto.
The city, which has eminent domain authority, offered $4 million last month for the bar and a $100,000 reimbursement for Cantu to relocate to a leased property nearby.
Cantu rejected the offer and said he and his attorney will challenge the city's condemnation in court, arguing that the city can't use eminent domain for a moneymaking project led by the state to support economic development.
City and Alamo Trust officials have countered that state law permits condemnation to construct historical museums. In his letter giving Cantu 14 days to respond to the final offer, Segovia said the property is "needed for a public purpose." State funds allocated for the Alamo would be used to purchase the site.
If Cantu loses his bid to keep his bar, he'll likely also leave $3 million at the negotiating table.
"If the city must initiate condemnation proceedings, it will seek a finding of just compensation consistent with the $2.1 million fair market value determination" from an independent consultant, Segovia wrote.
A second consultant, RSI & Associates, assessed the business's value at just over $1.2 million.
The Alamo Trust said Cantu chose RSI from three options and gave the consultant his business data. But Cantu said RSI didn't calculate his projected lost revenue — a symptom of "more bad faith from the Alamo Trust and the GLO."
Alamo Trust Executive Director Kate Rogers said Cantu was given an "extremely fair offer based on thorough analysis of his property" so work can proceed on a facility befitting the memory of "all those who lived, fought and died" at the Alamo since its 1724 founding as the first permanent Spanish-Indigenous mission in San Antonio.
Unless Cantu changes his mind by the May 3 deadline, the city could initiate condemnation overseen by three commissioners appointed by a probate judge.
"At that point, the best and final offer will no longer be valid," the Alamo Trust said in a release.
Segovia said the city will determine "when and if a suit is filed" after the deadline, "with the expectation that substantive discussions can continue."
shuddleston@express-news.net