Comfort Cafe back on Bandera Road

Two years after devastating floodwaters washed away Comfort Cafe, the popular brunch destination was set to make its triumphant return to Leon Valley last week.

“Well we did it!!! This is the week !!!! Bandera Road location Opening 8/11!!!” an enthusiastic post to the restaurant’s Facebook page said last week. “Thank y’all for making this possible — Hope to see you there!”

Comfort Cafe, an offshoot of the Smithville-based recovery center SerenityStar, made its

San Antonio debut in 2019 across the street from the H-E-B at Loop 410 and Bandera Road. The cafe quickly earned a legion of followers, thanks in part to a pay-what-you-can approach and mission to help people in addiction recovery. Well, that and a robust menu of oversize burgers, decadent eggs Benedict and towering stacks of pancakes capped with fresh fruit.

With long wait times for a table and lines snaking out the door most weekends, Comfort Cafe proved so successful the business expanded with a second location at Los Patios in June 2021. Just weeks later, the original Bandera Road spot found itself under 4 feet of water following a torrential downpour that ripped away parts of the building and blanketed what remained in foul-smelling mud.

Despite Comfort Cafe’s initial hopes to rebuild, the structure at 5616 Bandera Road was deemed a total loss, and Leon Valley’s City Council voted to demolish what remained of the restaurant in March.

But it’s hard to keep demand for a good breakfast down. Comfort Cafe’s new Leon Valley location is just 2 miles to the northwest of the original spot in a sprawling Bandera Road business complex shared with a church, martial arts studio, adult day care facility and beauty salon.

Bring a big appetite and plenty of patience — you’ll know the wait was worth it with that first bite of hollandaise-cloaked eggs Benny.

Comfort Cafe, 6812 Bandera Road, Suite 101, 210-501-9719, serenitystar.org. Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Aug. 11

Mike Sutter/Staff file photo Floodwaters destroyed the Comfort Cafe in Leon Valley two years ago. Now the popular pay-what-you-can brunch spot has a new site in the same area.