'50s-themed San Angelo burger restaurant shuts down
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Grill-A-Burger, a San Angelo-based, '50s-themed diner specializing in burgers, was shut down in April after years of operation, the restaurant's owner has confirmed.
Katherine Martinez, the owner of Grill-A-Burger and a San Angelo realtor, stated that the restaurant officially closed at the end of April. She said multiple reasons guided her decision to shut the business down.
'It was a hard choice, but it was a personal choice,' Martinez said.
Chief among her reasons for closing Grill-A-Burger is her family. She said Grill-A-Burger began with her three teenage boys and niece, but has dwindled to just her over the years as her sons grew up, started families of their own and moved out of San Angelo.
'Me being a realtor and trying to run a restaurant, it was a lot,' Martinez said. 'At this point, I had to do what's right for my family and for myself.'
Personal health concerns also played a role in the closure. Martinez shared that she is facing her own health problems as her mother faces the aftermath of pancreatic cancer, issues that led her to reevaluate how she spends her time.
English Newsom Cellars to hold grand opening for San Angelo tasting room
'When you own a restaurant, you're basically married to it, and it became very, very difficult for me to leave town in order to take care of my family priorities that I needed to take care of,' Martinez said. 'It put a lot of stress on me.'
Martinez also cited rising food costs spurred by inflation as another driving factor behind the closure.
'Inflation in general, I think, has really hurt a lot of small businesses,' Martinez said.
Grill-A-Burger opened at 1025 N. Chadbourne St., the former home of Charcoal House, in November 2016. A second location was opened at 2833 Southland Blvd. in 2020 but was shut down amid a decline in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martinez encouraged San Angelo residents to support local businesses by shopping and eating locally. She thanked those who have visited Grill-A-Burger over the years and provided her with fond memories.
'I just thank the community for their support,' Martinez said. 'We were open for almost 10 years, and that says a lot in the industry.'
With Grill-A-Burger now closed, the property the restaurant operated from is now for sale. Martinez encouraged those interested in purchasing the property to contact her at (325)-277-5636.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
24 minutes ago
- CNBC
Palantir CEO Karp says AI is dangerous and 'either we win or China will win'
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said the artificial intelligence arms race between the U.S. and China will culminate in one country coming out on top. "My general bias on AI is it is dangerous," Karp told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "There are positive and negative consequences, and either we win or China will win." Karp has been a vocal advocate for U.S AI dominance. He told CNBC in January that the country needs to "run harder, run faster" in an "all-country effort" to develop more advanced AI models. In a recent letter to shareholders, he also touted Palantir's commitment to equipping and enhancing U.S. defense interests. The billionaire tech CEO said Thursday that the U.S. currently has a leg up in the AI race and Palantir is leading the way in making companies more secure and efficient with its tools. "There is no economy in the world with this kind of corporate leadership which is willing to pivot, which understands technologies, which is willing to look at new things, but also has deep domain expertise," he said. "Our allies in the West, in Europe, are going to have to learn from us." Shares of the Denver-based data analytics and AI software firm outperformed in 2024 and have continued their ascent in 2025 as investors bet on their software and work with key government contractors and agencies. The stock is up 74% this year, but investors have to shell out on a higher earnings multiple than its tech peers. "You don't like the price, exit," Karp said on Thursday in response. Karp also asserted that the company is "not surveilling Americans" in response to recent New York Times report that Palantir is helping the Trump administration gather data on Americans.
Axios
26 minutes ago
- Axios
Communicator spotlight: Josh Earnest of United Airlines
As United Airlines' executive vice president of communications and advertising, Josh Earnest is responsible for sharing how the airline differs from its competitors. Why it matters: Much of the job is spent protecting the brand amid ongoing crises — from COIVD-19 groundings, to the Boeing quality control issues, to the recent air traffic challenges at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of United's hubs. What he's saying: Travelers have to relinquish control to the airline that's getting them from point A to point B, which "makes the association that fliers have with our brand all the more important," Earnest told Axios. Flyers pay attention to how the airlines communicate during a crisis "because they see their own personal stake in it," he said. "When people are sitting on that plane, they are feeling out of control. When you're sitting on an airplane, sometimes you don't even have access to WiFi — although we're doing a lot to try to fix that — and you're arriving whenever we decide to arrive. Hopefully your bags will make it, but we're the ones looking out for them. And you're certainly counting on United to keep you safe." State of play: United operates nearly 70% of the flights at Newark, which means the airline has a huge stake in the recent flight disruptions caused by air traffic control issues. "A lot of the challenges at Newark are totally outside of the control of United Airlines. We're talking about air traffic controllers, state and local regulators at the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, federal regulators at the FAA and the Department of Transportation, and the air traffic controllers union," he said. Yes, but: While things might be outside of United's control, its brand is impacted, and it is "not an option for us to sit on the sidelines," Earnest said. "That's why we have worked both to engage with government regulators, to try to come up with policy solutions that could solve the problem, but also why we've been really out in front in communicating with the public and with our customers about what is being done to make it more reliable." Most recently, United slashed ticket prices for Newark-based flights and partnered with JetBlue to allow for more flight options out of nearby Kennedy International Airport. Catch up quick: Before joining United, Earnest spent more than two decades in politics, most recently serving as White House press secretary for the Obama administration. Zoom in: Earnest sits on the executive team, reporting to United president Brett Hart. He oversees a team of about 140 people who are responsible for the airline's global communications, advertising and community engagement strategies. The team structure "allows us to integrate the creative, paid efforts with our aggressive, proactive earned efforts," he said. "There's no enterprise that can rely on one channel of communication, and it just means that there's a higher premium placed on a well-integrated communication strategy." "We will often use notes to our employees to drive news coverage. If you think about it, it used to be the other way. We would worry that notes we're sending to our employees could get out. And what do we do to try to prevent that? ... Now we like the benefit of the public seeing that we're transparently communicating with our employees about what's happening."
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump and Xi Hold First Call in Months
Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on April 15, 2025. Credit - Athit Perawongmetha—POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Trump and Xi Hold First Call in Months, Setting Stage For More Trade Talks President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday as tariff negotiations between the world's two largest economies have stalled in recent weeks. The call lasted about 90 minutes and focused 'almost entirely on trade,' Trump said in a social media post Thursday morning. Talks had been expected to take place this week after representatives from both countries met in Geneva last month and agreed to temporarily pause the trade war. China's official Xinhua News Agency said the call took place at Trump's request. Trump said a follow-up trade meeting would be held soon, and that both he and Xi had invited each other for official state visits. Trump said one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi: 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. The call was likely the first time they spoke since Trump took office in January. However, in an April interview with TIME, Trump claimed that Xi had already called him—which Chinese officials disputed. Trade negotiations between the two leaders had stalled after both countries agreed on May 12 to temporarily lower tariffs, with Trump dropping his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days, and Xi easing its levies from 125% to 10%. But the Trump Administration has accused China of reneging on the terms by curbing exports of rare earth minerals used by American manufacturers. China has rejected that charge, saying its export controls apply globally and are not targeted at the United States. In response, the Trump Administration has proposed revoking visas for some Chinese students and issuing new export controls on advanced technologies such as jet engine components and A.I. chips. 'China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,' Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. 'So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!' Trump has made reducing America's dependency on Chinese manufacturing a cornerstone of his second-term agenda. Xi, facing a sluggish post-COVID economy and persistent pressures from a real estate slowdown, is pushing to secure China's dominance in future technologies like electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. The United States ran a $295 billion trade deficit with China in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, a figure Trump frequently cites as evidence of unfair trade practices. His Administration maintains that only top-level talks can break the current deadlock. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that a leader-to-leader exchange was essential to restart negotiations in earnest. Write to Nik Popli at
