The Cilantro Diaries Podcast

About The Cilantro Diaries Podcast

Hosted by Lorenzo Gomez III, The Cilantro Diaries Podcast is a fresh, unfiltered look at the future of San Antonio—and the stories shaping it. Join Lorenzo as he sits down with city leaders, changemakers, creatives, and everyday doers to explore what’s next for the Alamo City. From bold ideas in urbanism to the art of storytelling and the craft of writing, this show dives deep into the people and perspectives moving San Antonio forward. Part city guide, part writer’s room, part leadership lab—The Cilantro Diaries is where culture meets change.

Publisher

Lorenzo Gomez, Dax Moreno

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 May 2025

Latest episode

3 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Nov 2026

   San Antonio Is a City of Bubbles — Michael Hill & Jake Molak | Ep. 14

   San Antonio is a city of bubbles. Every neighborhood has one, and the bubble turns out to be a mentality, not a zip code. What do Gruene Hall, a West Side middle school, Mount Kilimanjaro and a parking lot on Government Hill have in common? They all come up in my conversation with Michael Hill and Jake Molak. Michael grew up with one foot in each of two worlds: a family that helped build this city, and his mom's side, eleven brothers and sisters from a two bedroom house who still get together every Friday. Jake grew up inside the family business his dad built, starting with Gruene Hall, and knew from high school that the path was laid out for him. I grew up on the West Side. Three different bubbles, the same job: overcome the mentality you were handed and carve your own path. Today Michael and Jake are partners on Government Hill, just across Broadway from the Pearl, betting early on a neighborhood a lot of San Antonians still drive past. In this episode we go deep into: Why the bubble is a mentality, not a geography The family business bubble, and what a ship in harbor never learns The wilderness years, and the hard seasons all three of us came back from Why mentorship is a currency worth more than money A grandfather who would not write a check, and what he gave instead How a parking lot on Grayson Street became their first bet on Government Hill Why San Antonio runs on relationships, not transactions What Government Hill could look like in ten years, and the honest debate about progress How to leave your own bubble, starting with your routine At its core, this is a conversation about overcoming where you came from, finding people who believe in your potential, and loving your city enough to build in it. Love your city, make it better. If this episode helped you see San Antonio a little differently, subscribe to the channel. It genuinely helps. And if you want to go deeper, join me on Patreon for first look at upcoming guests and to support the show directly: https://www.patreon.com/LorenzoGomezIII sanantonio, governmenthill, sanantonioneighborhoods, sanantoniorealestate, thepearl, gruenehall, familybusiness, entrepreneurship, mentorship, sanantoniopodcast, michaelhill, jakemolak, lorenzogomez, cilantrodiaries, cilantrodiariespodcast

2. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Constraints, Categories, & Curry Boys BBQ — Sean Wen | Ep. 13

   Curry Boys BBQ started as a pandemic pop up where three friends sold 100 family packs of food they had never tasted together. That night, they all heated up the leftovers and texted each other the same thing: have you tried what we just sold these people? That is one of a dozen great stories in my conversation with Sean Wen, one of the three partners behind Curry Boys BBQ with Andrew Ho and Andrew Samia. Eleven years ago Sean was a Venture for America fellow moving to San Antonio knowing nothing about it, and I was lucky enough to help hire him at Geekdom. We recorded at Curry Boys on the St. Mary's Strip, in the Tobin Hill neighborhood he built it for. In this episode we go deep into: The one day of food and drinks that sold a total outsider on San Antonio, and why recruiters should pay attention Pinch Boil House: two years of pop ups, then 3,500 square feet downtown, a street torn up by construction, and a lunch crowd that disappeared at 4:30 Four and a half years without a real paycheck, and the three changes that saved Pinch when he had two or three payrolls left The pandemic pop up where Texas barbecue met Thai curry, and the group text that started a restaurant The tiny pink shack on the Strip with no gas, no restroom and no AC, built for the pandemic and never meant to outlive it More than half a million dollars out of about 200 square feet, more per square foot than McDonald's or Chipotle Why the city should make room for more tiny spaces like it, so new chefs can start small The jump across the street: rent up ten times, and a break even of $800,000 to $1 million Why they closed Pinch after nine years to go all in on what was working Stone Oak vs East Nashville: what a suburb wants from a restaurant, and what the urban core wants Why "Curry" is in the name, why the building is pink, and how a new category gets made One platform, no gimmicks: running social media as yourself Asian Smoke, the cookbook, written for his family more than for sales At its core, this is a conversation about starting small, listening to your customers, and building something your own neighborhood loves. Send it to someone who is sitting on a pop up idea. If this episode helped you see San Antonio a little differently, subscribe to the channel. It genuinely helps. And if you want to go deeper, join me on Patreon for first look at upcoming guests and to support the show directly: https://www.patreon.com/LorenzoGomezIII curryboysbbq, sanantonio, sanantoniofood, sanantoniorestaurants, texasbarbecue, thaicurry, tobinhill, stmarysstrip, smallbusiness, restaurantstartup, popup, seanwen, lorenzogomez, cilantrodiaries

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Learn From Austin, Don't Become Austin — David Adelman | Ep. 12

   San Antonio vs Austin is the wrong fight. The better question is what to learn from Austin, and what never to copy. That is the heart of my conversation with David Adelman, founder of AREA Real Estate. David went to school in Austin, watched it go all in on downtown, and then spent nearly two decades building San Antonio's urban core, with projects like 1221 Broadway, The Creamery, The '68 at Hemisfair, the Burns Building, and St. Paul Square. We recorded at River Camp, his project on the edge of Southtown, just south of Blue Star. In this episode we go deep into: What Austin got right: downtown housing, a city that contributed land, and a university that seeded the jobs to pay for it What Austin got wrong: you cannot move, and why San Antonio should plan for transit now Why being "too spread out" makes it so hard for San Antonio's districts to feel as fun 1221 Broadway, the tangled eyesore no bank would finance, until a congressman walked into HUD River Camp, kayaks on the honor system, and why this stretch is San Antonio's active river Downtown's double edged sword: why convention and tourism make it so hard to build for locals The '68 at Hemisfair, the civic project he expected to lose money on that became one of his best Why San Antonio's economic development is too splintered, and why the best pitch is getting people here to see the place Twenty bars in one night: what the price of a beer, the music, and the volume tell you about who a place is for The Hemisfair arena worry nobody talks about: fans stuck on 281 at tipoff Why San Antonio is a city where you can contribute, not just consume, and his favorite corner in River North At its core, this is a conversation about building a city people want to live in, invest in, and build their lives in, without losing what makes it San Antonio. Send it to anyone who flinches every time someone mentions Austin. If this episode helped you see San Antonio a little differently, subscribe to the channel. It genuinely helps. And if you want to go deeper, join me on Patreon for first look at upcoming guests and to support the show directly: https://www.patreon.com/LorenzoGomezIII (https://www.patreon.com/LorenzoGomezIII) sanantonio, sanantoniovsaustin, austin, sanantoniodevelopment, sanantoniorealestate, urbandevelopment, downtownsanantonio, rivernorth, southtown, hemisfair, economicdevelopment, davidadelman, arearealestate, lorenzogomez, cilantrodiaries 0:00 Intro 0:46 From leasing apartments to calling himself a developer 8:22 1221 Broadway, the eyesore nobody would finance 14:45 River Camp, Lone Star, and the active river 22:35 Downtown's double edged sword 26:48 The '68 at Hemisfair and the ground floor retail bet 33:48 Never use the A word: what Austin got right 40:58 Too spread out: why Austin feels more fun 45:55 What Austin got wrong, and how we move 49:05 Jobs, and merging the chambers 53:12 Sell the place: bring them here 1:03:35 Twenty bars in one night 1:10:38 The price of a beer, the Pearl, and a locals strategy 1:14:13 Lone Star, the Pearl, and the Hemisfair arena 1:17:49 What San Antonio does well, and its storytelling problem 1:23:04 His spot: Jones and Avenue B in River North

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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