Mattenga's Pizzeria was reported for FM 1103 in June 2024. Gringo's Mexican Kitchen was reported for Cibolo Crossing more than a year later. So which one is closer to serving a meal in Cibolo today?
Gringo's, and it isn't close. The pizzeria announced in 2024 was still waiting on a tenant finish-out permit in the city's August 2026 report. Gringo's has a state filing that estimates construction completion for October 15, 2026. Across the town's current pipeline, the announcement date turns out to be the weakest predictor of when doors open. The paperwork stage is the better guide.
Three documents, three different clocks
A restaurant headed for Cibolo leaves a paper trail in three places, and each one measures something different.
- The news story. Community Impact, WhatNow and similar outlets usually report a project when it's first proposed. That's often when the owner's own timeline is most hopeful.
- The state filing. Commercial projects register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for accessibility review. Each record lists a construction start date, an estimated completion date, square footage and estimated cost. These are construction estimates, not promised opening dates.
- The city report. Cibolo's Economic Development department posts a monthly Development Projects Update that sorts projects by stage: planning review, building permits in process, and "Now Open / CofO Issued." A business moves to that last section once its certificate of occupancy is issued.
As of September 29, the city's What's New in Cibolo document center lists 2026 updates only through August, so everything below reflects the August report.
Where each project sits as of the August 2026 report
| Business | Location | First public timeline | August 2026 city status | State construction estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gringo's Mexican Kitchen | 18390 IH-35, Cibolo Crossing | Late 2026, reported July 2025 | Ground-up permit issued 4/22/26 | Completion 10/15/2026 |
| El Jinete | 2640 FM 1103, Suite 6 | None found | Permitted, ready for finish-out, 5/21/26 | Completion 8/1/2026 |
| Sprouts Farmers Market | 17980 IH-35, Suite 175, Cibolo Crossing | Site work beginning, reported January 2026 | Finish-out permit issued 7/30/26 | Completion 4/23/2027 |
| Boss Bagel | 1838 Cibolo Valley Drive | "August or September," reported March 2025 | Permitted, ready for finish-out | None found |
| Playa Bowls | 513 Cibolo Valley Drive, Suite 113, Cibolo Bend | Construction June 1 to Sept. 1, 2026, per filings reported May 2026 | Finish-out in plan review | None found |
| Mattenga's Pizzeria | 1387 FM 1103, Suite 116 | "By end of 2024," reported June 2024 | Finish-out awaiting permit payment | None found |
None of these six were in the "Now Open" section of the August report. That month, the only listings there were FW Fleet Clean on FM 1103 and German Motor Werks downtown.
The oldest announcements have gone the longest without opening
Sort the table by announcement date and you get roughly the reverse of the order by progress.
Mattenga's is the oldest. Community Impact reported in June 2024 that the locally founded pizzeria planned a shop across from Steele High School and would open by the end of that year. The chain's first store opened in Schertz in 2014, and the story counted eight San Antonio-area locations. Two years later, the city lists the Cibolo space as awaiting permit payment for tenant finish-out. No new opening date has been published.
Boss Bagel comes next. In March 2025, Community Impact reported that the owner-operated bagel and sandwich shop would open at 1838 Cibolo Valley Drive in "August or September." It planned egg sandwiches, coffee and tea, and it had two other San Antonio locations at the time. That window has passed. As of August 2026, the city shows the space as permitted and ready for tenant finish-out.
Playa Bowls shows the same gap on a shorter clock. A May 22, 2026 WhatNow report cited project filings that put construction at Cibolo Bend Shopping Center between June 1 and September 1, 2026. The chain's own locator still lists the Cibolo address as coming soon. It lists open shops in Boerne and San Marcos, which serve acai bowls, smoothies and juices. The city's August report still has the finish-out in plan review.
None of this says anything about any business's plans or commitment. It shows that a finish-out, the interior build-out of a leased space, has its own permit cycle. Before that cycle is done, an early news date is a hope, not a schedule.
Gringo's has the nearest date on the state's books
Gringo's is the newest-looking project on the list and the furthest along. The TDLR record for "Gringo's GMK# 18 - Cibolo" lists a 9,852-square-foot Tex-Mex restaurant at 18390 IH-35. It includes sit-down dining, a bar, a to-go area and a full kitchen. The record gives an estimated cost of $5.5 million, a February 15, 2026 start and an estimated October 15, 2026 completion, and its status reads "Review Complete." Community Impact reported that the restaurant is going up beside Willie's Grill & Ice House at I-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive, with a late-2026 opening expected.
Gringo's is a Houston-based chain. Its official locations list covers Champions, Conroe, Cypress, Katy, Pearland, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and College Station, so Cibolo would be its first location in the San Antonio area on that list. An October construction estimate still doesn't mean an October opening. Of everything in the pipeline, though, it's the only date that lines up with a "late 2026" forecast.
El Jinete is less clear. The state record describes a 2,000-square-foot Mexican restaurant at 2640 FM 1103, Suite 6, with estimated completion on August 1, 2026. The city listed it as permitted and ready for finish-out as of May 21. Meanwhile, El Jinete's own ordering site lists an operating Cibolo address at 2662 FM 1103, #200, with a Mexican breakfast and lunch menu. The public records don't say whether the permitted space is a move, an expansion or a second location.
Sprouts has the biggest footprint and the longest wait
Sprouts is the project most likely to change weekly errands, and its filings point to spring. The TDLR record for Cibolo Crossing lists a build-to-suit store at 17980 IH-35, Suite 175, about 24,439 square feet, with an estimated cost of $3 million. It shows a May 26, 2026 start and an estimated completion of April 23, 2027. Community Impact's January 2026 story described a 23,000-square-foot store and gave the address as 18000 I-35. The state record is the more specific of the two.
Until then, Sprouts' San Antonio locator shows the nearest existing stores on Callaghan Road and Bulverde Road. The company is based in Phoenix and reports more than 410 stores in 23 states.
More is coming to Cibolo Crossing. The city issued a permit on June 22, 2026 for two Phase II shell buildings, which are empty structures that tenants later finish out. The August report also shows the planned Dorado Apartments there on hold: permits expired July 6 and the developer paused the project. The same report says Cibolo's EDC pursued one retail prospect and three restaurant or food-and-beverage prospects in August, without naming them.
The openings that already happened followed the same slow pattern
Olive Garden gives a rough measure of how long this takes. Community Impact reported in April 2025 that the restaurant was planned for 17974 I-35 N. frontage road. It opened on June 1, 2026, about 13 months after that story.
Just over the city line at Schertz Station, near IH-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive, Portillo's was already operating by early June. The San Antonio Business Journal reported a grand-opening celebration planned for June 9. James Avery Artisan Jewelry opened June 13 at 18406 I-35 N., Suite 500. It's the first store in the chain's "Modern Hill Country" format.
Taken together, the I-35 stretch between Cibolo Valley Drive and Cibolo Crossing has the most confirmed openings and the most advanced filings. The Cibolo Valley Drive and FM 1103 storefronts hold most of the long-running finish-outs.
FM 1103 will stay a work zone through 2029
Two of the FM 1103 projects, Mattenga's and El Jinete, sit on a corridor that will be under construction for years. KSAT reported on September 23, 2026 that TxDOT's widening of FM 1103 is now expected to finish in 2029. Drivers between I-35 and Rodeo Way are already seeing lane closures and cones. Whenever those restaurants open, getting to them will mean driving through that work zone.
Fall dates you can plan around
Local events are easier to schedule than restaurant openings. These dates come from the cities' own event pages:
- Schertz Hometown Harvest, Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pickrell Park, 703 Oak St., Schertz.
- Cibolofest, Saturday, October 17. The city's page doesn't list a venue. A local family-events calendar places it at the Multi-Event Center, 200 S. Main St.
- Schertz Hometown Harvest, Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pickrell Park.
- Holidays on Main, Saturday, December 12, with the vendor market at the plaza at Pfeil Road and Main Street.
Event pages can change, so check the details closer to each date. For the restaurants, the next Cibolo Development Projects Update is the document to watch. The first real sign is a business moving into the "Now Open" section.
New commercial projects near your street can matter when you're deciding whether to stay, sell or buy nearby. If you'd like to talk through what's being built around your part of Cibolo and how it might figure into your plans, reach out to JoHelen Clark. Let's Connect.
