Cultural corridor designation close to becoming reality

SAN ANTONIO – It’s exciting times right now for business owners along an increasingly international stretch of Wurzbach Rd. After several years of working with city leaders to give this culturally diverse part of town a name, the area is now just a few days away from formally being designated the Silk Road Cultural Corridor.

For now, the boundaries of this corridor will begin at I-10 and Wurzbach and continue through the intersection of Fredericksburg and Wurzbach. It’s there that you can find all sorts of restaurants, markets, and shops representing a wide variety of cultures, from the Middle East and South Asia to North Africa.

“You cannot drive up and down Wurzbach without realizing that you’re in a very different special place,” said District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez, who’s been helping these business owners secure the designation since 2022. “This community came together and did this.”

It was business owner Bilal Deiri who suggested calling it the Silk Road Cultural Corridor, named for the ancient network of trade routes promoting economic and cultural interactions between the east and west.

“If you’re looking for unique ethnic food from around the world, you know to come here to this area and that you’re going to find it, right.” said Deiri. “Watching how it’s evolved over time, and then us being involved and just being a part of that has been really special. Really rewarding.”

The city’s Office of Historic Preservation spent more than a year getting input from business owners, non-profits and advocacy groups about what they’d like to see.

“We had long conversations with our friends from India and Pakistan, from Iran and the Middle East, from Northern Africa and China.”

Now the city’s ready to install the first historic marker.

On March 5 at 10 a.m., a celebration will be held at the corner of Wurzbach and Bluemel Rd. in the parking lot of restaurants and businesses like Pasha Mediterranean Grill, Naara Cafe and Hookah, Ali Baba International Food Market, Baklovah Bakery and Sweets, Zaatar Lebanese Grill, and Silk Road Gallery.

The event will include food, music and dancing, along with the unveiling of Silk Road markers, banners, logos and even a Fiesta medal.

“Letting everyone know that this street belongs to all San Antonians,” said Pelaez. “The point of this is to bring all of San Antonio here so that they know they’ve got something really special on Wurzbach.”

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