Brothers Mike and Roger Sanchez run a small and homey vegan restaurant and sober bar called HASH on San Antonio’s South Side. They serve their neighborhood with a free store, inexpensive food, and constant encouragement for sobriety and betterment. Before that, they ran huge, raucous entertainment events around the city. Behind and between these careers lies a story of poverty, addiction, losing their beloved mother to cirrhosis—and recovery.
The South Side is historically Hispanic, with many residents well under the poverty line. “If you go down Flores, there’s a street called Bristol,” Roger said as we sat at a small table in HASH, gazing out at South Flores Street. “And if you go left on Bristol, about three quarters of the way, there is the most decrepit trailer park ever. And that’s where we lived with our stepfather.” Roger and Mike describe their mother and stepfather as kind, generous, loving people, but victims of addiction.
Despite many obstacles, the brothers worked hard and became successful in San Antonio’s thriving, alcohol-fueled entertainment scene. After their mother Cynthia Ann Medrano died, they drank even harder. But eventually they both managed to quit drinking.
However, they were still in hospitality business. After putting on citywide margarita and michelada contests, Mike began to question what they were doing. “Alcohol killed our mother,” Mike said. “Not only that, it’s destroyed generations of our family, of our culture, our people. Being of Indigenous descent, it was a poison. It’s involved in everything you do. You’re celebrating it. You’re throwing festivals for it. You have thousands of people’s ears and eyes right now, and this is what you’re showing them.”
Meanwhile, both brothers had started questioning other aspects of their lives. Roger went vegetarian first. Then Mike tried it, inspired by his son’s love of herbivorous dinosaurs. Both sobriety and recovery make Mike think more about his choices. “If I was going to be successful at all in sobriety, I had to really pay attention. And then paying attention became a value in itself to where that led to vegetarianism. And then ultimately it led to veganism. I had to be very present and aware.”
The brothers opened HASH—an acronym for Heal and Spread Healing— in 2020. Running a vegan restaurant and sober bar in San Antonio is a double financial risk. HASH feels like a basement hangout. A cozy corner features couches and a stack of board games. The brothers decorated walls with surplus artwork from their houses.
HASH offers a full slate of community activities, including a monthly recovery meeting, weekly Dungeons and Dragons nights, and Taco Tuesdays, where a whole family can dine for 20 bucks on dollar bean and cheese tacos. But don’t underestimate their food—Roger loves when a neighborhood abuelita savors their pozole without even realizing it’s vegan.
Outside the windows of HASH, they still see poverty and addiction. “There’s so many mothers that I see, that I see my mother in, you know,” Mike says. “There’s so many families and kids that I see them growing up, and I’m like, man, I know what that’s like. I know how that feels.”
Fortunately, neighbors have learned that they can come to HASH for support. Roger told me about one former heroin addict who regularly comes in to update him on her recovery. “It is such a freaking honor to be able to facilitate that help for people,” he said.
The brothers are making sober waves in the neighborhood and the city. “I remember being really annoyingly loud about my lifestyle and drinking and using drugs and stuff like that,” Roger told me as I drank a NA lemon drop at the front table. “And then when I got clean, what happens a lot in recovery is people want to be real reserved and stuff, which is fine. But I’m a very loud and outgoing type person.” Now he and Mike are loudly feeding the neighborhood and setting an example by turning their own lives around.
WHAT A TRIP! Sober Travel: Visiting San Antonio, Texas but Make it Sober
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What is HASH in San Antonio?
HASH is a vegan restaurant and sober bar on San Antonio’s South Side founded by brothers Mike and Roger Sanchez. The space combines plant-based food, alcohol-free drinks, and community events focused on recovery and support.
What does HASH stand for?
HASH stands for Heal and Spread Healing, reflecting the founders’ mission to create a space where community members can gather, eat, and support one another in sobriety and personal growth.
What makes HASH different from a typical bar?
Instead of alcohol, HASH offers a sober social space with vegan food, alcohol-free drinks, recovery meetings, and community events like game nights and family-friendly dinners.
Why did the Sanchez brothers open a sober bar?
After losing their mother to cirrhosis and struggling with alcohol themselves, Mike and Roger Sanchez chose sobriety and wanted to create a business that supported recovery rather than alcohol-centered nightlife.
What community activities does HASH offer?
HASH hosts recovery meetings, Dungeons & Dragons nights, Taco Tuesdays, and other gatherings designed to build connection and provide a welcoming sober community space.
