The San Antonio International Airport celebrated the grand opening of the Terminal A expansion March 27, marking the first gate expansion in the $2.5 billion capital improvement plan designed to modernize and expand the city’s airport.

The details: Known as the Ground Load Facility, the approximately 37,000-square-foot Terminal A expansion supports both domestic and international flights and includes new ground-load gates, passenger areas and a federal inspection station for international arrivals, according to a news release.

Ground load facility amenities include three new ground gates located south of Terminal A, an integrated federal inspection station for international arrivals, two levels of seating areas for passengers and dedicated charging stations for electronic devices.

What they’re saying: "The grand opening of this facility is proof that [SA Airport’s] best days are ahead of us," said Director of Airports Jesus Saenz. "Elevate SAT is not just a slogan. It [is] an active promise to elevate our airport and elevate the customer experience and elevate our region economically.”

 Methodist Healthcare launched a new Critical Care and Specialty Team on March 30.

The details: The Methodist Healthcare Critical Care and Specialty Teams is a dedicated medical transport service line designed to extend high-acuity care beyond the hospital and support consistent care during internal and interfacility transfers, according to a news release.

The new program is not a 9‑1‑1 service and focuses on interfacility transfers to higher‑acuity care, and is designed to reduce reliance on external ambulance providers, the news release states.

The services include:

• Four critical care ambulances

• Ground or air transport when appropriate

• Dual paramedic and nurse teams trained for critically ill or injured patients, with training in heart alerts, stroke alerts, sepsis alerts, ECMO transports and major trauma

The breakdown: Early case examples or projected patient volume for the program is 3,500 patients in the first year, Methodist Healthcare officials shared with Community Impact.

First opening in San Antonio back in 1976, this local garden center is celebrating a big milestone this year.

Read all about it: Rainbow Gardens—a San Antonio-based plant nursery chain—is celebrating its 50th anniversary on March 16, according to an announcement from the business.

It will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at both garden centers in the city:

• 8516 Bandera Road, San Antonio
• 2585 Thousand Oaks Drive, San Antonio

• 2585 Thousand Oaks Drive, San Antonio

An eatery that was featured in a culinary documentary on Netflix has expanded in San Antonio with the opening of a brand-new location on the city’s North Side.

What we know: El Pastor es mi Señor opened its second overall location on March 12 near Stone Oak, according to an Instagram post from the business.

It’s located at 19211 Huebner Road, next to the Cowboy Cleaners in North San Antonio.

The local chain is led by Chilangos Gringos, a local restaurant group formed in 2013 that oversees other spots like Japamex Sushi and Pinkfish Poke and Sushi, according to their website.

El Pastor es mi Señor has another location at 8727 Wurzbach Road, Ste. 102 in the Medical Center area.

More details: On the menu at the eatery is a selection of tacos al pastor, quesadillas, sirloin street-style tacos and more.

• 19211 Huebner Road, Ste. 2, San Antonio

Around San Antonio, transportation projects are underway or in development, causing traffic delays as roads expand and improve to handle traffic demands. Here are five transportation projects across the northern areas of the metro.

I-10 and Loop 1604 interchange project: Part of the Loop 1604 North Expansion Project, the Loop 1604 and I-10 interchange project will consist of eight flyover ramps, roundabouts, a high-occupancy vehicle lane and other interchange improvements, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT opened the eighth and final flyover ramp Feb. 5, connecting westbound Loop 1604 to westbound I-10. Known as Segment 2, the interchange is 65% done.

FM 1518: Traffic on FM 1518 between I-10 and the Woman Hollering Creek bridge shifted to the east in March. In April, TxDOT began drainage installations at Ray Corbett Drive and other road sections. During construction, two-way traffic along FM 1518 will be maintained. This configuration is expected to be in place until winter 2026.

From the closing of Roc-N-Ritas to Jefferson Bank's 80th anniversary, check out this roundup of North San Antonio business updates from March.
Closings
Roc-N-Ritas
The local chain—serving specialty frozen cocktails and dirty sodas—announced the closure of all its San Antonio-area locations.

• Locations in San Antonio, Boerne and New Braunfels

In the news
Jefferson Bank
The San Antonio-born banking institution celebrated its 80th anniversary with the opening of a new branch in the city. The bank offers traditional financial services.

• 19002 Stone Oak Parkway, San Antonio

Corazón
Previously known as Corazón Ministries, the San Antonio-based nonprofit changed its name to Corazón on Feb. 10 and expanded operations, serving marginalized and unhoused residents and providing 65,000 hot meals per year.

• 230 E. Travis St., San Antonio

From a half marathon to several outdoor educational nature workshops, check out these events going on across North San Antonio this late April through late May.

This list is not comprehensive, and events are subject to change.

April
Ninth annual Chromosome 18 Starfish Dash 5K & Health Fair
This fun run and walk will benefit those with Chromosome 18 conditions and will support Chromosome 18 Research Center, located right here in San Antonio. Preregistration required.

• April 25, 8 a.m.
• UT San Antonio Campus, 7431 Merton Minter, San Antonio

• May 15, 7 p.m.
• Aztec Theater, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., San Antonio

• May 16, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• 2585 Thousand Oaks Drive, San Antonio