SAN ANTONIO — A former bar and current music venue on the east side, Twin Sister’s Cantina, has drawn criticism from neighbors who say loud music, fighting and gunfire tend to surround it.
Neighbors of the establishment say they regularly hear gunfire coming from its direction.
“This past Friday night, there were shots fired (at) about 10:30 (p.m.). Everybody left. But at 2 in the morning everyone was back,” said one neighbor who asked not to be identified. “That’s what we live with. That’s what we have to deal with.”
They said they have a designated spot in their house to hide from stray bullets.
“Our young child knows that, when the shots start, to go to that spot,” they said. “And that’s what breaks my heart.”
Twin Sister’s seems to have gained a reputation among its clientele as well. One flyer for a recent show was shared on social media accompanied by the words: “Bring weapons, fireworks, anything you want to break, smash or burn.”
“That’s actually news to me. Which show is this and how old is this show?” Twin Sister’s owner and manager, Israel Isaiah Castro, said upon hearing about the post.
He admits that incidents of gunfire are higher when they get busy, but that doesn’t mean it’s coming from them, stressing correlation is not causation.
“Why does rape correlate with ice cream sales?” he said, referring to a classic example used in explaining the fallacy. “It’s because warmer weather, more people are out and about. That’s why.”
Some of the neighbors are convinced the shots are coming from Twin Sister’s, but say police are telling them the evidence isn’t there.
“From our vantage point, we hear the shots, but we can’t see a gun,” the neighbor said. “I don’t know of anybody in our neighborhood willing to walk out there and look for a gun.”
Neighbors like this said they thought the former bar would be shut down when it lost its liquor license. According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the cantina's license was cancelled in February of 2020 when they failed to maintain a bond. Castro says they chose not to pursue a new bond when bars started shutting down due to the coronavirus.
“We were just like, 'Maybe this is the right moment,'” Castro said. “'If everything else is shutting down, let’s just hold off.'”
Without an active liquor license, Twin Sisters can legally operate as a BYOB venue. But the neighbor is mainly concerned about the people trying to raise children nearby.
“I see children out there and I worry about the traffic and if they sleep peacefully at night,” the neighbor said. “Because, you know, I know we don’t.”