San Antonio Inc. provides the light to cut through this economic fog

Then the local stay-at-home orders and the closure of nonessential businesses kicked in.

Gov. Greg Abbott pushed to reopen Texas businesses in May and early June. But with COVID-19 cases now exploding in Texas, bars have been ordered closed again, and we’re waiting to see which businesses are next.

At the same time, the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests have spotlighted the lack of economic justice for Black Americans. Companies are being scrutinized for their minority hiring, the diversity of their management teams and boards of directors, and the communities they invest in.

And as all this erupts around us, we’ve never been more isolated. I haven’t been inside the Express-News newsroom since early April. And my two dogs and I have worked out our own secret language because, as it turns out, we get one another.

I spend so much time in Zoom and Microsoft Team meetings that I’m surprised whenever I come across people who are three-dimensional — which doesn’t happen very often.

San Antonio Inc.’s objective is to help cut through the fog.

Take our cover story by contributor Richard Webner. He examines San Antonio’s damaged tourism industry from the inside out. In Richard’s article, we hear from the owners and managers, the hotel maid, the labor organizer and political activist, and the visitors who’ve stayed in San Antonio despite the pandemic.

What’s the way out of despair for the city’s third-largest industry? Read the story.

And then turn to “Flux,” a weekly profile of small and midsize companies confronting big changes and figuring out how to adapt. Our first installment introduces you to Allan Pundt, the laconic, no-nonsense owner of a vending machine business.

Staff writer Patrick Danner takes you inside the odd business empire of Sardar Biglari. He’s the sharp-tongued San Antonio hedge fund manager who’s bedeviled the downhomey Cracker Barrel restaurant chain, taken over the faltering lad mag Maxim (which is still faltering) and purchased Steak n Shake. Does he still have the winning touch?

My weekly column, “Restless City,” and Michael Taylor’s “The Smart Money S.A.” have taken up residence in San Antonio Inc., which replaces the Sunday business section. (“Restless City” restarts July 19.) And we’ve added two new columns. Madison Iszler is writing “Skyline,” a rundown of the key trends, deals and projects in the San Antonio real estate markets. “The Wary Traveler,” by Randy Diamond, dispenses offbeat but dead-on advice for your next business trip.

Each San Antonio Inc. feature holds a different aspect of our troubled circumstance up to the light. Taken together, we want them to help you see the way forward.

greg.jefferson@express-news.net

Ricardo B. Brazziell / Associated Press With Gov. Greg Abbott pausing reopenings, we’ll explore how businesses are adapting.