Is Ray's Drive Inn Still Open? Food Paradise Update (San Antonio, TX)
Food Paradise, Season 19 San Antonio, Texas
Current status
As of October 2026, Ray's Drive Inn is listed open on Yelp, reviewed by our team on September 21, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
What the source shows: Ray's Drive Inn's own site (raysdriveinn.net) remains live and lists current weekly hours, corroborating the prior July 2026 Yelp-based evidence; no closure signal found. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 19, Episode 15
- Address 822 SW 19th St, San Antonio, TX 78207
- Website raysdriveinn.net
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Food Paradise?
Food Paradise, Season 19, Episode 15
The episode 'At the Drive-In' featured Ray's Drive Inn, a San Antonio drive-in restaurant that advertises itself as the birthplace of the puffy taco, according to its own website. The Tex-Mex spot serves combo plates and tacos from its West Side location on SW 19th Street. A 2026-09-08 check of Ray's Drive Inn's website (raysdriveinn.net) found current weekly hours — closed Monday, open Tuesday through Sunday — and an active online ordering option, both signs the drive-in continues operating under its original name.
Man v. Food, Season 8, Episode 18 Aired
Ray's Drive Inn was featured in Man v. Food's San Antonio episode (Travel Channel, host Casey Webb, aired 2019-11-12) as a local-flavor stop built around the puffy taco, a deep-fried, pillowy corn-tortilla shell the restaurant is widely credited with originating. Ray's Drive Inn opened in 1956 and has operated from the same West Side address, 822 SW 19th St, San Antonio, according to Texas Highways magazine and the restaurant's own site, raysdriveinn.net. The segment centered on the puffy taco alongside other counter classics such as the crispy dog.
Since the episode aired, the restaurant's Yelp page has continued collecting reviews, with the listing showing an update dated July 2026, and raysdriveinn.net lists current weekly hours, Tuesday through Sunday, with Monday closures. The restaurant's own site also displays undated guest testimonials praising the puffy tacos and describing the staff as personally welcoming visitors.
The episodes
Also in Season 19
Season 19: 102 of 146 still open · 6 renamed, moved or under new owners
-
Ep 13Bing Bing Dim Sum
Closed -
Ep 15Beacon Drive-In
Open - Open
-
Ep 15Hi-Pointe Drive-In
Open -
Ep 15Parkette Drive In
Closed - Closed
-
Ep 15U-Turn BBQ
Closed -
Ep 15Walker's Drive-In
Open
Nearest restaurants
-
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Closed -
Food Paradise · Man v. Food
Closed -
Luna Rosa Puerto Rican Grill y Tapas
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Man v. Food
Open
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- raysdriveinn.net http://www.raysdriveinn.net/
- raysdriveinn.net https://www.raysdriveinn.net/
- texashighways.com https://texashighways.com/food-drink/san-antonios-famous-puffy-tacos/
- Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-drive-inn-san-antonio
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Man_v._Food_episodes
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record mvf-469 · checked by Cal Marchetti.