San Antonio nightlife, business world mourns death of influential St. Mary’s bar owner

San Antonio – San Antonio’s nightlife and live music community is mourning a figure who has lost influence on San Antonio Avenue. Mary’s striptease. Blayne Tucker, 42, passed away Friday morning, December 12. 30. The cause of his death is unknown.

Tucker is a close friend and co-owner of The Mix, a live music venue and bar on the Las Vegas Strip. Friends were shocked to hear of his death.

“I thought I was dreaming to be honest with you. I thought it was a nightmare,” said Luis Munoz, a friend and business owner. “I met Brian a few days ago. He was at our Christmas party, and we joked that we were going to do some concerts in San Antonio.”

Munoz, like many others, learned of Tucker’s death on Friday morning.

“He was a very loyal friend and always had your back,” Munoz said. “Everyone is heartbroken. Me too. I’m trying to be strong.”

Munoz said he met Tucker about 15 years ago through a mutual friend, whom they met over their passion for live music.

“He loved the film because it was really about the music. He used to do Maverick concerts in town and we were close friends from day one,” says Munoz. “His passion was music. He wanted to really come back to music and do something for San Antonio. He was passionate about our culture here, and he wanted to do something great, and we were on the verge of doing that when tragedy struck. “

Tucker purchased The Mix in 2015 along with close friends Eric Handen and Steve Mahoney. They ran the popular nightclub for years, but he also had a major influence on other business owners on the Las Vegas Strip.

Tucker is a lawyer and one of the promoters of local support for the “Save Our Stage Act.”

He lobbied the Texas senator. Funding provided by John Cornyn would later lead to $15 billion in federal funding for live music and entertainment venues across the country. It’s been a lifeline for businesses struggling during the pandemic.

“One of the things that we really appreciate about Blayne is his collaboration, his friendship. He’s a guy who really cares and really wants to be a part of it. Just hearing that it happened, it’s shocking,” said his friend and former city councilman, Roberto Trevino.

Tucker worked closely with Trevino to help struggling venues and bring other critical issues to town hall. Trevino said it was a huge loss to the local business community.

“It’s not just saving a lot of businesses along St. Mary’s Strip. It’s really a citywide effort,” Trevino said. “He saw the importance of bringing people together and making sure they were engaged and informed. He worked hard, not just to run his business, but to make sure everyone understood that we were all trying to help each other.”

Munoz said he has spoken and communicated with other business owners, friends and industry insiders who are devastated by Tucker’s death.

“He’s just going to leave a huge hole in the lives of a lot of people and the business side of some of what’s going on in our city,” Munoz said.

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