From clinking glasses under string lights to crowded live-music nights, San Marcos is losing an unconventional hangout when Senza Maseo closes its doors on May 31.
Senza Maeso, a bar and tasting room located on the outskirts of San Marcos at 1090 FM 32, will close on May 31 due to financial strain. Funded almost entirely by the brothers who own it, the bar became a unique gathering place where residents could slow down, connect and feel part of a community for a short, but meaningful, nearly three years until the brothers could no longer fund the project with their savings.
Named for a phrase meaning “without master,” the business began as a liquor brand in 2023. In February 2024, brothers Ryan and Jay Gitman turned it into a tasting room and bar with Art Deco and retro-futurist elements. Ryan Gitman, co-owner of Senza Maeso, said the project had been developing for more than a decade in Austin and that the community it built was unlike anything he’d seen.
“What we’ve experienced is people just love this place,” Gitman said. “They caught that vibe, you know, they get what I was trying to lay down with what the tasting room felt like and looked like, like some weird scientist’s living room.”
Ryan Gitman said he and Jay, his brother and co-owner, always envisioned Senza Maeso as a home for live music and creatives, drawing from his own background as a drummer and recording engineer. They accomplished their vision with new live shows and residencies for bands every weekend, trivia Thursdays and many more community-building events throughout their time.
The tasting room became a family endeavor, with Jay co‑owning the business and several relatives living on Senza’s 15‑acre property.
“I live on the property, our mom is retired and we moved her onto the property, so it’s a real family affair,” Gitman said.
Ryan and Jay set out to build a place where people could gather and experiment with drinks and style. For Sammy Wells, a patron and member of the local band The Trips, that mission came through clearly. He said their commitment to craft and their determination to keep operating “until the bitter end” made Senza Maeso feel special.
“It’s a shame, but I definitely like the attitude of the people there,” Wells said. “To keep it running, to keep the show going, to keep the people happy, serving the drinks to the best that they could and pretty cool drinks too.”
Wells said one of his favorite memories at Senza Maeso was the day The Trips finally played there. After a few canceled attempts, the band showed up ready, only for rain to pour onto the outdoor stage the moment they set up. Still, staff and patrons rallied around them, determined to make the show happen.
“They moved like a couple chairs and tables over and just stuck us in the corner and we had like a stripped-down setup, and it went flawlessly,” Wells said. “What really struck me was their ability to keep the show going on no matter what happened.”
Beyond just the bar’s atmosphere, Ryan and Jay aimed to build a workplace culture worth showing up for where employees felt valued. Sean Strohschein, distiller and bartender, said the bar’s hourly pay, which was above minimum wage, made the job more livable, and that the upside‑down triangle in Senza’s logo reflects the brothers’ goal of flipping the economic status quo on its head.
“Ryan and Jay make sure that they pay us up to our guaranteed hourly rate, which makes it a livable job for us,” Strohschein said. “I think that just kind of bleeds into the overall culture here, down to the upside-down triangles on our label, which represent flipping the economic pyramid on its head.”
Ryan Gitman said Senza Maeso wouldn’t be what it was without some of his day one employees, including Jennine Turow, who pushed the limits to create new drinks and syrups.
“[Turow’s] been crazy valuable and she was my first employee, been there since day one,” Gitman said. “Couldn’t be here without her. She took what my concept was of what I wanted out of this bar and took it to another level. The same for Sean Strohschein and Mae Peacock.”
The Senza Maeso spirit will continue to be sold in Texas stores such as select Spec’s and Total Wine locations for as long as the Gitman brothers can keep producing it, which they estimate will be another three to six months. Ryan Gitman said he is forever grateful to his brother, his team and the people who believed in Senza Maeso.
“I’m just forever grateful for the support,” Gitman said. “There’s a lot of people that just showed up every week for trivia or for shows and they were all just uniquely curious people.”
For now, Senza Maeso’s tasting room is not set to reopen, though Gitman said the owners are open to serious investors who could help continue the business. Senza Maeso will be open May 29 through May 31 from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. It will host several shows and activities for its final few days.
