Organizers say the 45th Annual Cowboy Breakfast that traditionally kicks off the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo season has been canceled this year, but it should return in 2024.
The Cowboy Breakfast Foundation announced on Tuesday it had until Dec. 1 to find a major sponsor to replace one that backed out due to economic concerns, but that did not happen.
The breakfast was scheduled to take place on Jan. 27.
“We are very grateful to several of our local businesses and community members for reaching out to us with contributions and assistance, but we were unable to meet our timeline to pull the logistics together to implement the 2023 in-person event,” a statement from the foundation read.
The foundation board also announced a new partnership with WellMed as the presenting sponsor for the 2024 event.
“With their support and the continued involvement from several of our other local businesses and volunteers, the board is excited about bringing this event back to the community.” the statement added.
“The Cowboy Breakfast is one of those unique events that brings San Antonio together,” said Dr. Carlos Hernandez, president of WellMed Medical Group. “We’re eager to see this proud tradition return in 2024, and we’re happy to be part of it.”
“We are looking forward to seeing all our friends, family, partners and participants at the Cowboy Breakfast presented by WellMed, for the official kick-off to the San Antonio Rodeo Season on January 26, 2024,” said Brad Dietrich, president of the foundation board.
Organizers said over the last 44 years, the breakfast has served more than 1 million breakfast tacos, 300,000 servings of biscuits and gravy, 200,000 servings of milk and juice, and more than 10,000 gallons of coffee.
More than $250,000 of proceeds has gone to student beneficiaries. Money raised this year will be donated, as in recent years, to the St. Philip’s College Culinary Arts program, which helps prepare the meal. Some years it has attracted as many as 30,000, earning it a place in the “Guiness Book of World Records” as the World’s Largest Breakfast,
The breakfast initially started to feed the multiple trail ride groups coming to San Antonio for the stock show and rodeo. It eventually grew into an open invitation event for the whole city.
The free breakfast traditionally begins before sunrise every year.