Schilo's

108 years is an ocean of time. I can barely remember what I did last Tuesday—I can only imagine how little I'd recall after a century. But once in a while, you'll see a restaurant that's lasted all those long years even though the competition generally struggles to survive their first two years. I figure it has something to do with business smarts and luck, but also with the kids staying interested in the family business instead of running off to Costa Rica to become a certified yoga teacher slash nutritionist slash astrologist.

That seems to be the case with Schilo's delicatessen (pronounced "She - lo's"), a German-American restaurant that just happens to be the oldest in San Antonio. It first popped up as a saloon in Beeville, TX but "Papa" Fritz Schilo moved the saloon and his family to San Antonio in 1914. Mama Schilo started serving classic German food in 1917, which was good timing since Prohibition began in 1920. The restaurant did pivot to serving root beer in big, German-style mugs, and its food menu helped keep it stay in business.

In 1942, @schilosdeli moved to its current location next to the River Walk. It took over the space of a former bank, and to this day there's a vault that's used as a walk-in cooler. The Schilos sold to the Lyons family in 1980, who have continued to run it as a family business and have kept using the original recipes throughout the years.

I particularly like how Schilo's straddles the line between East Coast diner and Texas saloon. You can stop in for a Reuben sandwich and potato pancakes, or grab a beer and check out the Trophy Room lined with mounted heads. It's exactly the type of place I wish we'd see more of in our big cities. But we don't, and that's what makes it special. So the next time you're in SATX, swing through for an original-recipe pea soup and a root beer. It's probably the cheapest way to travel back in time.