Oldest TABC Beer & Wine License in Texas

We were flattered to get a shout-out in the June 2023 issue of Texas Monthly in which the Texanist settled the dispute over the oldest bar in Texas. Although the Rathskeller Bar is not the oldest bar in the state, we boast the oldest continuously held Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) Beer & Wine license, a superlative we are proud to claim. The TABC was established in 1935, not long after the 21st amendment repealed prohibition. The Rathskeller Bar TABC license was issued on September 1, 1937 although we know people have been drinking beers in the basement since well before that date.

The Rathskeller Bar is often thought of as a time capsule, and the trope fits. Since very few old photos of the Rathskeller Bar exist, and earliest records are in German, many questions remained unanswered, but we know that not much has changed through the years.

The Game Room was added in 1938 during a building expansion which we’ll post more about soon. The last ‘remodeling’ of the bar, as commemorated by an inlaid star by the back door, occurred in 1958 when the terrazzo-style floor was added.

Only a handful of the original wooden bar tables remain, and two are still in the bar; notice the handy shelves below the tabletop where you can stow your beers while playing cards or dominoes. The other 19 tables are original 1940s relics once employed in our bowling alley, along with the original-but-reupholstered chairs. The bar and adjacent rooms are still labeled with handmade wooden signs that our bartender Chris recalls from his childhood at least a half-century ago, and there have been Christmas lights behind the bar as long as he can remember. Other lights and beer signs and bar decor have been added along the way as keys changed hands.

Time capsules are often thought of as voices from the past. The Rathskeller Bar may have messages lingering in its cache but is probably keeping a few secrets too.

If you have photos of our historic bar, especially older pics, please share them!!!