In pre-COVID-19 San Antonio, Jim’s Eating places attracted a post-midnight clientele. Locals dropped in for a Frontier burger and fries or espresso and pie at one in all 14 areas.
Within the wake of the pandemic, nevertheless, Jim’s shuttered eating places, ended all-night service and began closing its doorways at 10 p.m.
5 years later, the fog of COVID-19 is starting to elevate. At some point after Christmas, Jim’s resumed 24-hour service at its Broadway and Loop 410 location. Enterprise is brisk.
“I used to be within the different night time and we have been fairly full, virtually packed to capability” stated Supervisor Ron Garza. “And that was at 10:30, 11 o’clock. We used to shut at 10.”
The late-night hours appeal to clients from neighborhood bars and vacationers from close by San Antonio Worldwide Airport.
“It’s been loopy after midnight,” stated one worker who requested to not be recognized. “I do know. I’ve labored each shift right here since 1982.”
Nearly 80 years after opening subsequent to a bicycle stand at Brackenridge Park, the restaurant chain is flexing new muscle. Count on extra areas to supply 24-hour service in 2026 — and for brand spanking new eating places to look in 2027.
“This would be the 12 months we’ll be seeking to increase the Jim’s operation,” stated Jimmy Hasslocher, CEO of Frontier Enterprises, which runs the restaurant chain based by his late father. “We closed among the leased properties that have been hit onerous after COVID and by no means got here again. However we’re searching for new alternatives. We’re positioning ourselves for the longer term.”
The longer term begins with a take a look at mannequin, the Jim’s at Broadway and Loop 410. If clients proceed responding nicely to the brand new hours, extra areas will supply 24-hour service. The vacations have created a spike in foot visitors. However will enterprise stay sturdy after the post-Christmas rush ends?
“The take a look at shall be beginning Monday (Jan. 5.),” Hasslocher stated.
The primary Jim’s opened in 1947. The hamburger stand advanced into the Frontier Drive-In, which advanced into Jim’s Espresso Store in 1963, which transitioned into the Jim’s Restaurant chain. And 24-hour service started within the Nineteen Seventies. The pandemic disrupted a half-century of late night time stops for espresso and burgers.
“My intestine advised me and clients advised me that they would like to see us be open 24 hours once more,” Hasslocher stated. “I’m going to proceed to have my group work on different areas. I’ve some in thoughts, however at this level I’m not able to say publicly which of them they’re. I’ll let you know I’m actually excited concerning the Alamo Ranch space. I suppose I simply gave that away. And Jim’s at Culebra and 1604 is one other location I’m curious about. We’ve got some others we’re taking a look at.”
Frontier Enterprises operates 17 institutions: 13 Jim’s eating places (10 in San Antonio, three in Austin), one Magic Time Machine in San Antonio and a second in Dallas, and a Frontier Burger and La Fonda Alamo Heights.
“We’re planning to develop extra (Jim’s) areas down the street,” Hasslocher stated.
It’ll take time, he defined, to buy land, safe permits and construct. The subsequent Jim’s is prone to seem in 2027.
Hasslocher, 74, started working for his father, the late G. “Jim” Hasslocher, on the age of 8. The son stood on a wood Coca-Cola crate at Brackenridge Park, serving concessions by way of a hamburger stand window.
“I may barely see over-the-counter,” he stated. “I offered a variety of popcorn and peanuts and sodas. We acquired 50 cents a day. This was in 1959.”
As enterprise grew, Hasslocher took on extra duties. He labored at drive-ins and occasional outlets. He made deliveries to HemisFair ‘68, the place his family-run restaurant sat atop the Tower of the Americas.
“I used to be the primary man to get caught within the elevator,” he stated, recalling the automobile that rose 622 toes to the revolving restaurant. “I acquired caught thrice.”
Jim’s expanded its footprint throughout San Antonio and Austin. At its peak within the mid-Eighties, the chain operated greater than two dozen eating places. Fierce competitors from nationwide chains and shifting market calls for led to a number of closures within the Nineties.
Hasslocher emerged as CEO in 2006. His father remained concerned within the enterprise till his passing in 2015.
Although post-pandemic market forces have led to extra closures, response to 24-hour service at Broadway and Loop 410 has prompted a surge of optimism.
On a current afternoon, clients stood in line close to a seating space, ready for tables to empty within the packed eating room. Servers hustled from the kitchen to tables and cubicles, carrying plates of burgers, chops and rooster fried steak.
“It’s getting busier,” Garza stated.
Phrase on the brand new retailer hours is spreading. A Dec. 26 Fb publish – “Jim’s #1 on Broadway & 410 is formally again to being 24 hours” – has drawn greater than 70,000 views, based on Hasslocher.
“To date, we’ve seen optimistic outcomes,” he stated. “This firm is 78-years-old. My mother and father spent a lifetime constructing this. My job as chair and CEO is to ensure it continues on that path. And so I search for nice issues in 2026.”
