The oldest bar on San Antonio’s River Walk — with roots in Prohibition and its fair share of ghosts — is entering its next chapter under new leadership.
The Esquire Tavern, smack in the middle of downtown San Antonio in the neighborhood of the Aztec Theatre, is now under the ownership of former Director of Operations Stephan Mendez, the restaurant announced Wednesday, July 8. Mendez has a history there, starting as a bartender in 2013, he told MySA. That was two years after the Esquire was bought by Chris Hill in 2011, who revived it from a five-year closure.
“The Esquire is more than a bar; it’s embedded in the history of San Antonio. Every person who has ever pulled up a stool here has become a part of what makes this place special,” Hill in a press release. “Stewarding that legacy has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I’m proud to pass it on to someone who will carry the same passion for generations to come. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built, or more confident in what comes next.”
Mendez said he didn’t work there long on his first go-around, but he “fell in love with the bar from the moment I stepped through the doors.” He left about six months later for the now-closed Blue Box bar at the Pearl, but returned to Esquire in 2017 to become head bartender. The following year, Mendez left again, but would come back to Esquire to help it reopen as the city emerged from the pandemic in October 2020.
Since then, Mendez said he “kind of went from bartender to head bartender to bar manager to beverage director to general manager of the building.” In 2021, Mendez and Hill created Spot on Hospitality, encompassing popular spots like Tokyo Cowboy and Hugman’s Oasis, which share the block with Esquire. After overseeing those projects as director of operations, Mendez said he was presented with an offer to buy Esquire from Hill as “I think he truly believed that I’d be the best steward for it moving forward.”
Aside from its storied history as a spot that predates the River Walk itself, Mendez said Esquire is like a genealogy tree that traces San Antonio’s bar scene, as many people who would go on to work at or operate other places came through there. To celebrate the new era, Esquire Tavern will be throwing a “passing of the shaker” party on Thursday, July 16.
Find it: 155 E. Commerce St., San Antonio, TX 78205