Earl Abel’s: Back On Broadway

By: Joyce Raposo

Derek Caballero, Earl Abel’s restaurant manager, sat in one of the booths they brought from their location on Broadway and Hildebrand -- freshly reupholstered and refinished. Behind him was a plate glass window with a view of the construction of a new 13-story credit union going up next door to the quaint, little diner. He jumped up every few minutes to answer phones, help his waitstaff and greet customers with a handshake before they departed the eatery.  

This restaurant with deep roots in San Antonio’s culture returned to the area it previously called home for over 60 years. In December 2017, Earl Abel’s Restaurant welcomed customers to its new location at the corner of Broadway and Pearl Parkway, right in the heart of one of the city’s fastest-growing development projects. Caballero said in the 14 months since their return to Broadway, he’s seen new businesses springing up almost every day. He also added how quickly the old businesses disappear, seemingly overnight. Caballero pointed to the new condos across the street and a nearby vacant lot as he explained how he came into work one day and the business across the street was just gone. All of this change is a sign of the neighborhood’s growth and renewed popularity.  

“This area is booming,” Caballero said, “so it was time [for Earl Abel’s] to get a facelift and basically come get our roots back on Broadway.”

Caballero said they are still getting used to the new location and the unpredictable nature of the business since their move from Austin Highway. “It’s a rollercoaster, every day is different from the one before,” he said. Austin Highway was home to Earl Abel’s from late 2005, when the Abel family sold the business to brothers Robert and Roger Arias and another partner, until December 2017 when the restaurant moved back to Broadway. 

Roger Arias, a native San Antonian born in 1953, said Earl Abel’s was one of many iconic landmarks in San Antonio part of Broadway lineup, which has disappeared over the years. 

Customers of Earl Abel's first Broadway location will see the familiar “Earl Abel’s” retro sign hanging over the top of the entryway. Inside, patrons are treated to visual display of assorted homemade pies, from lemon meringue to banana cream to chocolate icebox pie. An old-fashioned clock hangs on the wall and traditional diner booths are scattered around the room. The bright orange and teal walls feature large drawings of roosters with “Abelisms” such as EAT HERE DIET HOME, OUR CLOCK WILL NEVER BE STOLEN THE EMPLOYEES ARE ALWAYS WATCHING IT, EATING HERE KEEPS EARL ABEL written alongside the birds. Near the back of the restaurant stands a life-size statue of a 1940’s style waiter dressed in a black tuxedo, holding a drink tray. He’s a timepiece which stood in the original restaurant for years and a welcome face for Earl Abel’s longtime customers. 

Regentrification and growth are the reasons behind the move away and back to Broadway. Arias said the Broadway/Hildebrand building was in need of extensive repairs, they were having some staffing issues at the time and they had a good offer to sell the land their restaurant occupied. San Antonio development firm Koontz McCombs wanted to purchase the property in order to build a 20-story luxury condominium in its place. However, Mr. Abel did not want to sell the restaurant according to Arias, his initial plan was just to close the business.  

I think his friends, his attorney and a couple of other people convinced him that Earl Abel’s should go forward in the city,” Arias said. “It is way too important to the city of San Antonio to lose another iconic restaurant like all these other places that have gone by the wayside.”

After 12 years on Austin Highway, Arias said the idea behind the move is to expose this concept to a new generation, to a whole new demographic. He went on to say Earl Abel’s got its start by appealing to high school students. It became what it is today because of all of those high schoolers, like Arias, who stuck with it through the years.  

Earl Abel opened his first restaurant in 1933 as part of a small chain of restaurants. Caballero said Abel made his living playing the organ in silent movies before he branched out into the food service industry.  He said the first restaurant was at 610 Main St. The current customer base is made up of approximately 30 percent of former customers and 60-70 percent of new customers.

But labor shortages caused by World War II forced the company to close three of the original four Earl Abel’s restaurants, and they consolidated into one location familiar to most San Antonians at the corner of Hildebrand and Broadway.

Arias said the one thing he can say is that it is a joy being the owner of this restaurant. He said he meets people every day and hears stories about what Earl Abel’s has meant to them. Then he recounted the story of a couple who came into the restaurant to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary. They told Arias they had their first date at Earl Abel’s and they came in that evening and ordered the very same meal they ate on their first date 75 years prior. 

“Food is attached to your memories, it plays a vital part in your everyday life,” Arias said. “We were the link to their past and they’re still experiencing it today.”