Jim’s Restaurants Reintroduce 24-Hour Service in San Antonio
In pre-COVID-19 San antonio, Jim’s Restaurants attracted a post-midnight clientele. Locals dropped in for a Frontier burger and fries or coffee and pie at one of 14 locations.
In the wake of the pandemic, though, Jim’s shuttered restaurants, ended all-night service and started closing it’s doors at 10 p.m.
Five years later, the fog of COVID-19 is beginning to lift. One day after christmas, Jim’s resumed 24-hour service at its Broadway and Loop 410 location. Business is brisk.
“I was in the other night and we were pretty full, almost packed to capacity” saeid Manager Ron Garza. “And that was at 10:30, 11 o’clock. We used to close at 10.”
The late-night hours attract customers from neighborhood bars and travelers from nearby San Antonio International Airport.
“It’s been crazy after midnight,” said one employee who asked not to be identified. “I know. I’ve worked every shift here since 1982.”
Almost 80 years after opening next to a bicycle stand at Brackenridge Park, the restaurant chain is flexing new muscle. Expect more locations to offer 24-hour service in 2026 – and for new restaurants to appear in 2027.
Assistant Manager Iris Vasquez carries food out to late night patrons of the 24 hour jim’s located off Loop 410 and Broadway. (Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report)
“This will be the year we’ll be looking to expand the Jim’s operation,” said Jimmy Hasslocher, CEO of Frontier Enterprises, which runs the restaurant chain founded by his late father. “We closed some of the leased properties that were hit hard after COVID and never came back. But we’re looking for new opportunities. We’re positioning ourselves for the future.”
The future begins with a test model, the Jim’s at Broadway and Loop 410. If customers continue responding well to the new hours, more locations will offer 24-hour service. The holidays have created a spike in foot traffic.But will business remain strong after the post-Christmas rush ends?
Frontier Enterprises operates 17 establishments: 13 Jim’s restaurants (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 are planning to develop more (jim’s) locations down the road,” Hasslocher said.
It will take time to purchase land, secure permits, and build.The next Jim’s is likely to open in 2027.
Hasslocher, 74, began working for his father, the late G. “Jim” Hasslocher, when he was 8 years old. He stood on a wooden Coca-Cola crate at Brackenridge Park, serving concessions through a hamburger stand window.
“I could barely s