SAN DIEGO'S
OLDEST TAVERN
Same corner. Same building. Same job since the year Prohibition ended.
Waterfront Bar & Grill is the oldest tavern in San Diego — continuously operating at 2044 Kettner Blvd in Little Italy since 1933, the year the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition. Founded by Chaffee Grant (the grandson of Ulysses S. Grant) and shipbuilder Claire Blakley, we were one of the first bars in San Diego to be issued a legal post-Prohibition liquor license, and we've poured a drink every day since.
The first pour, 1933
When Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, San Diego's old saloons came back to life one block at a time. The Waterfront was first out the gate. Little Italy was a working tuna-fishing neighborhood then — we fed the fishermen, the longshoremen, and the cannery crews who built the harbor.
Historic bar San Diego — the real thing
San Diego has plenty of bars that call themselves historic. Most are restored buildings, rebrands, or new businesses in old shells. The Waterfront is the genuine article — same neighborhood, same building, same purpose for 91+ years. No museum vibe. Locals still drink here every single day.
What's changed, what hasn't
The tuna industry is gone, the canneries are condos, and Little Italy has turned into one of the most-coveted neighborhoods in California. The bar is still here, doing exactly what it's always done. Bartenders learn names. Mayors sit next to bikers. Weddings spill onto the sidewalk. Pitchers go to Padres fans on Friday and brunch tables on Sunday.
91 years of regulars
Stop in any afternoon and somebody at the bar will have a longer story than this page. If you want the short version: we open at 8am, we close at 2am, we don't take reservations, and we don't plan on changing.
Come see 91 years in one room
2044 Kettner Blvd, Little Italy. Open every day, 8am–2am.