The Horse Inn: Lancaster City’s Oldest Continuously Operating Restaurant

There are restaurants you stumble upon. And then there are restaurants you search for.

For decades, finding the Horse Inn felt like being let in on a secret. You slipped down a narrow, unnamed alley. You climbed a steep staircase. You stepped into a room that looked less like a dining room and more like a preserved slice of Lancaster’s past. Even today, with its more accessible Fulton Street entrance, the Horse Inn still carries that hidden-in-plain-sight charm.

The building itself dates back to the mid-1800s, originally serving as the carriage house for a nearby home on East Chestnut Street. In 1911, William Shaub and his sons purchased it for $800 to house their excavating and contracting business. Horses, carriages, and equipment filled the lower level. The upstairs functioned as a hayloft.

Then came the 1920s.

With Prohibition in full swing, the Shaub family cleared out the hay and converted the loft into a speakeasy. Neighbors and friends climbed the stairs to drink, play shuffleboard, and escape the constraints of the day. To satisfy thirsty patrons, Florence Shaub began serving tenderloin tips on toast. The dish became so popular that it anchored the restaurant’s identity for the next century.

The transformation from hayloft to tavern was not subtle. The Shaubs leaned into the building’s roots. Original horse stalls were moved upstairs and repurposed into dining nooks. Wagon wheels became chandeliers. Wagon hubs were turned into barstools. The rustic atmosphere was not manufactured. It was literal.

As the years passed, the decor gained even more local history. The handcrafted back bar, dating to the late 1800s, was installed behind the counter. A front section of the bar was fashioned from an original door from Franklin & Marshall College, dating back to 1787. Tables from the long-gone Toby Tavern at the Stevens House found new life here after that landmark hotel closed. Even floor joists from the Martic Forge Hotel would eventually be incorporated into a later bar renovation.

In 1935, Richard Shaub’s wife, Emily, gave the restaurant its enduring name: the Horse Inn. The title honored the building’s working past and the aesthetic that now defined it.

Ownership changed hands over the decades, but the spirit remained. The Shaub family operated the Horse Inn until 1971. Al Medved carried the tradition from 1972 through early 2014, famously claiming that in forty years he had changed little more than the light bulbs. In January 2014, Matthew and Starla Russell took the reins, purchasing the restaurant and reopening it five months later after thoughtful renovations.

The Russells preserved what mattered. The intimate horse-stall booths remain. The wagon wheel chandeliers still cast their warm glow. The historic bar continues to anchor the room. But they also introduced updates that allow the restaurant to thrive in a new era. A Fulton Street entrance replaced the hard-to-find alley access. A second bar and game room were added, complete with shuffleboard in a nod to the 1920s speakeasy days.

If you had frequented the Horse Inn in the 1930s, you would still recognize it.

But the menu tells a slightly different story.

While the legendary tenderloin tips on toast remain firmly in place, the Russells expanded the offerings with a seasonally driven approach. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Matt Russell spent years working in Charleston, South Carolina, before returning to Lancaster. That influence shows in dishes like shrimp and grits and inventive Southern-inspired plates. The Horse Inn cheeseburger has quietly become one of the restaurant’s best sellers. Tacos, buttermilk chicken, and rotating seasonal specials share space with the historic mainstay.

Local sourcing is central to the philosophy. Produce and ingredients from area farmers and vendors, including nearby Central Market, shape a menu that evolves daily. The food honors tradition without being trapped by it.

The bar program carries the same balance. You can order a two-dollar mystery beer or a carefully measured classic cocktail. House-made syrups, fresh-squeezed juices, and consistent technique elevate Old Fashioneds and Manhattans beyond nostalgia. Creativity appears in drinks like the Fulton Street Sour, while local breweries such as St. Boniface, Troegs, and Victory are often represented on tap.

Still, for all its refinement, the Horse Inn has never lost its tavern heart.

The ceilings are low. The rooms are cozy. Conversations overlap in a pleasant hum. The climb up the stairs remains part of the ritual for those who remember the alley entrance. Generations of Lancastrians have celebrated anniversaries here, conducted business over lunch, toasted engagements, and returned again and again for a plate of tips and toast.

There is something grounding about a restaurant that has outlasted trends, economic swings, and shifting neighborhoods. Lancaster City has transformed dramatically over the last century. Industries have come and gone. Downtown has reinvented itself. Through it all, the Horse Inn has remained.

It began as a hayloft above working horses. It became a Prohibition-era refuge. It grew into a beloved city institution. And today, it continues to serve as a gathering place where history is not framed on the wall but built into the very structure around you.

Some restaurants are destinations because they are new.

The Horse Inn is a destination because it endured.

Did You Know?

The Horse Inn’s iconic bar includes wood from an original 1787 door at Franklin & Marshall College, and some of its tables once stood inside the famed Toby Tavern at the Stevens House Hotel. The horse-stall dividers that now form dining booths were originally located downstairs before being moved up during the speakeasy conversion in the 1920s.

Planning Your Visit

The Horse Inn is located at 540 East Fulton Street in Lancaster City.

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While the historic alley entrance still exists, most guests now enter from Fulton Street. Seating is intimate, and reservations are strongly recommended, especially on weekends. Check current hours and menus at horseinnlancaster.com before visiting.

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Learn More

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