The stonework makes way briefly for a fireplace just next to the fireplace, over which a rock that has been said to resemble the devil himself is illuminated for dramatic effect. An upright piano can be found near the rear of the bar a few feet away from an upright wooden coffin and associated skeleton (presumably playing up the haunted reputation once again). Long wood slats make for an appropriately Texas roadhouse-feeling floor, one that again shuffles the eye off to the many notable features inside Devil’s Backbone. The menu board behind the bar conjures up images of diner counter from the 1950s, beer prices tiered out in simple declarations of domestic, exotic and throwback options. Everything is well illuminated by the Texas sun, by the vintage shuffleboard table, by the Christmas lights that dot the space, all of it creating that low dive bar glow that makes the beer taste better. The space, accordingly, feels both suffocatingly small and immensely long, each dollar pointed further in the dive bar to keep the eye line moving.Īnd as that eye line moves, it hits vintage items like reportedly one of the oldest shuffleboards in Texas and a jukebox that can’t be too far behind when it comes to post-vinyl options.

The dollar bills that adorn nearly every surface inside of Devil’s Backbone might as well double as wallpaper, the uncharacteristically uniform distribution of each dollar creating a mind binding optical effect. And this is no run-of-the-mill let’s staple a dollar bill here and there style dive bar. Walking inside is like walking into a bank vault that happens to serve Lone Star, the curved ceiling and rock walls creating a subterranean effect. A large plastic, yellow sign complements the classic signage, illuminated at night and adorned with skeletons, a nod to the reportedly haunted nature of the dive bar. The large white sign over the door is inscribed with the name of the dive bar and its best feature “BEER,” a sign that can be seen in one state or another in some of the faded photographs associated with Devil’s Backbone Tavern. Outside, along a semi-barren stretch of road tracing the Devil’s Backbone Ridge, the Tavern comes into view in the form of what looks to be a short, wide homestead. With all of that history out of the way, let it be said, Devil’s Backbone Tavern is an amazing dive bar, the kind of Texas dive bar that fits the very image those words bring to mind. Touted as the oldest dive bar in Texas, new ownership has certainly embraced the Devil’s Backbone past and has thankfully worked to only accentuate the dive bar’s appeal. The current owners of Devil’s Backbone Tavern have similarly renovated the bar’s web site and marketing efforts, going so far as to advertise availability for Dive Bar Weddings. Ownership and leasing agreements have shifted over the years, the reigns handed over as recently as 2018 to new ownership that executed a number of targeted renovations, including reopening the long-shuttered dancehall attached to the main building. The arrival of the 1950s coincided with the arrival of a dancehall on the premises, one step in a long and storied connection between Devil’s Backbone Tavern and the live music still found there today. The Tavern that took its name showed up a few years later, opening in 1937 to take advantage of Hays County’s “dry” status coming to an end in 1936 (some conflicting reports list 1932 as the founding date). Devil’s Backbone Tavern in Fischer may be the finest example of Texas Hill Country dive bar drinking, a dive bar cave atop one of Hill Country’s many ridges that earned its cultural institution status long ago.ĭevil’s Backbone Tavern sits along a ridge named, you guessed it, Devil’s Backbone, the result of an earthquake some thirty million years ago. The area is also well steeped in history, much of it preserved by existing outside of the kind of gentrification and rampant development that has claimed many a dive bar.

Texas Hill Country is a thoroughly beautiful part of the country, rolling scenery interspersed with small towns that make for an amazing drive no matter the pace.

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