August 28, 2026
Street View/Google Maps
Jose Pistola's, the Mexican cantina and craft beer bar at 263 S. 15th St, abruptly closed this week after 19 years in Center City.
Jose Pistola's has closed for good after a run of nearly two decades in Center City, according to a post the owners shared on social media Thursday night.
The craft beer bar and Mexican restaurant, housed in a 19th century building listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places at 263 S. 15th St., had been closed for several days this week before Thursday's update.
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"We are unfortunately not going to be able to reopen," the bar wrote on Instagram. "We'd like to thank everyone who has come through our doors over the past 19 years. We have loved being a part of the (Center City) community."
The bar did not give a reason for the abrupt closure in its social media post, and attempts to reach the owners for more information had not been answered as of late Friday morning.
"Definitely didn't want to go out this way but we're proud of what we accomplished," the Instagram post said.
Owners Casey Parker and Joe Gunn told the Inquirer a combination of factors led to the closure, including a debt-related shutoff of the bar's gas service and a tough business climate in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parker and Gunn opened Jose Pistola's in 2007, offering an eclectic mix of craft beers and rare picks from the cellar. The Mexican menu ran the gamut of tacos, nacho platters, burritos and quesadillas. They often had specials and themed drinks during sporting events.
The Pistola's brand expanded to Fishtown in 2014 with the opening of Sancho Pistola's, another Mexican restaurant and bar, and opened a third location, Pistola's Del Sur, in East Passyunk in 2017. Both of those restaurants remain open.
The Philadelphia Department of Health and Department of Licenses & Inspections did not show any recent violations or failed inspections for the business on 15th Street. Jose Pistola's briefly closed in 2019 for work to be completed on the building's facade. The property previously had been occupied by the Tex-Mex restaurant Copa, Too!
The closure leaves another hole in the bar scene on South 15th Street, where the decades-old dive bar McGlinchey's shuttered about a year ago. A plan from Alterra Property Group to purchase and revive that space fell apart last month, the Inquirer reported, and the McGlinchey's building is now back on the market.
"Our immediate efforts at this time are going to be trying to help our staff with whatever they need," the owners of Jose Pistola's said on Instagram. "We can't thank you enough for helping us accomplish what we have through the years."
