Old Strand Emporium

Food is just OK. The lady taking your order is NOT even a little friendly. Seems like she is completely annoyed that we ordered 2 sandwiches.

Ice cream fantastic. Dog juicy service good. Excellent bathrooms. Despite the Rachael B comments advertised outside!

Wow. So disappointed. I was looking forward to visiting the Emporium, it being one of my favorite childhood memories.
I put a quarter in the old familiar machine — it sort of worked. I put money into another machine — it worked better. I opened the door to the restroom and an alarm sounded. Now you have to put coins in the restroom as well? That’s weird. Still, I rationalized it in mind and decided to buy a fountain drink.
The staff ignored more for quite some time and then informed me that they don’t allow people to use their restrooms who do not purchase food.
Unbelievably rude staff. Like its machines, this place is run down and broken. I doubt they will be around much longer if they are this unfriendly and rude to all of their customers.

Please I only gave them a 1 star because there is not 0 star! The owners/​workers are EXTREMELY rude and even disrespectful to my 3 year old. I walked out without even ordering after the way they spoke to us. Be careful they are definitely not in the business of hospitality.

We stopped in here because it looked like a nice local place to eat whilst visiting Galveston from overseas.
The food was quite disappointing and a bit bland, but what annoyed me most was the fact that they sold us a bottle of orange juice which we noticed was months out of date after our 4 year old had drunk most of it. The staff didn’t seem very interested in making amends or apologising. Totally not the kind of service I have come to expect from the States at all.

Fantastic beer selection, quick sandwiches with quality ingredients, and the place is always clean. John recognizes his regulars and makes sure to treat them right. If you’re a local, especially if you work on the Strand, this is a quick, affordable, and satisfying place for lunch or an after work beer. Cheers!

I stopped in this shop while looking for a quick bite to eat around 11 am on a Saturday morning with my husband and two friends.
We were greeted with the experience of having to select our meals and pay at a register before being allowed behind the rope to the dining area (so, semi-​regular occurrence of ordering and paying prior to eating, not-​normal experience of having the dining area roped off and body-​guarded by a restaurant employee.)
When we finished our sandwiches, which were decent but nothing you couldn’t make at home with a loaf of bread and lunch meat, I attempted a quick stop at the bathroom. The doors were locked and stated that you needed a token to open them. I went to ask about tokens — all the while remaining BEHIND the special rope you cross after paying. The woman behind the diner counter gave me a look liked she’d just noticed she stepped in something foul, and brayed out «did you eat in the dinerrrr?!». We were one of 3 tables actually eating at the time, so its not like it wasnt painfully obvious we’d been sitting in front of her for the past 30 minutes. To spare any additional details, I had to go back and forth one more time before a younger male employee begrudgingly allowed me in to the bathroom.
So long story short, if you want to be treated like a convicted criminal throughout your dining experience, have a lackluster sandwich at Old Strand Emporium! They guard these bathrooms with their lives.

We visited this business with out of town family today. Went in to buy tee shirts and craft beer. We have visited the Emporium for years and always enjoyed ourselves. Today was a different story. Since our last visit there has been a change in management. The merchandise and the employee of the front part of the store were awesome, as always. The deli section apparently owns the bathroom. The arrogant deli manager informed me we had to buy food to use the restroom. I told him we were there to buy tee shirts. Honest to God, he told me that after I bought something he would make the choice whether we could use the restroom. I could not believe what I was hearing. We bought around $ 30 worth of merchandise from the very embarrassed emporium employee. Luckily the Nazi deli manager allowed us to use the restroom. I told the deli manager I planned to Unilocal my experience and he could have cared less. I will never do business with this shop ever again.

This is one of the places that I stop at when I want a drink, while I wander the Strand. They seem to have a good offering of water, soda, and beer. Plus their prices are reasonable.

I hate to be negative but the attitude I got was worth mentioning. I have been to this location many times in the past and have gotten excellent sandwiches and interesting beverages. Apparently there is a bitter war going on between the lower level where the grocery items are and the up the plank area where the deli/​ice cream area was. We purchased 2 fountain drinks and asked about using the restroom and was told that I had to purchase something from the deli before I could use the restroom. It was just the way they responded to me that left me with a sour note. I would have gladly paid a minimal charge to use the restroom like $ 1 but they were not even interested in taking my money for that. The was noone eating anything in the deli and I can see why. It’s unfortunate that they have to take such a non-​welcoming stance toward tourists. Very said but this is an example of how Galveston treats it’s visitors. I will let everyone know. There are other places to spend your money. Very sad.

This shop’s primary focus is food related items.
There is a large selection of hot sauce including the ever popular «ass in space» variety. It may seem stereotypical that a Texas shop would sell hot sauce, but they actually had some good brands.
The shop also had several items to satisfy your sweet tooth with multiple types of fudge and blue bell ice cream.
What makes this shop unique is the large wine room. I didn’t get a chance to check it out, but thought it is worth mentioning.
This shop was much easier to navigate than many of the other businesses along The Strand.

One of the better gift shops on The Strand. The Old Strand Emporium has completely rebounded from Hurricane Ike and looks great. The shop has everything from a wine room (see photo) to a blue bell ice cream counter in the back. You can get some candy (yes, they have rock candy!) while you shop for some typical Galveston gifts. I liked the overall feel of this place compared to many of the other shops.
My group all got ice cream in the back of the store. You don’t pay there, instead they give you a bill and you pay in the front of the store. I wonder how many people just don’t pay. We sat in the back of the store and ate our ice cream and then walked around the store. We actually walked out without paying and then realized we hadn’t paid. We went back and paid.
There was also a cool poster on the wall that showed what the store looked like immediately following Hurricane Ike. I’m impressed with the place now, it’s clean and fully stocked now.
Stop in while on The Strand.