Tim’s Oriental & Seafood Market has long been a mainstay for San Antonians seeking out foods and flavors from across Asia. Tim and Cathy Lim opened the family business in Leon Valley on August 1, 1986. As the local spot approaches its 40th anniversary, the market continues to act as a cultural and culinary touchstone for generations of shoppers.
MySA recently met with Tim’s CEO, Vanessa Lim Egle — the daughter of founders Tim and Cathy Lim — who operates the store with her brother and sister, Randy and Erica Lim. During the visit, we learned more about how Tim’s came to be, its role in providing a wide array of Asian goods and what the future looks like for the market.
Even before Tim’s opened, there was a culinary background in the family, as Tim Lim was the great-grandson of Koon Yen Lim, also known as “Papa Lim,” who opened Golden Star Cafe in San Antonio in 1932. Cathy Lim worked in the restaurant as the graveyard shift cashier and became known by the nickname “Flaca,” Lim Egle said.
Tim’s Oriental & Seafood Market’s S.A. history
Tim and Cathy Lim would go on to found Tim’s out of necessity, as prior to it opening, there weren’t many options in San Antonio to shop for Asian ingredients, Lim Egle told MySA. She said that her family would make frequent trips to Houston to pick up the items they needed to cook Chinese dishes at home, and at a certain point, her parents realized there was a real need for a local Asian market…