Waco, TX: Health Camp
- Samantha Gaylor
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Address: 2601 Circle Rd, Waco, TX 76706
Coordinates: 31.524724, -97.131852
Elvis Date(s): 1950s
Business Started: 1948
Physical Location Opened: 1949
Date Visited: October 31, 2023
Building Status as of May 13, 2025: Open
My Experience
When you walk into the restaurant, the 50s vibe is all consuming, from the white walls covered in old newspaper clippings and images of decades past, to the black & white checkered flooring and fading red and yellow booths facing wood-look tables. There is nothing like sitting down with some friends and enjoying a basket of fries and a milkshake in a styrofoam cup. The classic advertisement paintings on the windows add something to the whole experience, as well as the knowledge that Elvis looked through the same windows over six decades ago.
Building History
In 1948, the story of Health Camp began, or rather, the story of a mobile canteen, when Jack Schaevitz and Lou Stein, brothers-in-law, moved from Ohio to Waco. Schaevitz built a mobile canteen with the objective to provide ice cream and burgers to military personnel at James Connally Air Force Base nearby. The canteen was so successful they decided to open a stationary restaurant.
The name "Health Camp" did not come immediately. Jack and Lou had many arguments about the name, and only picked one after much frustration. The one they finally settled on, "Health Camp", was what was stamped on every egg that came out of Jack's father's dairy farm in Youngstown, OH. With that, the restaurant we know today was born in 1949.
The beloved Waco establishment is located on the Waco Traffic Circle in it's original building, and the interior and exterior have changed a little bit over the years, but it's still nostalgia incarnate; I think that's one reason why the restaurant has been around so long. Another reason I think they're still around and thriving is, usually when a new highway is built, traffic and business move towards the highway, but Health Camp pulled the luck card when I-35 was being planned. The highway was under construction in Waco from 1958 to 1972 and it runs right by the restaurant, keeping all the traffic and customers nearby, with the Waco Traffic Circle and restaurant visible from the highway.
In 1989, Schaevitz retired, having sold the business to David Tinsley, a fellow restauranteur, and Sammy Citrano, his manager. Tinsley and Citrano were also owners of the Elite Cafe (now Magnolia Table) at the time, another Elvis spot on the very same Waco Traffic Circle.
The new owners stayed true to the roots of Health Camp, continuing to serve its signature burgers, ice cream, and homemade onion rings on the original stainless steel countertops. It still has the original walk-up window and the walls are covered in old photos and newspaper clippings that show the history of the restaurant and Waco.
The Tinsley family continues to run Health Camp to this day, never veering from Jack Schaevitz and Lou Stein's original vision.
Elvis at Health Camp
Elvis ate here!
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