diff --git a/lib/mbtiles.js b/lib/mbtiles.js
index 8c81335..701d904 100644
--- a/lib/mbtiles.js
+++ b/lib/mbtiles.js
@@ -105,7 +105,6 @@ MBTiles.prototype._exists = function(table, callback) {
     if (this._schema) {
         return callback(null, _(this._schema).include(table));
     } else {
-        this._schema = [];
         this._db.all(
             'SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type IN (?, ?)',
             'table',