Restaurant Longevity--Same Location

I can think of only one restuarant from my youth (early 1960s) that is still in business in the same location: Jimmy Davenport's Pizza Palace in Mt. Brook Village in Birmingham, AL.

It's been there since, maybe 1962 or '63 and is still going strong, making as excellent a pizza as they did over forty years ago in that same spot.

Can anyone cite a Birmingham or other city restaurant that's still doing business in the smae location for longer than that?

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Originally posted by tfrielin


I can think of only one restuarant from my youth (early 1960s) that is still in business in the same location: Jimmy Davenport's Pizza Palace in Mt. Brook Village in Birmingham, AL.

It's been there since, maybe 1962 or '63 and is still going strong, making as excellent a pizza as they did over forty years ago in that same spot.

Can anyone cite a Birmingham or other city restaurant that's still doing business in the smae location for longer than that?

I believe Bill's Drive-In in Evanston, Illinois has been in business that long or longer. At the same location of Howard and Asbury.

RO's BBQ in Gastonia, NC has been in the same place and run by the same family since 1948.

Hello All,
Jesse's Quick Lunch, home of the best hot dogs, burger, and fries in Harrisonburg, Va..
Bar-b-Que Ranch, home of great Bb-que, burgers and fries, just outstide of Harrisonburg, Va.
Thomas' Restaurant in Dayton, Va.
Southern Kitchen in New Market, Va.
I could list more that have been in my area prior to the 1950's.
But they have all changed with the times, quality going up and down, and often up again.
Life is fluid, always in a state of change. The romance is when we find it when we need it,
can appreciate it, and allow it to burn itself into our memories.
The taste of real life that feeds our souls as well as our bodies still exists, and awaits us.
Take Care,
Fieldthiste

The Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita, CA has been in business since 1898, but in the same location only since 1904.

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Tadich Grill is a family business which has been in continuous operation since 1849, during the California Gold Rush days. First begun as a coffee stand by three Croatian immigrants, Tadich is one of San Francisco's landmark restaurants. The myriad seafood is prepared charcoal broiled, grilled, sautÈed, poached, deep-fried, or baked in a casserole. The food here is straightforward and of high quality. Excellent sourdough bread, a menu that's printed daily with specials, and a large selection of fresh seafood make Tadich's special. Non-seafood eaters can enjoy the meats from the charcoal broiler including calf's liver steak, hamburger steak, lamb chops, pork chops, chicken and four kinds of beef steak.

But how long at the same location isn't clear to me. Here's another version of the story:

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Enduring earthquakes, fires, as well as changes of name, location, and ownership, the establishment and its recipes still stand: The Tadich Grill is California's oldest restaurant.

In 1849, an unassuming coffee stand was founded on the San Francisco waterfront. The constants throughout the Tadich's evolution have been hearty seafood and other local specialties, and the stewardship of Croatian American families. John Tadich immigrated to San Francisco in 1872 and started working at the then-called New World Coffee Saloon soon after, becoming sole owner in 1887. He sold the restaurant in 1928 to the Buich family, which has carried on the Tadich tradition ever since. A destination restaurant and a local treasure, the Tadich Grill continues to evoke an old-world feel. The Tadich Grill captures the history, ambiance, and flavors of this San Francisco institution, presenting a warm portrait of a true culinary success story.

Trouble is, the present location is certainly in the oldest part of town and may even have once been on the waterfront (they've since filled in a number of blocks pushing the waterfront into the Bay), but I'm not sure. I take this to mean it's been where it is at least since 1872.

Chris' Hot Dog has been a fixture in Montgomery, AL since 1917. Same location. Still in business. Still good.

Union Oyster House Boston, 1700s same location never remmodled they did put lighting and indoor plumming at some time though, think it became a board of health issue. We have a few more around the area also. The rest of you guys are new kids on the block. Chow Jim

Although praised and panned by many on this site, the Varsity in ATL has been in operation at the same site since 1938.

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Originally posted by Adjudicator

Chris' Hot Dog has been a fixture in Montgomery, AL since 1917. Same location. Still in business. Still good.

The Elite in Montgomery, I surmise is gone now? But it was the place my highg school Track team was treated to dinner after the State Meet, so it always had a mystique for me. Why? Because I was never good enough to go to the State Meet. I alawys thought I'd eat there, but I guess I never will.

The Beekman Arms Inn, Rhinebeck, NY, was established in 1776, making it America's oldest Inn. They have a restaurant; do not know if it was part of the original Inn.
http://www.bbonline.com/ny/beekman/

John

Halfway house on Jefferson Davis Hwy (wouldn't want to forget him would we?) in Richmond has been around since the mid-1700's. Washington slept there and all that bull. It was originally a stop on the stage line.

The Regas in Knoxville has been in the same location for close to 90 years. Wendy's main man got his start there.

http://www.thechophouse.com/regas_index.html

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Jim, you're right. In New England if your Grandparents didn't date there it's "that new place."

Union Oyster House is only 1826. Durgin Park cited in some sources as 1827, although their website suggests they've only been operating under that name for 130 years. Jacob Wirth 1868. Just a few I can think of.

I remember hearing, though, that the oldest restaurant is Fraunces Tavern in NYC.

We also have Jake Worths, Locke Ober's, The Longfellow Wayside Inn and many more in our area. Chow Jim

Heid's has been selling hot dogs in Liverpool, NY since 1883.
The location changed only once, in 1886, the building, has been updated and renovated a few times since then.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

Heid's has been selling hot dogs in Liverpool, NY since 1883.
The location changed only once, in 1886, the building, has been updated and renovated a few times since then.

I didn't think hot dogs got invented until the St. Louis World's Fair in 1906 or thereabouts.

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Originally posted by Oneiron339

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

Heid's has been selling hot dogs in Liverpool, NY since 1883.
The location changed only once, in 1886, the building, has been updated and renovated a few times since then.

I didn't think hot dogs got invented until the St. Louis World's Fair in 1906 or thereabouts.

well then, you think wrong.

Both you guys might be right. I think and do mean I think that at the St. Louis worlds Fair it was the first time it was put in a bun so you could walk around with it. So I call it a draw. Good call on both sides. Chow Jim

I'm sorry folks but do you not thing the Germans have been stuffing ground meat in pig's guts for much longer than a hundred years?

v9 is absolutly correct per my grandfather who came from germany to chicago with emil ladany family members of vienna, they started in 1893 selling them and open first store/plant on halsted street in 1894

quote:

Originally posted by Oneiron339
I didn't think hot dogs got invented until the St. Louis World's Fair in 1906 or thereabouts.

The amazing researcher Barry Popik tracked down citations from the Yale Record dating to 1895 where the term "hot dog" is used to refer to sausages served on a bun: http://www.barrypopik.com/article/86/hot-dog-polo-grounds-myth-original-monograph

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog:

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The first known use of the phrase "hot dog" appears in print on October 19 1895 in the Yale Record of New Haven, Connecticut which reads "They contentedly munched hot dogs during the whole service." though likely refers to a hot "dog" and not a "hot dog" as two weeks prior the same paper recorded Tis dogs' delight to bark and bite, Thus does the adage run. But I delight to bite the dog when placed inside a bun. Hot dog became an extension of the older use of dog to mean a sausage.

Barry's truly an etymological research superhero. Among his other claims to fame are a definitive of the NYC nickname "The Big Apple" and a debunking of the "Louis Lunch as birthplace of the hamburger" myth.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimeats

Both you guys might be right. I think and do mean I think that at the St. Louis worlds Fair it was the first time it was put in a bun so you could walk around with it. So I call it a draw. Good call on both sides. Chow Jim

That's not true either. http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/History/HotDog/HDIndex.htm

You'll notice that in the 1860's, German's were selling the "sausages" with milk buns and sauerkraut

Also note this quote:

1886 - H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), newspaperman, book reviewer, and political commentator and writer, wrote:

"I devoured hot-dogs in Baltimore 'way back in 1886, and they were then very far from newfangled....They contained precisely the same rubber, indigestible pseudo-sausages that millions of Americans now eat, and they leaked the same flabby, puerile mustard. Their single point of difference lay in the fact that their covers were honest German Wecke made of wheat-flour baked to crispiness, and not the soggy rolls prevailing today, of ground acorns, plaster-of-Paris, flecks of bath-sponge, and atmospheric air all compact."


I grew up in Liverpool, NY. A trip to the Liverpool Public Library for some research will uncover newpaper articles from the 1880's about Valentine Heid and new stand. It's FACT! http://www.heidshotdogs.com/non_flash/companynf.htm

Wikipedia dates Heid's at 1886, probably because that was when the Valantine's cart, became a permanent stand.

To return to the original issue, discussions of how long Germans have been stuffing pig meat in intestines reminded me that when our famous Mr. Chips and his family visited my area in Arizona, we visited Mission San Jose de Tumacacori and there bought some tortillas and beans from a native American woman selling them outside the mission church which dates from 1691:



Since I strongly believe native American women were doing something similar since day one, this probably counts as the oldest "restaurant" in the same location so far described.

Ashphalt,
Next time you're around the Union Oyster Bar look either two or three doors away. A bar that opened just a few years after Union but is much friendlier, cheaper and IMHO better. Not famous but great. No signs telling you this colonial general ate dozens here that colonial senator drank a bottle of port a day there, just good food.

You must be refering to The Green Dragon Tavern. Supposedly thats where that band of terrorists or home land security {you can call them what you like} met upstairs in a meeting room held for the Masons. You know who I'm talking about S. Adams, Paul Revere, Hancock and the rest of those ruffians. It's still there an Irish Pub now of course. The number #1 export of Ireland, Pubs and the help to go along with it. Chow Jim

None of these are fast-food franchises or non-roadfood chains. I don't think they should be in this forum.

Speaking in terms of Fast Food joints, there are a few McDonalds & White Castles in St. Louis, while remodeled & expanded have existed in the same location since the early 50s. The Mickey Ds on Watson Rd. in Crestwood,MO (Old Rt.66) was an original McDonalds stand that was converted over to sit down in the 70s. I believe there is a White Castle in Maplewood that dates back to the 40s if its still there; I haven't been that way in a long time.
Also, there is a Steak n' Shake in Lemay, MO in South County that is still of the 50s design, and still had an original sign, the last I knew.

The Steak And Shake in Daytonia Bch right across from the Big Daddy's was one of the old style stores. We spent a week at the Si Si Motel just down the street for spring break one year and ate there at least once a day.

Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, IN has been open in the same place since 1908 and is now under the 5th owner, a member of Roadfood.com - janicks.

The oldest establishments I have been in were pubs in England. A couple of them in Bray-on-Thames and Oxford date back to the 12th Century.