Oldest Roadfood Places?

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Tony Bad
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Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 11:45 AM
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Looking up a favorite roadfood location that has been operating since 1926 got me thinking about the oldest roadfood restaurant.
 
A couple that came to mind were Louis Lunch (1895) and Lombardi's pizza (1897). Any other one's I am missing?

Michael Hoffman
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 12:03 PM
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Tadich Grill is from 1897 (but opened originally as a coffee stand in 1849).
 
Cafe Du Monde, 1862. Central Grocery, 1906.
<message edited by Michael Hoffman on Thu, 05/10/12 12:45 PM>

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 12:47 PM
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Tony, I would look towards Boston's Union Oyster House  (1826) and Durgin Park (1827).

Tony Bad
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 12:55 PM
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Completely forgot about those landmarks! Doh. 
 
People from NY are not allowed to think of Boston 
 
(I am actually a Met fan, and by default, root for any enemy of Yankees)

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 1:05 PM
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Tony, I am really surprised how old some of the places I visited on my recent trip are.  Eischen's Bar goes back to 1896, which is pretty impressive considering Oklahoma didn't become a state until 1907.  I tend to think of all the really old places being along the east coast, but that just isn't true.
<message edited by buffetbuster on Thu, 05/10/12 1:06 PM>

Tony Bad
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 1:11 PM
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buffetbuster


Tony, I am really surprised how old some of the places I visited on my recent trip are.  Eischen's Bar goes back to 1896, which is pretty impressive considering Oklahoma didn't become a state until 1907.  I tend to think of all the really old places being along the east coast, but that just isn't true.

 
I figured there were lots of other places around the country that had survived for many years that I never saw or heard of. You would certainly be the one who could point them out! Given the nature of the restaurant business and how tastes evolve over time, it is doubly amazing when a food establishment stands the test of time for many, many years.

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 1:53 PM
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Just in California I found:
 
Duarte's Tavern (1894)
Giusti's (1910)
Musso & Frank (1919)
Philippe The Original (1908)
Shields Date Garden (1924)
Swan Oyster Depot (1912)
 
A few others:
Dew Drop Inn in Alabama (1924)
El Charro in Arizona (1922)

tiki
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 2:20 PM
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Cant remember the name of the place--but there is a chinese place in Saramento that goes back to gold rush days and is still owned by the same family!--at there--it was good--but cant remember the name!!! Can any of you west coasters help me out with this?
It always surprised me too when a west coast place was really old--then i remember that Spain had missions there LONG AGO--like 1769!
Most of us dont think of California being there till the GOLD was found! :)
 

billyboy
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 3:15 PM
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I'd also include:
Dorset Inn (1796) - Vermont
Bidwell Tavern & Cafe (1822) - Coventry, CT
Tadich Grill (1849) - San Francisco, CA
Wilton Candy Kitchen (1860) - Wilton, IA
Cafe du Monde (1862) - NOLA
Southside Market & Barbeque (1882) - Elgin, TX
F.H. Gillingham & Sons (1886) - Vermont
Peter Luger (1887) - Brooklyn, NY
Katz's Delicatessen
(1888) - NYC
Hartley's Original Pork Pies (1900) - Massachusetts
Kreuz Market (1900) - Lockhart, TX 
Sunseri Bros. aka Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. (1902) - Pittsburgh, PA
Santarpio's (1903) - East Boston, MA
Doumar's Cone & Barbecue (1904) - Norfolk, VA
Galatoire's (1905) - NOLA
Central Grocery (1906) - NOLA
Barney Greengrass (1908) - NYC
Cattlemen's (1910) - Oklahoma
ACME Oyster House (1910) - NOLA
Yonah Schimmel's (1910) - NYC
Sonny Bryan's (1910) - Dallas, TX
Robert Wholey & Co. (1912) - Pittsburgh, PA
Dyer's Burgers (1912) - Memphis, TN
 
 
Tony Bad, not sure I'd put Lombardi's on this list as it's not in the original location, doesn't have the original oven and was closed for about 10 years before being "resurrected" by new owners.  
<message edited by billyboy on Fri, 05/11/12 3:25 AM>

fishtaco
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 3:45 PM
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Shapiros in Indy 1905

Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 6:19 PM
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In NOLA:
Antoine's, 1840 (gray area re Roadfood)
Tujaque's, 1856

wanderingjew
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 6:33 PM
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Can't forget one of my all time favorite Roadfood Restaurants in Denver
The Buckhorn Exchange 1893

joerogo
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Thu, 05/10/12 8:12 PM
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I had lunch at a newbie on Monday.  Zorn's, just about 72 years young.  Old usually = good/great!

Glenn1234
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 12:50 AM
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Goolrick's Pharmacy and Soda Fountain.  Fredericksburg, VA.  1863.   
 
 
Glenn
 
 

FriedClamFanatic
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 2:04 AM
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Union Street Oyster House........Bston..at least 1826

Foodbme
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 4:23 AM
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Rock Springs Cafe -1918 - Rock Springs, AZ
http://www.rockspringscafe.com/index.html
Oatman Hotel - 1902 - Oatman, AZ
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-oatmanhotel.html
El Tovar Hotel - 1905 - Grand Canyon, AZ
http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/el-tovar-409.html

wanderingjew
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 8:30 AM
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I thought of some more
The Martin Hotel Winnemuca NV 1898
and
Joe's Stone Crab - Miami Beach FL celebrates 99 years- they opened in 1913

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 8:31 AM
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A few more.....
 
Indiana
Nick's Kitchen (1908)
St.Elmo's Steakhouse (1902)
 
Utah
Lamb's Grill (1919)
Idle Isle Cafe (1921)
 
Wisconsin
Jack Pandl's (1915)
White Gull Inn (1896)
Karl Ratzsch's (1904)
 
West Virginia
Coleman's Fish Market (1914)
 
Kansas
Cozy Inn (1922)
Brookville Hotel (1915)
 
Iowa
Breitbach's (1852)
Wilton Candy Kitchen (1910)
 
Virginia
Doumar's (1904)

ann peeples
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 10:17 AM
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Sorry to say Jack Pandl's is closed now....

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 10:19 AM
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Ann, one of the Jack Pandl's did close, but the Whitefish Bay location is still open.

ann peeples
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 10:31 AM
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Yes-but the WFB location is not associated with Jack's. Its Pandl's Whitefish Bay Inn, and was owned by Jack's brother...thats the one started in 1915.Just a clarification!
Funny-just looked at the site you provided, and indeed it says Jack's! Never did before....I am wondering....
<message edited by ann peeples on Fri, 05/11/12 10:33 AM>

Tony Bad
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 12:06 PM
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This is cool...see I was right...I had no idea!

Ralph Melton
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 12:13 PM
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Another location: Schwabl's in Buffalo.
 
I'm not quite sure which date to choose of the many cited in http://www.schwabls.com/menu.pdf .

buffetbuster
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 1:49 PM
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Tony, I am curious why you chose the year 1926.  That was the year my father was born, but I'm guessing that wasn't the reason.

Tony Bad
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 1:53 PM
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buffetbuster


Tony, I am curious why you chose the year 1926.  That was the year my father was born, but I'm guessing that wasn't the reason.

 
Hi Cliff...it was because of this  http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/fb.ashx?m=697489
 
I was reading their revised web page and saw this little shack had been there since 1926, which given the changes the area has undergone since then, was rather remarkable to me. It just got me thinking of some of the longer lasting roadfood places.

Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Fri, 05/11/12 3:00 PM
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Saltsman's in NY - 1813
and maybe the record holder (at least for Roadfood-reviewed places), Griswold Inn in CT - 1776.

FriedClamFanatic
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Sat, 05/12/12 12:02 AM
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I did some googling.............as accurate as that may be.......but says Faunce's Tavern in NYC is the Oldest in the US......and some place in Spain goes back to 1725.........when I lived in the UK, it seemed some of the pubs I ate in were older than that......at least the food had been around longer than that

CCinNJ
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Sat, 05/12/12 12:18 AM
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Dyer's in Memphis should get some special credit for 100 years in business...with the same ol'' oil still going strong.

Mc Sorley's in NYC was established in 1854.
<message edited by CCinNJ on Sat, 05/12/12 12:33 AM>

fishtaco
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Sat, 05/12/12 10:01 AM
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buffetbuster


A few more.....

Indiana
Nick's Kitchen (1908)
St.Elmo's Steakhouse (1902)

Man how did I forget these two Hoosier gems.

billyboy
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Mon, 05/21/12 9:56 AM
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How about Ye Olde Pepper Companie in Salem, Massachusetts (across the street from the House of the Seven Gables)?  It's a candy shop started in 1806.  Gibralters (the first commercially made candy in America), Black Jacks, Horehound and Sassafras Slugs, Molasses Cuts, etc...

eruby
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Re:Oldest Roadfood Places? - Mon, 05/21/12 2:36 PM
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Totonno's Pizza in Brooklyn is a relative youngster (1924), though I think they were closed for a while due to a fire.