The Oldest Restaurant In Every State
With such a tremendous volume of restaurants to choose from, it can be hard to pick the perfect place to enjoy a night off from cooking. Steakhouses can be overrated, and even America's best regional fast food chains may lack that particular level of gravitas or novelty being sought. When the regular will not do, look for an exceptional restaurant, like one that's undeniably historical, fascinatingly old, and rich with lore and stories that are just on par with a well-curated menu. We're talking about the oldest restaurants in the United States.
While the U.S. has been a country since the 1770s, it has since grown to comprise 50 states and one district. Every place has its extensive culinary history, including really old restaurants that have been kicking around and staying in business for more than 100 years, thanks to a combination of reputation, good food, and cultural importance. Here are 50 of the oldest restaurants in the United States of America — specifically, each state's longest-running, continuously open eatery.
Alabama: Golden Rule
While the location of the business has changed since it first started serving customers traveling along the Atlanta Highway in 1891, the Golden Rule is the longest-running eatery in Alabama. A bustling, full-service restaurant, it's among the oldest in the country, serving smoked brisket, baby back ribs, and other meats that have become part of the Fourth of July barbecue tradition in America.
(205) 224-2014
2504 Crestwood Boulevard, Irondale, AL 35210
Alaska: Historic Skagway Inn
Continuously operating since 1897, the Historic Skagway Inn opened as an establishment to serve the prospectors who poured into southeastern Alaska in search of gold. It served food and liquor and rented rooms, eventually settling into a business as a bed and breakfast with a standalone cafe, Olivia's Bistro. It specializes in seafood and flatbread pizzas and, of course, serves Baked Alaska, a beloved vintage dessert of the 1970s.
(907) 531-7630
655 Broadway, Skagway, AK 99840
Arizona: Palace Restaurant and Saloon
In the 1870s, The Palace was one of 40 saloons on a single road in Prescott. One of the only establishments to survive a July 1900 fire, it reopened in 1901, and it's been kept in its authentic Wild West state ever since. Servers wear period dress as they bring out plates of pub food, New American, and Southwestern fare, as well as selections from Arizona's largest whiskey collection.
thepalacerestaurantandsaloon.com
(928) 541-1996
120 South Montezuma St., Prescott, AZ 86303
Arkansas: White House Cafe
Opened by Greek immigrants in 1907, the White House Cafe in downtown Camden is adjacent to train tracks, historically bringing in business day and night from locals and travelers. It originally sold griddled Kansas City steaks, and over the years, breakfast items, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, and Mexican entrees have been introduced by successive owners. The diner occupies the ground level of the two-story building, underneath a sports bar.
facebook.com/p/White-House-Cafe-100037915785611
(870) 836-2255
323 S. Adams Ave., Camden, AR 71701
California: Tadich Grill
It's now a bar and grill-style restaurant in the Financial District of San Francisco, a far cry from the Tadich Grill's origin in 1849 as a tent marked "Coffee Stand," where three Croatian immigrants sold coffee near a busy dock. Eventually, an iron shack replaced the tent, and the stand relocated and expanded its menu to include more prestigious food.
(415) 391-1849
240 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111
Colorado: Buckhorn Exchange
The Buckhorn Exchange is a link to Colorado's Old West legacy. Opened in 1893, the restaurant has about 500 taxidermy animals on display, along with the first liquor license issued in Colorado post-Prohibition. Earning a designation as a historic landmark by both the city and county governments of Denver in 1972, the Buckhorn Exchange is essentially a museum that's also a steakhouse.
(303) 534-9505
1000 Osage St., Denver, CO 80204
Connecticut: Griswold Inn
In 1776, with the American Revolution about to begin, Saybrook (later renamed Essex) shipbuilder Uriah Hayden led the construction of a warship. Hayden personally housed and fed his workers, and his home evolved into a small restaurant. It did great business in the 1820s when Essex was a stop on well-traveled ferry and steamboat circuits. "The Gris" maintains an 1800s flair with a modern menu of burgers, salads, and fried shrimp.
(860) 767-1776
36 Main St., Essex, CT 06426
Delaware: Kelly's Logan House
Hosting revelers and live music shows, one of the most hopping bars in Wilmington is Kelly's Logan House, the oldest Irish bar in Delaware. It's been in the Kelly family since 1889, and has served drinks and meals since 1864. The food has changed a lot since it was just the Logan House, with fish tacos, Buffalo spring rolls, and chicken wings dominating the menu.
(302) 652-9493
1701 Delaware Ave., Wilmington, DE 19806
Florida: Columbia Restaurant
In 1903, the Columbia Saloon began serving drinks in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, and two years later, it became the Columbia Restaurant. It kept getting bigger until it eventually filled up a whole city block. It's now the world's biggest Spanish food restaurant, with a menu heavy on Cuban cuisine, too. The flagship location (which is one of seven) is the oldest eatery of any kind in Florida.
columbiarestaurant.com/ybor-city-tampa
(813) 248-4961
2117 E. 7th Ave., Tampa, FL 33605
Georgia: The Plaza Restaurant and Oyster Bar
Opening as an intimate, upscale restaurant, the Plaza Restaurant and Oyster Bar has been the special-night-out place in Thomasville, Georgia, since 1916. It had to move to a bigger location to accommodate its growing customer base, and it remains a seafood-forward place, serving plenty of oysters and steaks that are aged on site. For dessert, The Plaza features pies prepared according to recipes that date back five decades.
(229) 226-5153
217 S Broad St., Thomasville, GA 31792
Hawaii: Manago Hotel
Hawaii's oldest operating eatery predates Hawaiian statehood by 42 years. Situated in Captain Cook, a town on the biggest island of Hawaii, the restaurant opened in 1917 as a home-based food stand selling bread, jam, coffee, and noodles to travelers moving between islands. Recipient of a James Beard America's Classics Award, it now sells a variety of sandwiches and traditional Hawaiian entrees.
(808) 323-2642
82-6155 Mamalahoa Hwy., Captain Cook, HI 96704
Idaho: Snake Pit
Snake Pit is a family restaurant now, but back when it was built in 1880 (or possibly 1879; the owners aren't sure), the name fit the rowdy place, which served mostly train travelers and was filled with drinking, gambling, and bawdy dancers. The Snake Pit in Kingston still has a bar, as well as lots of pictures from its 19th-century roadhouse days. The Snake Pit's signature dish: Rocky Mountain oysters.
(208) 682-3453
1480 Coeur d'Alene River Rd., Kingston, ID 83839
Illinois: Village Tavern
Tavern grub like stew used to dominate at the Village Tavern in Long Grove, but the restaurant now mainly serves burgers and broasted chicken. The daily fish fry uses a breading recipe developed more than a century ago, which is still not even close to as old as the establishment itself, founded in 1847 and still bearing vintage touches like a large mahogany bar.
(847) 891-8866
901 West Wise Road, Schaumburg, IL 60047
Indiana: Log Inn
Haubstadt, Indiana, and the Log Inn were originally a primary stop on an 1820s stagecoach route. The house of refreshment opened in 1825, and the restaurant's claim to fame is that Abraham Lincoln ate there in 1844. Although the curiously named business doesn't have an exterior made of logs, its dining room features them. The oldest restaurant in Indiana now concentrates on serving traditional fried chicken dinners.
(812) 867-3216
12491 County Rd 200 E, Haubstadt, IN 47639
Iowa: Breitbach's Country Dining
Six generations of Breitbach family members have run Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, which opened its doors in 1852 after getting a business permit straight from President Millard Fillmore. The restaurant is on its third iteration in the same spot, after an explosion and a fire wrecked previous versions in the 2000s. All the while, Breitbach's has served generous portions of homestyle favorites like breaded fish, pork chops, and broasted chicken.
(563) 552-2220
563 Balltown Rd. Balltown, Iowa 52073
Kansas: Hays House
The town of Council Grove began with Seth Hays and his Hays House Restaurant and Tavern back in 1857. For years, Hays House was a trading post and a place for wagon passengers traveling the Santa Fe Trail to eat. Occupying a spot on the National Registry of Historic Places, today the richly wooden, elegantly appointed Hays House serves a lot of steakhouse favorites and fried chicken.
(620) 767-5911
112 West Main St., Council Grove, KS 66846
Kentucky: Old Talbott Tavern
Recognized for its historic masonry and stonework, the Old Talbott Tavern began service in 1779, with many customers passing through Bardstown, a stop on a stagecoach line. Future president Abraham Lincoln lived in one of the rooms above the tavern as a child, and after a brief closure in 1998 and 1999 due to an electrical fire, it reopened and resumed selling tavern food and drinks.
(502) 348-3494
107 W Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown KY 40004
Louisiana: Antoine's Restaurant
New Orleans is an important and innovative food city, and Antoine's Restaurant is its oldest eatery still in business. Since 1840 and its days as a restaurant and boarding house run by a French immigrant teenager, it has served classic and authentic Creole and New Orleans-style cuisine, some of which it invented and popularized, notably Oysters Rockefeller and Eggs Sardou.
(504) 581-4422
713 Saint Louis St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Maine: Palace Diner
Train food is so much better than airplane food, even if nothing's moving. Housed in a train dining car built in Massachusetts in 1927, the Palace Diner in the town of Biddeford, Maine, is an unpretentious place that serves breakfast and lunch items from a counter. Only 15 people can sit in the Palace Diner at a time and enjoy eggs, hash, fried chicken, or cheeseburger.
(207) 284-0015
18 Franklin St., Biddeford, ME 04005
Maryland: Middleton Tavern
A short walk from the docks of Annapolis, the Maryland State House, and the U.S. Naval Academy, the Middletown Tavern catered to sailors, politicians, and ferry passengers when Horatio Middleton opened it in 1750. Today, it's an upscale seafood restaurant and a raw oyster bar with a large and shady patio.
(410) 263-3323
2 Market Space, Annapolis, MD 21401
Massachusetts: Union Oyster House
This eatery in downtown Boston opened in 1826 as Atwood's Oyster House, when oysters were among the most common and cheapest fast food of the era. The half-circle oyster bar by the front doors remains intact. Renamed the Union Oyster House (after its street location) around 1900, the casual restaurant and hotspot of yore marks the birthplace of the use of the toothpick in the United States.
(617) 227-2750
41 Union St., Boston, MA 02108
Michigan: Sleder's Family Tavern
No other business in Michigan has operated solely as a restaurant longer than Traverse City's Sleder's Family Tavern. The walls are covered in animal trophies, and it's tradition for guests to give a moose head a good-luck kiss before or after they eat buffalo burgers, fried perch, housemade fries, or drink a beer from the 21-foot-long mahogany bar.
(231) 947-9213
717 Randolph St., Traverse City, MI 49684
Minnesota: Hubbell House
Frank Mantor and John Hubbell built the town of Mantorville and its first restaurant in 1854, naming the two spots after themselves, respectively. The Hubbell House was initially a small lodging spot and saloon along a frontier stagecoach trail. Primarily a restaurant since 1946, now it serves steaks, seafood, and sandwiches.
(507) 635-2331
502 N Main St., Mantorville, MN 55955
Mississippi: Weidmann's
A crock full of peanut butter sits on every table awaiting guests at Weidmann's, Mississippi's oldest dining spot. It opened in 1870 as a four-stool hotel café and has been operating out of its larger current location since 1923. Southern and Louisiana cuisine is on the menu, along with one of the most famous black bottom pies around.
(601) 581-5770
210 22nd Ave., Meridian, MS 39301
Missouri: J. Huston Tavern
Decamping from Virginia in the 1830s, one of Arrow Rock's original settlers, Joseph Hutton, built what would be the town's first tavern. It was actually his family's home, but when westward migrants started passing through, Huston turned it into a restaurant and small hotel in 1834. A state historic site, J. Huston Tavern prepares old-fashioned dishes the way it always has, including fried chicken and ham.
(660) 837-3200
305 Main St., Arrow Rock, MO 65320
Montana: Pekin Noodle Parlor
The oldest restaurant in Montana is also America's oldest Chinese food restaurant. Working out of its current location in what was once Butte's Chinatown district since 1911, Tam Kwong Yee and Hum Yow opened a noodle house to serve the 100,000 Chinese immigrants working in the area. The restaurant helped introduce staples of Chinese-American food, including chop suey, chow mein, and egg foo young.
(406) 782-2217
117 S Main St., Butte, MT 59701
Nebraska: Glur's Tavern
The longest-operating public house in the western United States, what was once the Bucher Saloon has been serving guests since 1876. In its early days, Buffalo Bill Cody was a regular, while today, the establishment is proud of its burgers, offering attractions like a burger garden and an outdoor volleyball court.
facebook.com/people/Glurs-Tavern
(402) 564-8615
2301 11th St., Columbus, NE 68601
Nevada: Martin Hotel
Restaurants that serve traditional cuisine from the Basque sheepherding region on the French-Spanish border are rare. A Basque dinner house, located inside the Martin Hotel in mountainous northern Nevada, happens to be the oldest restaurant in the state. Since 1898, it has cooked up garlic-heavy lamb shanks and beef steaks, as well as chorizo and garlic soup.
(775) 623-3197
94 W Railroad St., Winnemucca, NV 89445
New Hampshire: The Inn at the Hancock
The Inn at the Hancock jointly houses both New Hampshire's oldest extant restaurant and lodging facilities. Continuously operating since 1789, the building closed down for two years after a sale and a remodeling, reopening with two dining rooms in 2024. The more formal Pinks Lounge serves raw seafood, steak, and lamb, while the casual Hunt Bar and Scullery is a small-plates bistro.
(603) 525-3318
33 Main St., Hancock, NH 03449
New Jersey: Cranbury Inn
Painstakingly and expensively restored to what it looked and felt like when it first opened, the Cranbury Inn of the 21st century closely mirrors the Cranbury Inn of 1750, when it was a pub along a major route between the northern colonies. The food and drinks are decidedly more modern: pretzel bites, seared ahi, and a selection of 250 craft beers.
(609) 655-5595
21 S Main St., Cranbury, NJ 08512
New Mexico: El Farol
A Spanish restaurant serving well-known favorites like paella and various tapas (as well as Southwestern and Mexican-inspired dishes), El Farol was founded in 1835, more than a decade before New Mexico was even a U.S. territory. The regular flamenco dance troupe that performs at El Farol is among the longest-running of its kind in the U.S.
(505) 983-9912
808 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe, NM 87501
New York: '76 House
While the building that houses New York's oldest restaurant dates back to 1668, it found its purpose as a tavern and eatery in 1754 when Casparus Mabie opened his home to the community. It later became known as the '76 House or the Old '76 House, because it was a hospitable spot for anti-British conspirators before and during the American Revolution.
(845) 359-5476
110 Main St., Tappan, NY 10983
North Carolina: Carolina Coffee Shop
In 1922, the Carolina Coffee Shop was a soda fountain serving the college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. About 30 years later, it transitioned into a diner and study spot, with spacious booths and piped-in classical music to accompany the pancakes, waffles, omelets, and hot sandwiches.
(919) 942-6875
138 E Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514
North Dakota: Peacock Alley American Grill & Bar
The Bismarck bar and restaurant has been open since 1933, officially founded after the repeal of Prohibition, once the adjacent Patterson Hotel no longer had to secretly sell liquor anymore. Falsely rumored to sit on top of a secret tunnel network, the establishment is a major tourist attraction that serves food like walleye sandwiches, brisket melts, and Stroganoff.
(701) 221-2333
422 E Main Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501
Ohio: Golden Lamb
Almost as old as Lebanon, Ohio, itself, the Golden Lamb opened its doors in 1803 as a "house of public entertainment," eventually taking its name from an outdoor sign bearing the image of an animal, to let illiterate travelers know that it served meals. Over the centuries, 12 American presidents have dined at the complex, which also includes a hotel and museum of Shaker history.
(513) 932-5065
27 S Broadway St., Lebanon, OH 45036
Oklahoma: Cattlemen's Steakhouse
In 2024, Cattlemen's Steakhouse was inducted into the Steak House Hall of Fame. An outgrowth of the booming local ranching industry, Cattlemen's opened in 1910 in the heart of the Stockyards City district, where cattle were sold and sent eastward. It became more popular with non-cattlemen in the 1920s because it stayed open after dark and defied Prohibition laws restricting the sale of alcohol.
(405) 236-0416
1309 S Agnew Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73108
Oregon: Huber's Café
In 1879, it was the Bureau Saloon, but by the 1890s, this Portland spot had fallen under new ownership, added turkey sandwiches, and changed its name to Huber's. It's not really a café anymore, but an elegant sit-down restaurant with stained glass skylights and a menu specializing in Thanksgiving-style turkey and ham dinners with all the trimmings.
(503) 228-5686
411 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204
Pennsylvania: McGillin's Olde Ale House
This Philadelphia tavern is so old that it predates City Hall. Initially called the Bell in Hand Tavern, Catherine and William McGillin and their 13 kids lived upstairs. As they accumulated more property, they added an oyster house to the beer and food served in the bar section. The tavern still prepares pub fare like shepherd's pie and fish and chips.
(215) 735-5562
1310 Drury St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
Rhode Island: White Horse Tavern
The longest-running restaurant in the entire United States is the White Horse Tavern in Rhode Island. Listed on the registry of National Historic Landmarks, the converted private residence began serving meals and drinks in 1673. Until statehood 100 years later, it was the place where the colonial legislature and local criminal court met. Today, it serves caviar, oysters, scotch eggs, and beef Wellington.
(401) 849-3600
26 Marlborough St., Newport, RI 02840
South Carolina: Villa Tronco
When World War II-era Italian-American soldiers were stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and missing home cooking, Sadie Tronco started preparing spaghetti and meatballs for them. She turned one of the Columbia fruit stores she ran with her husband, James, into Villa Tronco, the first Italian restaurant and pizza maker in town, and also the oldest in the state of any kind.
(803) 256-7677
1213 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201
South Dakota: Legends Steakhouse
The city of Deadwood formed out of a mining camp built during the 1870s gold rush. Mere feet from the first gold discovery sits the Silverado Franklin Hotel complex, which includes Legends, a restaurant operating in one form or another since 1903. Today, it serves up a variety of aged Angus steaks.
silveradofranklin.com/food-drink/legends-steakhouse.html
(605) 578-3670
709 Main St., Deadwood, SD 57732-1011
Tennessee: Varallo's Restaurant
The location may have changed a few times, but Varallo's has been serving country-style breakfasts, Southern classics, and chili in Nashville since 1907, following the success of the chili cart Frank Varallo set up inside a bar. As of 2019, the restaurant is no longer owned by the Varallo family, but it continues to use the same chili recipe it did 100-plus years ago.
(615) 256-1907
239 4th Ave. N, Nashville, TN 37219
Texas: Scholz Garten
Just after he finished fighting in the Civil War, German immigrant August Scholz bought a boarding house in Austin and added a bar and small restaurant. It became the de facto community center for the area's large population of German-Americans. Over time, Scholz Garten expanded to include a beer garden, bowling alley, and a large menu featuring sandwiches and traditional German fare like spätzle and wienerschnitzel.
(512) 474-1958
1607 San Jacinto Blvd., Austin TX 78701
Utah: Idle Isle Cafe
When it opened in 1921, the Idle Isle Cafe occupied a three-decades-old building constructed by the son of early LDS church figure Brigham Young. Proprietors P.C. and Verabel Knudson initially operated an ice cream parlor and candy counter before turning it into a family restaurant. The candy counter is still there, too.
(435) 734-2468
24 South Main St., Brigham City, UT 84302
Vermont: The Dorset Inn
Opening as a bar and hotel in 1790, Ye Olde Tavern's history was interrupted by a 20-year closure in the 1900s when it lost its liquor license. At various points, it has been called the Stagecoach Inn, Lockwood's Hotel, Thayer's Hotel, and Fairview Hotel. The property is decorated with pineapples, a colonial-era marking that correlated with excellent service.
(802) 867-5500
8 Church St., Dorset, VT 05251
Virginia: Red Fox Inn & Tavern
First serving travelers in 1728 as Chinn's Ordinary, the Red Fox is also the oldest still operational inn in the U.S. Over its history, it has hosted the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, and other celebrities who came to the area to fox hunt. The menu is decidedly old-fashioned, full of rustic dishes made with roasted, smoked, and braised local meats.
(540) 687-6301
2 E Washington St., Middleburg, VA 20117
Washington: Horseshoe Cafe
When the Horseshoe Cafe opened up in 1886 to feed the influx of loggers and fishermen to western Washington state, it was actually in the building across the street. It also sold fishing tackle, smoking equipment, and tobacco. It moved to its present spot in 1958 and carried on its menu of cocktails and hearty meals.
(360) 933-4301
113 E Holly St., Bellingham, WA 98225
Washington, D.C.: Old Ebbitt Grill
Located close to the halls of power in the nation's capital, Old Ebbitt Grill has hosted presidents like McKinley, Grant, Cleveland, and Harding throughout its days as a boarding house and saloon, dating back to William Ebbitt's purchase of the property in 1856. Once two separate bars, they were combined when the business moved to a hatmaker's shop in the 1920s, and began to emphasize the grill over the booze.
(202) 347-4800
675 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
West Virginia: North End Tavern & Brewery
From its opening as a tavern catering to locals in 1899, the oldest restaurant in West Virginia served a menu of food along with a selection of beer. It didn't establish a brewery on the premises until 1997, which makes North End Tavern and Brewery the oldest beer-maker in the state.
(304) 428-5854
3500 Emerson Ave, Parkersburg, WV 26104
Wisconsin: Red Circle Inn
Opening in 1848, the establishment was a modest stop along the stagecoach line out of Milwaukee, originally called the Nashotah Inn. In 1889, Fred Pabst of the Pabst Brewing Co., bought the place and renamed it the Red Circle Inn, a nod to the brewery's logo. He put in the first bar, which managed to survive a devastating 1917 fire.
(262) 367-4883
N44W33013 Watertown Plank Rd., Nashotah, WI 53058
Wyoming: Miners and Stockmen's Steakhouse and Spirits
On the outside, Miners and Stockmen's Steakhouse and Spirits looks much like it did in 1862 — an imposing frontier watering hole. Inside, it still sells strong whiskey and wine (and a wide variety of them) and big steaks, but in a much more highbrow atmosphere that requires reservations.
(307) 836-2008
608 Main St., Hartville, WY 82215