The Oldest Restaurant in Every State

Compiling an accurate, verifiable list of America’s oldest restaurants is almost impossible. The problem is twofold: how to define “restaurant” and how to define “oldest.”

Many establishments that claim impressive longevity, sometimes dating their origins all the way back to Colonial times, started life as inns — way stations for travelers — or as taverns. Did these places serve food? Many of them did, but not in the sense that restaurants today serve it. There may have been a pot of stew on the wood stove, or early-day “bar food” like bread, ham, or cheese. What there likely wasn’t was a varied menu, with dishes brought to the table by servers

How do you fairly measure the age of an establishment? Most if not all restaurants founded in the 18th, 19th, or early 20th century have undergone numerous changes over the decades. Ownership has passed from one person or family to another, or in more recent times to some corporate entity. Some old restaurants have moved, possibly more than once, or have been destroyed by fire or abandoned to molders, then rebuilt on the same site or nearby.

One good example is the legendary Delmonico’s in New York City, opened by a couple of Italian-Swiss brothers as a café and pastry shop in 1827, and evolving over the next five years or so into what is commonly considered to have been the nation’s first real restaurant. (Yes, there were menus and servers.) The place went on to occupy numerous other locations (and to expand into a small chain of restaurants as far west as Colorado), with countless changes of ownership along the way and repeated periods of closure.

A Delmonico’s location that opened in 1897 on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and went out of business in 1923, was arguably the last Delmonico’s with any direct link to the original. A restaurant called Delmonico’s, occupying one of the original’s early sites and employing a descendant of the family that has been involved with the establishment since 1926, reopened in 2023 — but considering the many fits and starts Delmonico’s has undergone since 1827, it has only a tenuous relationship to its early-19th-century namesake. That’s why it isn’t listed below as New York’s oldest restaurant.

To attempt to identify the oldest restaurant in every state, 24/7 Tempo consulted lists published on a variety of food, travel, and history websites, as well as numerous local and regional publications and the historical sections of many restaurant websites.

Scroll down to see the oldest restaurant in every state.

Only a handful of these places have remained more or less continuously open and serving food since their beginnings. As for the rest, given the near impossibility of tracking the detailed history of all the eating places around the country that make claims to be the “oldest,” 24/7 Tempo has chosen those that have the strongest apparent connections to their origins and/or that seem to have best kept alive the spirit, and possibly also the appearance, of their ancestors — even if they were originally inns or taverns and have only become actual restaurants in modern times. (After this article, explore The Oldest Bars in the United States.)

Alabama: The Bright Star

Source: Courtesy of Kathleen C. via Yelp

• Location: Bessemer
• Year Opened: 1907

Originally a 25-seat café with a horseshoe-shaped bar, this now full-scale restaurant was founded in a Birmingham suburb by Greek immigrant Tom Bonduris. The Koikos family, also from Greece, have been in charge since 1925, serving Southern fare, sometimes with a Greek accent, as the specialty.

Alaska: The Imperial Bar

Source: Courtesy of Ginette P. via Yelp

• Location: Juneau
• Year Opened: 1891

The Imperial Bar started as the Missouri Saloon eventually changing names to The Louvre. It got its present name in 1914 when it was taken over by one Joseph J. Stocker. Though it offered patrons various things to eat in its saloon days, it became a true restaurant, serving pub food with a Mexican accent, with the addition of the Imperial Grill in 2019.

Arizona: The Palace Restaurant and Saloon

Source: Courtesy of John K. via Yelp

• Location: Prescott
• Year Opened: 1877

Considered the oldest continuously operated business of any kind in the state, the Palace was started by D.C. Thorne, who welcomed such famous Wild West characters as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. The place burned down sometime in the latter 1800s but was rebuilt in 1900. Today, the interior looks like an upscale version of all those saloons you’ve seen in Westerns (complete with swinging doors). The menu is old-style American, and there’s frequently live music.

Arkansas: White House Café

Source: Courtesy of Anita E. via Yelp

• Location: Camden
• Year Opened: 1907

Greek immigrant Hristos Hodjopulas opened the White House Café in a wedge-shaped two-story brick building next to the railroad tracks in this city about 100 miles south of Little Rock. He sold it to his cousin, James Andritsos, and it became a popular 24-hour-a-day stop for travelers both by train and highway. Since World War II, it has passed through a number of different hands and the menu has evolved. Today, a large part of it features Mexican food.

California: Tadich Grill

Source: Courtesy of Marilyn K. via Yelp

• Location: San Francisco
• Year Opened: 1849

California’s oldest restaurant, Tadich Grill started life as a tent called Coffee Stand — which served grilled fish as well as coffee — opened during the Gold Rush by three Croatian immigrants. It has had a number of locations since then and was renamed first the New World Coffee Saloon and then the Cold Day Restaurant. Another Croatian, John Tadich, bought and rechristened the place after himself in 1887. In 1928, still another Croatian, John Buich, bought Tadich Grill, and the Buich family continues to run it today.

Colorado: The Buckhorn Exchange

Source: Courtesy of Joe M. via Yelp

• Location: Denver
• Year Opened: 1893

The Buckhorn, originally called the Rio Grande Exchange, was granted Colorado liquor license No. 1 after it was opened by Henry H. Zietz, who’d been a scout for Buffalo Bill Cody and is said to have been friends with Sitting Bull. His son, Henry Jr., succeeded him in 1949, selling it to local investors in 1978. The menu features buffalo sausage, boneless rattlesnake, and serious steaks —both beef and bison.

Connecticut: Louis’ Lunch

Source: Courtesy of Bethany H. via Yelp

• Location: New Haven
• Year Opened: 1859

Louis’ is one of a number of establishments around the country that claims to have invented the hamburger, said here to have been first served to a hurried customer back in 1900. Originally a lunch wagon, it moved into its current building in 1917 — but the entire structure transferred to a new location in the early 1970s in the face of urban renewal projects. There are no frills here: The burger comes with cheese spread, tomato, and grilled onion on white toast.  Founder Louis Lassen’s great-great-grandson runs the place today.

Delaware: Kelly’s Logan House

Source: Courtesy of Brenda C. via Yelp

• Location: Wilmington
• Year Opened: 1864

Logan House was originally a hotel, named for Civil War general John A. Logan, with a tavern on the ground floor. An Irish newcomer to Wilmington, John D. “Whiskers” Kelly, bought the place in 1889, appending his name to it. The hotel portion closed in the 1930s, with only the tavern remaining. Members of the Kelly family still own the place — which calls itself the country’s oldest continuously operated family-owned Irish bar.

Florida: Columbia Restaurant

Source: Courtesy of Joe C. via Yelp

• Location: Tampa
• Year Opened: 1905

Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez Sr. set up shop in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood, and his great-grandson runs the place now. Columbia calls itself the largest Spanish restaurant in the world, and the menu is full of tapas and paellas, along with other dishes from both Spain and Cuba.

Georgia: The Plaza Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Source: Courtesy of Ophelia B. via Yelp

• Location: Thomasville
• Year Opened: 1916

The early history of this place is cloudy, but after WWII, two Greek brothers, Louie and Tom Mathes, bought it from then-owner Chris Blane. Their family ran it until 2007 when transplanted New York restaurateur Michael Regina took it over. He is still in charge, and the menu of Greek and Southern specialties hasn’t changed much in recent years.

Hawaii: Manago Hotel Restaurant

Source: Courtesy of Keola m. via Yelp

• Location: Captain Cook (Big Island)
• Year Opened: 1917

This was originally the home of Kinzo and Osame Manago, who made and sold Japanese noodles to the community. They added a few beds for travelers and then, in 1929, a second story of regular rooms and a restaurant. Their descendants still run the place as both a lodging and eating place, with Hawaiian fish featured.

Idaho: The Snake Pit

Source: Courtesy of Brian M. via Yelp

• Location: Enaville
• Year Opened: 1879

Here’s a place that has changed identities many times throughout its history, with a number of names and owners. It was originally the Clark Hotel, and later Josie’s, then the Enaville Resort, with probably a few other identities in between. It earned its present name either from the water snakes sometimes seen in the river out back or because “snakes” was a term for the prostitutes who were known to do business there in earlier times. This year, Autumn and Viljo Basso, who also own a sushi bar in Coeur d’Alene, bought the place.

Illinois: The Village Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Ryan D. via Yelp

• Location: Long Grove
• Year Opened: 1847

Opened by a German immigrant family, the Zimmers, this establishment was originally called the Zimmer Tavern and Wagon Shop. Its subsequent proprietors included families with the names Didier, Sayles, and Ulrich — the last of whom ran it for 62 years before selling it in 2023 to Elaine and Will Jarvis and their daughter and son-in-law, who had previously owned a pool hall and tavern nearby. The shaved prime rib steak sandwich is a signature dish.

Indiana: The Log Inn

Source: Courtesy of Susan C. via Yelp

• Location: Haubstadt
• Year Opened: 1825

Originally a trading post and stagecoach station (Abraham Lincoln stopped here, and it was a haven on the Underground Railroad), the Log Inn grew and knew a succession of owners, including German-born Henry Haub, who founded the town in which it’s located. Another German, Meier Heiman, expanded it in 1867. It was called the Warrenton General Store, Tavern & Dance Hall until Pete and Victoria Rettig bought it in 1947 and gave it its present name. Their granddaughter Kathy Holzmeyer and her relatives are now in charge.

Iowa: Breitbach’s Country Dining

Source: Courtesy of Mandi T. via Yelp

• Location: Sherrill
• Year Opened: 1852

A stagecoach stop that was opened, declares the restaurant, “by federal permit issued from President Millard Fillmore.”  Breitbach’s previously went by another name which is now lost to the vagaries of time. The Breitbach family bought it in 1862, and it has borne their name ever since. Remarkably it is run today by a sixth-generation member of the family.

Kansas: Hays House 1857 Restaurant & Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Delbert F. via Yelp

• Location: Council Grove
• Year Opened: 1857

Daniel Boone’s great-grandson, Seth Hays, opened this place as a trading post and inn. Jesse James and General Custer are said to have been among its early customers. The restaurant has been damaged by fire and restored three times over the years, and the kitchen succumbed to flames in 2011. That might have been the end of Hays House, but a group of local residents bought and reopened it.

Kentucky: Old Talbott Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Kimberly W. via Yelp

• Location: Bardstown
• Year Opened: 1779

Built as the Hynes Hotel (by a man named Hynes), this was another stagecoach stop and tavern. It earned its present name when George Talbott bought it in 1886. Among the many famous people who stopped here over the decades were Daniel Boone, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Foster, Queen Marie of Romania, and Jesse James. The restaurant offers southern-leaning American cuisine.

Louisiana: Antoine’s

Source: Courtesy of Tom C. via Yelp

• Location: New Orleans
• Year Opened: 1840

Antoine’s bills itself as America’s oldest family-run restaurant, and according to some historians, the oldest restaurant, period. An 18-year-old immigrant from France named Antoine Aciatore and his wife Julie originally opened the establishment in the French Quarter. Julie and their son, Jules, ran it subsequently. Jules’ son Roy succeeded him, and Roy’s grandson Rick Blount became CEO and proprietor in 2005. He describes the food as “haute Creole” and the specialties include oysters Rockefeller and eggs Sardou, both invented here.

Maine: The Palace Diner

Source: Courtesy of Rachel V. via Yelp

• Location: Biddeford
• Year Opened: 1927

A classic railroad-car diner, the Palace was built in Lowell, MA, and immediately carted to its present site. It has been closed off and on over the years, but was acquired by Greg Mitchell and Chan Conley in 2014 and reopened with an abbreviated but iconic diner menu (buttermilk flapjacks, tuna salad sandwich, fried chicken, etc.)

Maryland: Middleton Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Keith H. via Yelp

• Location: Annapolis
• Year Opened: 1750

Horatio Middleton opened this tavern as a sailors’ inn and ferry terminal. A meat market and general store were later added. Middleton’s family ran it after his death, welcoming the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Monroe. Its history through much of the 1880s is, as the National Trust for Historic Preservation puts it, “a little hazy,” but it was bought in 1968 by Jerry Hardesty, and his family is still at the helm. (The restaurant most often described as the state’s oldest was the Old South Mountain Inn, which dates its founding to 1732, but the property was recently purchased by the state of Maryland, which plans to turn it into a visitors’ center.)

Massachusetts: Union Oyster House

Source: Courtesy of Dawn T. via Yelp

• Location: Boston
• Year Opened: 1826

Opened on the site of a former dry goods store, this is considered to be the oldest continuously operating restaurant in America — though it was originally just a stand-up oyster bar known as Atwood’s Oyster House, and didn’t even have a proper kitchen until 1916. It has welcomed an impressive list of celebrities over the years, from Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy to Robin Williams and Larry Bird.

Michigan: The White Horse Inn

Source: Courtesy of Connie C. via Yelp

• Location: Metamora
• Year Opened: 1848

Daniel Ammerman built this place as a general store, selling it after a couple of years to Lorenzo Hoard, who converted it into a stagecoach stop and inn which he dubbed Hoard House. After several other owners, Frank Peters bought it in 1923 and gave it its modern-day name. Several other owners followed, and it closed down in 2012. Husband and wife Ivctor Dzenowagis and Linda Egeland salvaged the place, reopening it in 2014 with a comfort-food menu.

Minnesota: The Hubbell House

Source: Courtesy of Sprinkles M. via Yelp

• Location: Mantorville
• Year Opened: 1854

Debuting four years before Minnesota gained statehood, Hubbell House takes its name from its original owner John Hubbell. Like so many old restaurants, it was a stagecoach stop at first. It was rebuilt in 1856, with a tavern added. In 1946, Paul Pappas bought the place and expanded the tavern into a restaurant. His family ran it until 2022 when the Joe Powers family took it over. The menu features cheese curds, walleye, and steaks.

Mississippi: Weidmann’s Restaurant

Source: Courtesy of David C. via Yelp

• Location: Meridian
• Year Opened: 1870

Felix Weidmann, who hailed from Zurich and had cooked on ocean liners, launched his restaurant, with a hotel attached, under the name European House. His son moved it to a new location, calling it Taft and Weidmann’s, and then to Hattiesburg to be near the Camp Shelby army base. Today, it’s back to the old Taft and Weidmann’s site. Weidmann’s closed in 1999, reopening under new owners the next year after a major renovation. It shut down again in 2010 for a few months but is now in business yet again with still another proprietor. Besides its mostly Southern fare, Weidmann’s is famous for setting every table with crackers and a crock of peanut butter.

Missouri: J. Huston Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Curtis T. via Yelp

• Location: Arrow Rock
• Year Opened: 1834

Judge Joseph Huston originally built this place, alternately known as the Arrow Rock Tavern, as a home for his family, but soon converted it into a hotel, adding a ballroom on the second floor in 1840. Various other owners took possession over the years, and in 1923, a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution bought it, restoring it and operating it until 1984. Today the state of Missouri owns it, with the restaurant managed by a partnership formed in 2019. The restaurant serves American fare, including country ham and fried chicken.

Montana: Pekin Noodle Parlor

Source: Courtesy of Bill B. via Yelp

• Location: Butte
• Year Opened: 1909

The first iteration of this place was opened nearby by a California-born Chinese man named Hum Yow, and moved to its modern-day location two years later, with Tam Kwong Yee, who came from Guangzhou, as partner. It is America’s oldest continuously operated Chinese restaurant, and features, as it did from the beginning, mostly Chinese-American dishes such as chop suey, chow mein, and sweet-and-sour spareribs.

Nebraska: Glur’s Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Joe H. via Yelp

• Location: Columbus
• Year Opened: 1876

One of several places that claim to be the oldest tavern west of the Mississippi, Glur’s began life as the Bucher Saloon, run by Swiss immigrants Joseph and William Bucher. In 1925, a longtime employee named Louis Glur took the place over and renamed it. Glur’s family kept it until 1978, selling it to Todd and Carrie Trofholz. It is apparently currently for sale.

Nevada: Martin Hotel

Source: Courtesy of Michael B. via Yelp

• Location: Winnemucca
• Year opened: 1898 (?)

Alfonso Pasquale opened The Martin Hotel “[s]ometime between 1898 and 1908,” under the name Roman Tavern and Restaurant. Members of the French-born Martin family bought it in 1913 and renamed it for themselves. The place burned down in 1920 but was reconstructed, with 25 rooms added to the restaurant. A succession of Basque owners took it over subsequently, and it became famous for its multi-course Basque meals. Since 2004, under owner John Arant, it has continued to serve Basque food, as well as steaks, seafood, burgers, and more.

New Hampshire: Fox Tavern at the Hancock Inn

Source: Courtesy of Brian H. via Yelp

• Location: Hancock
• Year Opened: 1789

Noah Wheeler opened a tavern on this site under another name, lost to history, but over the years it has gone by Hancock Hotel, Hancock House, and Jefferson Tavern. In its early days, it reportedly served roast meats as well as rum and beer. After numerous changes in ownership, Marcia and Jarvis Coffin took it over in 2011, selling it in 2022 to a Boston-based investment group that is currently renovating it, with plans to reopen later this year.

New Jersey: Cranbury Inn

Source: Courtesy of Manish C. via Yelp

• Location: Cranbury
• Year Opened: 1780

The Cranbury Inn was originally two earlier stagecoach inns on the main road from New York to Philadelphia that were joined together. Besides welcoming coach travelers, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. An actual dining room wasn’t added until 1930 when Adrian and Marge Van Ravesteyn acquired it. They frequently hosted a friend from nearby Princeton University — Albert Einstein. It had other owners before passing on to a management company run by William Arnold, the current proprietor. The menu is standard American with a few international touches.

New Mexico: El Farol

Source: Courtesy of Darren S. via Yelp

• Location: Santa Fe
• Year Opened: 1835

Originally a saloon called La Cantina del Cañon, run by the Vigil family, this historic site went to new owners and received its new name in 1963. David Sanchez bought it in 1985, running it until 2017 when he sold it to Richard Freedman and Freda Scott, today’s owners. The menu is more Spanish, featuring tapas, than New Mexican, and there are regular flamenco shows.

New York: Old Homestead Steakhouse

Source: Courtesy of Asad S. via Yelp

• Location: New York City
• Year Opened: 1868

Founded by German immigrants as the Tidewater Trading Post, former employee Harry Sherry bought the Old Homestead Steakhouse in the 1940s. His grandsons are still in charge today. The restaurant is not only New York State’s oldest restaurant, according to most sources, but the oldest steakhouse in America.

North Carolina: Carolina Coffee Shop

Source: Courtesy of Langston H. via Yelp

• Location: Chapel Hill
• Year Opened: 1922

At first, this Chapel Hill institution was a soda shop, operating next to the University of North Carolina post office, but it started serving full meals in the 1950s. Businessman Byron Freeman, a university graduate, bought the restaurant and ran it for half a century. In 2017,  a group of UNC alumni took the establishment over. It serves three meals a day (four counting brunch), specializing in what it calls “Southern food with a modern twist.”

North Dakota: Peacock Alley

Source: Courtesy of Ryan R. via Yelp

• Location: Bismarck
• Year Opened: 1933

This place occupies part of the one-time Patterson Hotel, a noted political meeting place and a rumored brothel and gambling den. It closed in the latter 1970s after the new interstate highway bypassed it, and the old hotel rooms now function as senior housing. Peacock Alley, opened in 1984, occupies the former dining room and lobby. It apparently takes its name from a former bar at another location.

Ohio: The Golden Lamb Inn

Source: Courtesy of Katie H. via Yelp

• Location: Lebanon
• Year Opened: 1803

Jonas Seaman opened the Golden Lamb as a “house of Public Entertainment.” Said to be Ohio’s longest-running business of any kind, the place was rebuilt a dozen years after it opened, with the current establishment rising around that early inn. After several other owners, it came into the hands of Robert Jones in 1926, and the Jones family kept it until 1969 when it was leased to the Comisars, noted Cincinnati restaurateurs. The family of former congressman Rob Portman owns the place today. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain were among the luminaries who stopped here, and the Golden Lamb is proud to have welcomed 12 U.S. presidents, from William Henry Harrison to George W. Bush.

Oklahoma: Cattlemen’s Steakhouse

Source: Courtesy of Cheri Y. via Yelp

• Location: Oklahoma City
• Year Opened: 1910

Cowboys and meat processors were the original customers at this place, which opened in 1910 as Cattlemen’s Café in the Stockyards City area. The story is that two of its original owners lost it to other owners by gambling. In 1990, Oklahoma City restaurateur Diсk Stubbs took it over, rebranding it from a café to a steakhouse. Prime or choice corn-fed Midwestern beef is the specialty.

Oregon: Huber’s Cafe

Source: Courtesy of Jack D. via Yelp

• Location: Portland
• Year Opened: 1879

W. L. Lightner opened a place called the Bureau Saloon in downtown Portland, later hiring a bartender named Frank Huber — who ended up buying it in 1888 (renaming it for himself in 1895). He brought on a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong named Louie Wei Fung, who bought an interest in the place after Huber and his wife died, later acquiring the portion held by the Hubers’ son. The Louie family has been in charge ever since. The specialty, since time immemorial, has been roast turkey — and the Spanish Coffee is also a signature.

Pennsylvania: McGillin’s Olde Ale House

Source: Courtesy of William L. via Yelp

• Location: Philadelphia
• Year Opened: 1860

William “Pa” McGillin opened this venerable pub, originally called the Bell in Hand, in the house where he lived. Customers called it McGillin’s, and that eventually became its name. After his death, McGillin’s widow ran the place until she died in 1937, passing it along to her daughter, Mercedes. In 1958, Mercedes sold it to bartender Henry Spaniak and his brother Joe. Their family still runs it. The menu includes pub-food classics like shepherd’s pie and fish and chips — plus cheese steak because this is Philly.

Rhode Island: White Horse Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Adam B. via Yelp

• Location: Newport
• Year Opened: 1673

The oldest tavern in America according to numerous sources, the White Horse was built as a private residence for London-born Francis Brinley. William Mayes Sr. transformed it into a tavern in 1673 and it remained in the Mayes family for most of the next two centuries, with one of the family members renaming the place to White Horse Tavern in 1730. It has been subsequently owned by the local preservation society, a Texas millionaire, a condominium company, and now local restaurateur and hotelier Jeff Farrar.

South Carolina: Henry’s on the Market

Source: Courtesy of Deniece W. via Yelp

• Location: Charleston
• Year Opened: 1933

Henry’s grew out of a grocery and liquor store opened by German immigrant Henry Otto Hasselmeyer in the 1890s. With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Henry installed a “beer parlor” next door to his shop, selling not only beer but boiled shrimp and other food. The place grew into a serious restaurant under his son Henry Jr., continuing with Junior’s son-in-law, George Brownwell, in charge. Leo Chiagkouris now owns the restaurant, but many old-school Henry’s specialties remain on the menu.

South Dakota: Bullwacker’s Saloon & Steakhouse

Source: Courtesy of Jaynie O. via Yelp

• Location: Whitewood
• Year Opened: 1888

Though it only became a restaurant in more recent years, this establishment opened as a saloon known as the Whitewood Bar in 1888. After a succession of proprietors, it was taken over in 2007 by John and Holly Perkovich who added a menu of burgers, sandwiches, pasta, and steaks. The new owners, as of last year, are Brenna and Brian Meyer.

Tennessee: Varallo’s

Source: Courtesy of D D. via Yelp

• Location: Nashville
• Year Opened: 1907

Frank Varallo Sr., an immigrant from Italy’s Basilicata region, opened what he called Frank Varallo’s Chili Parlor 117 years ago. His son, Frank Jr., took over at the age of 14 after his father died. The restaurant still offers chili, plain or with spaghetti and/or tamales, but a variety of Southern dishes are also available. The Varallo family sold the restaurant in 2019, but it remains unchanged.

Texas: Scholz Garten

Source: Courtesy of Kristi S. via Yelp

• Location: Austin
• Year Opened: 1866

The Lone Star State’s oldest restaurant and quite possibly the oldest continuously operating business of any kind in Texas, German immigrant August Scholz opened this restaurant and beer garden just after the end of the Civil War. His stepson sold it to a brewing company, which in turn passed it on to the Austin Saengerrunde, a German choral club, in 1914. Local restaurateur Daniel Northcutt now operates the place, with the menu offering both German and Texas specialties

Utah: Idle Isle Cafe

Source: Courtesy of Jonathan H. via Yelp

• Location: Brigham City
• Year Opened: 1921

Idle Isle originally resided in a building constructed in 1892 by Mormon pioneer Brigham Young’s son. Over the years, the site served as a hat shop, a grocery store, a telegraph office, a hardware store, and a gym, among other businesses. A restaurant opened next door in 1907, with a confectionery added. P.C. and Verabel Knudson took over the confectionery and renamed it Idle Isle in 1921.

When the restaurant closed, they grew their part of the operation into a substitute. The Knudsen family sold it in 1994, and 10 years later it moved to its current location, but with the original vintage fixtures intact. Corinna Harris, now the owner, recommends the Cowboy Carson bison burger and the garlic fries. (Bluebird Restaurant, which evolved from a sweet shop founded in 1914 into a full-scale restaurant, long claimed the “oldest” title, but it closed in 2021 and its future is uncertain.)

Vermont: Ye Old Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Chris J. via Yelp

• Location: Manchester
• Year Opened: 1790

Built as the Stagecoach Inn by Aaron Sheldon, this historic building has gone under various names through the years, including Lockwood’s Hotel, Thayer’s Hotel (under which identity it was the first place in Manchester to have a telephone line), and Fairview Hotel. It closed in 1904, and next saw light as a combination hotel and antique store in 1934. Peter and Susan Palmer renamed it Ye Old Tavern after they took over in 1975. The current owners are Michael and Minna Brandt. The menu offers American fare with New England touches. Dinners include cranberry fritters with Vermont maple butter.

Virginia: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern

Source: Courtesy of Fred R. via Yelp

• Location: Middleburg
• Year Opened: 1728

Joseph Chinn built this place, calling it Chinn’s Ordinary. Renamed Beveridge House in 1812, it expanded to include 35 rooms. It became the Middleburg Inn in 1887, fell into disrepair, and was saved from destruction and dubbed the Red Fox Inn in 1937. Nancy Reuter took it over in 1976, and her family runs it to this day.

Washington: The Horseshoe Cafe

Source: Courtesy of Trista H. via Yelp

• Location: Bellingham
• Year Opened: 1886 (?)

Though the Horseshoe claims 1886 as its founding date, its history is convoluted. What is certain is that the Horseshoe has had numerous locations around town and that at various times it was also a cigar shop and a diner. The place first claimed 1886 as its birth year in 1958, probably based on the fact that the father of an owner in the early 20th century had a saloon dating from then. It has been in the Groen family since 2015, serving burgers, sandwiches, and other casual fare.

West Virginia: North End Tavern & Brewery

Source: Courtesy of Alan L. via Yelp

• Location: Parkersburg
• Year Opened: 1899

Originally a small neighborhood pub opened by a retired pro wrestler named Bradford “Zip” Thorn, the NET, as it is known, has had many owners over the years, most of whose names are forgotten. We do know that one Bill Dawking bought it sometime in the 1940s, selling it to Joe Roedersheimer, whose family is still in charge, in 1977. Roedersheimer is credited with expanding the tavern offerings into a full restaurant menu. In the mid-1990s, a craft brewery was added.

Wisconsin: Red Circle Inn

Source: Courtesy of Rebecca G. via Yelp

• Location: Nashotah
• Year Opened: 1848

The same year that Wisconsin became the 30th state in the Union, Francis Schraudenbach opened this place as the Nashotah Inn. He sold it in 1867, and it changed hands three more times over the next two decades. In 1889, brewer Captain Fred Pabst purchased the enterprise and renamed it the Red Circle Inn — a reference to the logo of his beer company.

He sold the restaurant in 1921 to Steven Polaski, who’d been the Pabst family private chef, and four generations of Polaskis continued to run it, until 1976. One of its subsequent proprietors was Aat Groenevelt, founder of the Provimi Veal company. Since 2022, it has been part of the portfolio of Geronimo Hospitality, which operates more than 30 restaurants, hotels, and clubs.

Wyoming: Miners and Stockmens’ Steakhouse & Spirits

Source: Courtesy of Christie L. via Yelp

• Location: Hartville
• Year Opened: 1862

Once part of the old Fort Laramie Trading Post, Miners and Stockmens’ is said to be the oldest continuously operating business in the state. A wooden bar hand-carved by brewmasters in Germany forms the restaurant’s centerpiece. Little is known about the history of the place through the decades, but transplanted Angelenos Scott and Christine Harmon own it today. The pair turned it into a high-end steakhouse. (Looking for a specific type of cuisine? Next, check out The 15 Best Old-School French Restaurants in America.)