ATLANTA — From hotdogs to gourmet dining, Georgia’s oldest restaurants have a variety of tastes for food lovers of all sorts.
While the Peach State was founded in 1788, Georgia’s older restaurant is a little younger, dating back to 1916.
After doing some research, this is what we found about five of the oldest food joints in the state.
The Plaza Restaurant & Oyster Bar:
Established in 1916, The Plaza Restaurant & Oyster Bar in Thomasville holds the title of Georgia’s oldest restaurant. The Plaza originally opened along North Broad Street in Thomasville with capacity to seat only 26 patrons. It eventually moved to its current location at the corner of Broad and Smith, and offers formal and casual dining to this day, as well as a cocktail lounge and outdoor seating.
This Macon standard has been serving up hotdogs since 1916 when James Mallis opened a hot dog stand Between Merkel’s Bakery and Hodges & Geeslin Produce. The original Cotton Avenue location had a bar with 11 stools and 28 booths for people to come in an enjoy everything from breakfast to dinner. The restaurant now has a total of 8 locations across Middle Georgia.
There’s nothing better than some good southern barbecue, and Fresh Air Barbecue in Jackson is the oldest pit-cooked barbecue restaurant in the state.
Fresh Air Barbecue was established in 1929, originally owned by Dr. Joel Watkins, and later purchased in 1945 by Butts County native George W. “Toots” Caston.
Since then, “four generations of Toots Caston’s family have either worked in or been directly involved with the history of Fresh Air Barbecue, adding their ideas and improvements to the business,” the restaurant said on its website.
It has also been named among the best barbecue joints in the South.
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The Crystal has been a Savannah establishment since 1933 and is considered to be “one of the first American eating establishments to serve alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition.”
The building originally opened as the “Gerken Family Grocery Store.” It was sold in the early 1930s to William “Blocko” and Connie Manning.
“It’s rumored that Blocko ran illegal hooch and operated a speakeasy during Prohibition,” the restaurant said on its website. “The building and the interior are much as they were back when Blocko and Connie grilled burgers and poured draft beer here. Burgers were 30 cents, and draft beer was 10 cents a glass.”
Luigi’s has been serving up pizza and other great Italian favorites to the people of Augusta since 1949. The restaurant’s original owner, Nicholas Ballas, immigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s and eventually moved South to Augusta after living for a time in New England.
“Because few were familiar with Greek cuisine, Nick created a menu with mostly Italian creations, despite his own Greek heritage. The small restaurant with a northern flare quickly became a hub for businessmen, soldiers, and families,” Luigi’s website said.
When Nick’s health began to fail in the mid-1950s, his son and daughter-in-law came to help with the business and fell in love with Augusta’s “southern charm.”
To this day, the restaurant remains owned by members of Ballas family and has remained an Augusta tradition.
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