One of the Oldest Restaurants in American History is in Iowa

In a small town in eastern Iowa, there's a homey restaurant that's been around for over 170 years. It's one of the oldest restaurants in the entire country and it's still open and ready to serve whoever walks through the door.

I found this post from Eat This Not That of the oldest restaurants in the US. I thought for sure they would only be restaurants on the coasts. But then I was pleasantly surprised when I found this Iowa restaurant on the list.

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Oldest Restaurant in America

The oldest restaurant still in operation in America is located in Newport, Rhode Island. It's called White Horse Tavern and they've been open since 1673.

It's a National Historic Landmark because it's the oldest restaurant. It's also acknowledged as the 10th oldest operating restaurant in the world.

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Oldest Restaurant in Iowa

The restaurant in Iowa that is one of the oldest in the entire country is located in Balltown, IA, which is just north of Dubuque. It's called Breitbach's Country Dining and it's been open since 1852.

It was opened by Jacob Breitbach, who is actually the great-great-grandfather of the current owner, Mike Breitbach. Yep, the restaurant is still owned by the Breitbach family six generations later. Below are current owners Mike and Cindy.

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The restaurant still sits on the original spot where it opened all those years ago. Sadly, they had to rebuild in 2007 after a gas explosion and fire.

After re-opening, another fire hit the restaurant just 10 months after the first fire. Thankfully, the community stepped in and helped out the Breitbach family and rebuilt again.

Breitbach's is open Thursdays through Sundays. They serve all-you-can-eat buffets as well as some other delicious menu items like a fish fillet sandwich, hand-battered pike, and country ham steak.