From wood-smoked barbecue and giant burgers to jelly doughnuts and old-fashioned deli sandwiches, these are the local institutions that have outlasted trends — and still give the East Bay something increasingly rare: familiar food, made the way generations of regulars remember it.
This is not a strict ranking of the region’s oldest continuously operating restaurants. Instead, it is a salute to the enduring, unmistakably old-school spots that continue to feed the 925.
1. The Original Hick’ry Pit — Walnut Creek
The Original Hick’ry Pit is the heavyweight of this list. The Walnut Creek restaurant opened in 1958 at 1495 South Main Street and identifies itself as the city’s oldest restaurant. Its roots go back even further, to Emil Villa’s original Oakland barbecue business in 1928.
The formula has remained uncomplicated: wood-smoked barbecue, ribs, tri-tip, pancakes, eggs, burgers, baked goods, and breakfast. Perhaps that’s why it’s outlasted the many closed BBQ spots in the 925 lately.
2. Nation’s Giant Hamburgers — Multiple 925 Locations
Nation’s began in San Pablo in 1952, when founder Russ Harvey traded his Buick for a six-stool hot dog stand. Hamburgers came next, and the business grew into one of Northern California’s most recognizable regional restaurant chains…