List of James Beard America's Classics

Since 1998, the James Beard Foundation has awarded the title of America's Classics to multiple restaurants.^[1] The award focuses on family-owned restaurants across the country that have been operating for at least a decade.^[2][1][3][4] According to the Washington Post the awards are given to restaurants “with timeless appeal, each beloved in its region for quality food that reflects the character of its community.”^[5]

The James Beard Foundation Awards have been likened to the Oscars of the food world due to its prestige and recognition.^[1][6] NPR described this award category "sneakily subversive".^[1] In the early years of the award, the focus was primarily on restaurants that served cuisines familiar to most Americans. However, in the late 2010s, the award began to include restaurants representing cuisines that were not traditionally considered part of the typical American diet.^[1] No restaurants were awarded in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were certain limitations for awardees, such as having menu items below a certain price cap. However, these restrictions were eventually relaxed. The award was initially known as the Regional Classics before being renamed as America's Classics.^[7]

Recipients

American Classics

Restaurant	State or territory	City	Year opened	Year awarded
Tadich Grill	California	San Francisco	1849[8][9]	1998[10]
Joe's Stone Crab	Florida	Miami Beach	1913[11]	1998[10]
Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar	Washington	Seattle	1979[12][13]	1998[10]
Stroud's	Missouri	Kansas City	1933[14]	1998[1]
Second Avenue Deli	New York	New York City	1954[15]	1998[1]
Joe T. Garcia's	Texas	Fort Worth	1935[16]	1998[1]
Cafe Pasqual's	New Mexico	Santa Fe	1979[17]	1999[18]
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana	Connecticut	New Haven	1925[19]	1999[18]
Mosca's	Louisiana	Avondale	1946[20]	1999[18]
Phillippe the Original	California	Los Angeles	1908[21]	1999[18]
Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant	New York	New York City	1913[22]	1999[18]
The Berghoff	Illinois	Chicago	1898[23]	1999[18]
Original Pancake House	Oregon	Portland	1953[24]	1999[18]
Helena's Hawaiian Foods	Hawaii	Honolulu	1946[25]	2000[7]
Swan Oyster Depot	California	San Francisco	1912[26]	2000[27]
White House Sub Shop	New Jersey	Atlantic City	1946[28]	2000[27]
The Original Sonny Bryan's	Texas	Dallas	1958[29][30]	2000[27]
Camp Washington Chili	Ohio	Cincinnati	1940[31]	2000[27]
Moosewood Restaurant	New York	Ithaca	1973[32]	2000[27]
Mario's	New York	The Bronx	1919	2000[27]
Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room	Georgia	Savannah	1943[33]	2000[27]
Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant	California	Los Angeles	1947[34]	2001[35]
Versailles	Florida	Miami	1971[36]	2001[35]
Ray's Boathouse and Cafe	Washington	Seattle	1945[37]	2002[38]
Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant	Wisconsin	Milwaukee	1956[39][40]	2002[38]
Peter Luger Steakhouse	New York	Brooklyn	1887[41]	2002[38]
Anchor Bar	New York	Buffalo	1935[42][43]	2003[44]
Duarte's Tavern	California	Pescadero	1894[45]	2003[44]
Lexington Barbecue	North Carolina	Lexington	1962	2003[44]
The Shed	New Mexico	Santa Fe	1953[46]	2003[44]
The Skylight Inn	North Carolina	Ayden	1947[47]	2003[44]
Ben's Chili Bowl	District of Columbia	Washington	1958[48]	2004[49]
Al's Breakfast	Minnesota	Minneapolis	1950[50]	2004[49]
Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe	Massachusetts	Boston	1927[51]	2005[52]
El Chorro Lodge	Arizona	Paradise Valley	1937[53]	2005[52]
Yuca's	California	Los Angeles	1976	2005[1]
Willie Mae's Scotch House	Louisiana	New Orleans	1957[54]	2005[1]
John's Roast Pork	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1930[55]	2006[56]
Lagomarcino's	Illinois	Moline	1908[57]	2006[56]
Bowen's Island Restaurant	South Carolina	Charleston	1946[58]	2006[56]
Polly's Pancake Parlor	New Hampshire	Sugar Hill	1938[59]	2006[56]
Taylor's Automatic Refresher	California	St. Helena	1949[60]	2006[56]
Barney Greengrass	New York	New York City	1908[61]	2006[56]
Louie Mueller Barbecue	Texas	Taylor	1949[62]	2006[56]
Hamura's Saimin Stand	Hawaii	Lihue	1952	2006[56]
The Pickwick	Minnesota	Duluth	1888[63]	2007[64]
Weaver D's	Georgia	Athens	1986[65]	2007[64]
Primanti Brothers	Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	1933[66]	2007[64]
Aunt Carrie's	Rhode Island	Narragansett	1920[67]	2007[64]
Doe's Eat Place	Mississippi	Greenville	1941[68]	2007[64]
Bagaduce Lunch	Maine	Brooksville	1946[69]	2008[70]
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap	Illinois	Chicago	1930[71]	2008[70]
Irma's Restaurant	Texas	Houston	1989[72]	2008[70]
Maneki	Washington	Seattle	1904[73]	2008[1]
Totonno's	New York	Brooklyn	1924[74]	2009[75]
Breitbach's Country Dining	Iowa	Sherrill	1853[76]	2009[75]
Mustache Bill's Diner	New Jersey	Barnegat Light	1959[77]	2009[75]
Yank Sing	California	San Francisco	1958[78]	2009[1]
Al's French Frys	Vermont	South Burlington	1940s[79]	2010[80]
The Bright Star	Alabama	Bessemer	1907	2010[80]
Mary & Tito's Cafe	New Mexico	Albuquerque	1963	2010[80]
Calumet Fisheries	Illinois	Chicago	1948[81]	2010[80]
Noriega Restaurant and Hotel	California	Bakersfield	1893	2011[82]
Chef Vola's	New Jersey	Atlantic City	1921	2011[82]
Le Veau d'Or	New York	New York City	1937[83]	2011[82]
Shady Glen	Connecticut	Manchester	1948[84]	2012[85]
St. Elmo's Steak House	Indiana	Indianapolis	1902[86]	2012[85]
Jones Bar-B-Q Diner	Arkansas	Marianna	1910s[87][88]	2012[88]
The Fry Bread House	Arizona	Phoenix	1992[89]	2012[1][90]
Nora's Fish Creek Inn	Wyoming	Wilson	1970s[91]	2012[85]
Frank Fat's	California	Sacramento	1939[92]	2013[1]
Prince's Hot Chicken Shack	Tennessee	Nashville	1930s[93]	2013[94]
Kramarczuk's	Minnesota	Minneapolis	1954	2013[94]
Keens Steakhouse	New York	New York City	1885[94]	2013[94]
Olneyville New York System	Rhode Island	Providence	1946[95]	2014[96]
Hansen's Sno Bliz	Louisiana	New Orleans	1939[95]	2014[96]
Perini Ranch Steakhouse	Texas	Buffalo Gap	1983[95]	2014[96]
Guelaguetza	California	Los Angeles	1994[97]	2015[1]
Beaumont Inn	Kentucky	Harrodsburg	1919[98]	2015[99]
Sally Bell's Kitchen	Virginia	Richmond	1924[100]	2015[99]
Sevilla	New York	New York City	1923[101]	2015[99]
Archie's Waeside	Iowa	Le Mars	1949[102]	2015[99]
Al Ameer Restaurant	Michigan	Dearborn	1989[103]	2016[1]
Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q	New York	Oneonta	1912[103]	2016[104]
Bully's Restaurant	Mississippi	Jackson	1982[105][106]	2016[104][103]
Rancho de Chimayo Restaurante	New Mexico	Chimayo	1965[107]	2016[104][103]
Bertha's Kitchen	South Carolina	Charleston	1980[108]	2017[109]
Gioia's Deli	Missouri	Saint Louis	1918[110][111]	2017[109]
La Taqueria	California	San Francisco	1960s[112]	2017[109]
Sahadi's	New York	Brooklyn	1890s[113]	2017[109]
Schultz's Crab House	Maryland	Essex	1950[114]	2017[109]
Galleria Umberto	Massachusetts	Boston	1974[115]	2018[116][117]
Los Hernandez	Washington	Union Gap	1990[115]	2018[116]
El Guero Canelo	Arizona	Tucson	1993[115]	2018[116]
Sun Wah	Illinois	Chicago	1986[115]	2018[116]
Dong Phuong Bakery	Louisiana	New Orleans	1982[115]	2018[116]
A&A Bake & Doubles Shop	New York	Brooklyn	2002[118]	2019[119]
Pho 79	California	Garden Grove	1982[118]	2019[119]
Annie's Paramount Steakhouse	District of Columbia	Washington	1948[118]	2019[119]
Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House	West Virginia	Huntington	1945[118]	2019[119]
Sehnert's Bakery & Bieroc Cafe	Nebraska	McCook	1957[118]	2019[119]
Puritan Backroom	New Hampshire	Manchester	1974[120]	2020[121]
El Taco de Mexico	Colorado	Denver	1985[120]	2020[121]
Zehnder's of Frankenmuth	Michigan	Frankenmuth	1928[120]	2020[121]
Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que	Texas	Brownsville	1955[120]	2020[121]
Lassis Inn	Arkansas	Little Rock	1905[120]	2020[121]
Oriental Mart	Washington	Seattle	1971[120]	2020[121]
Casa Vega	California	Sherman Oaks	1956[122]	2022[123][124]
Corinne's Place	New Jersey	Camden	1989	2022[123][124]
Solly's Grille	Wisconsin	Milwaukee	1936[122]	2022[123][124]
Wo Hop	New York	New York City	1938[122]	2022[123][124]
The Busy Bee Café	Georgia	Atlanta	1947[122]	2022[123][124]
Florence's Restaurant	Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	1952	2022[123][124]
Pekin Noodle Parlor	Montana	Butte	1911[125]	2023[126]
Manago Hotel	Hawaii	Captain Cook	1917[125]	2023[126]
Joe's Bakery and Coffee Shop	Texas	Austin	1962[125]	2023[126]
Nezinscot Farm	Maine	Turner	1987[125]	2023[126]
La Casita Blanca	Puerto Rico	San Juan	1980[125]	2023[126]
Wagner's Village Inn	Indiana	Oldenburg	1968[125]	2023[126]
Mandalay	California	San Francisco	1984[127]	2024[127]
Vietnam Restaurant	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1984[127]	2024[127]
Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge	South Dakota	Brookings	1949[127]	2024[127]
Sylvia's Restaurant	New York	New York	1962[127]	2024[127]
Wade's Restaurant	South Carolina	Spartanburg	1947[127]	2024[127]
Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge	Nevada	Las Vegas	1972[127]	2024[127]
Lem's Bar-B-Q	Illinois	Chicago	1954[128]	2025[128]
The Pioneer Saloon	Idaho	Ketchum	1940	2025
Sullivan's Castle Island	Massachusetts	Boston	1951	2025
Lucky Wishbone	Alaska	Anchorage	1955	2025
Dooky Chase	Louisiana	New Orleans	1939[129]	2025[129]
Gaido's	Texas	Galveston	1911	2025

Defunct recipients

Restaurant	State or territory	City	Year opened	Year awarded	Year Closed
Durgin Park	Massachusetts	Boston	1742[130][131][132]	1998[1]	2019[133][134]
Doris & Ed's Seafood Restaurant	New Jersey	Highlands	1978[135]	1998[10]	2011[136]
H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop	Texas	El Paso	1958[137]	2001	2021[138]
Waterman's Beach Lobster	Maine	South Thomaston	1986	2001	2016[139]
Maison Marconi	Maryland	Baltimore	1920[140]	2002[38]	2005[141]
Prime Burger	New York	New York City	1965[142]	2004	2012[143]
Sam Choy's Kaloko	Hawaii	Kailua Kona	1991[144]	2004[49]	2004[145]
Brookville Hotel	Kansas	Abilene	1870	2007[64]	2020[146]
Jumbo's	Florida	Miami	1955	2008[70]	2014[147]
Gustavus Inn	Alaska	Gustavus	1965	2010[80]	2021[148]
Crook's Corner	North Carolina	Chapel Hill	1982	2011[82]	2021[149]
Watts Tea Shop	Wisconsin	Milwaukee	1930s[150]	2011[82]	2016[151]
Sokolowski's University Inn	Ohio	Cleveland	1923[95]	2014[96]	2020[152]
Arnold's Country Kitchen	Tennessee	Nashville	1983[153]	2009[75]	2023[154]
Matt's Place	Montana	Butte	1930[103]	2016[104]	2021[155]
Nick's Italian Cafe	Oregon	McMinnville	1977[95]	2014[96]	2023[156]
C. F. Folks	District of Columbia	Washington	1981	2018[5]	2013[5]