New’s bright blue, but old is gold

The world crackles all the time with innovation. Every day some newfangled something comes screaming into view, promising to overturn all that preceded it. Yada yada and enough already. Let us not forget the value of that which has stood the test of time.

In that spirit, then, we celebrate some Toronto eating and drinking establishments of longest standing.

Oldest restaurant/diner

The Senator opened in 1948 in a Victoria St. location that had housed a restaurant since 1890. Indeed, the origins of the property can be traced to the earliest records that were kept by the town of York, when it set up humble shop in a residential, working-class neighbourhood east of Yonge St. Actually two restaurants in one, the Senator features a diner on one side—celebrated for its inexpensive casual fare—and a restaurant—a spiffy steakhouse that throws back to Jimmy Cagney’s days—on the other.

Oldest tavern

Everyone knows the Wheat Sheaf, which has held court at King and Bathurst since 1849, considers itself the T-dot’s oldest pub. Stumble into this corner staple and be convinced: the wooden tables and spacious bar of this casually decorated, sprawling space look like they have tales to tell.

Oldest pizzeria

Pizza pies have been flung about this town for time immemorial, and nailing down which of the longer-serving parlous deserves the “first” distinction is tricky, but Vesuvio’s Pizzeria & Spaghetti House, on Dundas St. W., is a strong contendor. The Pugliese family threw open its doors in a cloud of flour dust in 1957, back when Italian food was a novelty and Elvis Presley (according to Ed Sullivan) was “a real decent, fine boy.”

Oldest McDonalds

The towering yellow arches at 3777 Keele St. on the south side of Finch Ave. stand guard over what is this city’s oldest extant McDonald’s restaurant. In operation some 40 years, this proud edifice has, no doubt, millions served.