New York, New York · Founded 1868
Founded in 1868 in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, Old Homestead remains a Sherry-family-owned steakhouse known for its long-running classic New York format.
Old Homestead Steakhouse opened in Manhattan's Meatpacking District in 1868 and remains at 56 Ninth Avenue. Harry Sherry, who began as a dishwasher at the restaurant, acquired it in the mid-20th century, beginning the Sherry family era. Today, his grandsons Greg and Marc Sherry co-own the steakhouse, maintaining its traditional focus on oversized cuts, dry-aged beef, and classic old-New-York service.
Old Homestead Steakhouse opened in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, beginning a restaurant history the business and multiple current profiles date to 1868.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse official website; American Express, '157 years of steaks and service at an iconic Manhattan restaurant,' August 11, 2025; Food Republic, 'The Oldest Steakhouses In America,' March 1, 2024.
Harry Sherry, who had begun working at Old Homestead as a dishwasher, acquired the restaurant during the mid-20th century and began the Sherry family ownership era. The exact purchase year requires verification.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse, About Us page; Tasting Table, 'The Oldest Steakhouse Restaurant Can Be Found In New York,' October 22, 2024; American Express, August 11, 2025.
American Express reports that Greg Sherry and his grandfather Harry bought out other partners during the 1970s; Marc Sherry joined the business later. The exact ownership-transfer dates remain unresolved.
Source: American Express, '157 years of steaks and service at an iconic Manhattan restaurant,' August 11, 2025.
Greg and Marc Sherry worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Japanese agricultural counterparts, and Japanese beef producers on standards that helped allow imported Kobe beef from Japan into the United States. The exact timing and Old Homestead's first service date require primary import records.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse, About Us page; Tasting Table, October 22, 2024; The Daily Meal, October 14, 2024.
American Express profiled Old Homestead as a 157-year Meatpacking District steakhouse co-owned by brothers Greg and Marc Sherry.
Source: American Express, '157 years of steaks and service at an iconic Manhattan restaurant,' August 11, 2025.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Old Homestead's official site and multiple independent current profiles consistently date its opening to 1868. The reviewed record does not include period city directories, business licenses, menus, tax records, or advertisements that independently document the specific opening date, original business name, or initial proprietor.
The restaurant and numerous current profiles describe Old Homestead as America's oldest continuously operating steakhouse, with an 1868 founding and long tenure at 56 Ninth Avenue. The claim is credible but has not been tested here against every earlier chophouse or steakhouse candidate, and the reviewed sources do not provide a complete operating, ownership, licensing, closure, and successor-business record for every year since 1868.
Old Homestead's own history and multiple independent profiles agree that Harry Sherry began working at the restaurant as a dishwasher and later acquired it, beginning the Sherry family's multigenerational stewardship. The exact purchase year and initial partners are not established in the reviewed record.
Old Homestead's official site identifies Greg and Marc Sherry as co-owners, and American Express independently profiled them as the brothers co-owning the restaurant in 2025. This establishes restaurant ownership/operation, not ownership of the underlying Manhattan property.
Greg and Marc Sherry say they worked with U.S. and Japanese agricultural authorities and producers to help imported Kobe beef meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards after an import ban was lifted. The reviewed sources support their significant role in the imported Japanese beef story but do not include USDA import data, customs records, or a dated national service comparison proving that Old Homestead was first.
A historical restaurant account says a Texan who enjoyed the steakhouse promised to send Harry Sherry a cow, and a statue arrived two weeks later. The story is plausible and fits the restaurant's long-standing public symbolism, but no contemporary correspondence, newspaper report, or purchase record was reviewed.
A modern New York guide repeats the doggy-bag origin claim, but the reviewed record contains no primary source, menu, newspaper article, trade publication, patent, or culinary history establishing Old Homestead as the originator. The claim should not be presented as accepted history.
The building at 56 Ninth Avenue was built in 1868 for Old Homestead Steakhouse.
The reviewed sources support Old Homestead's 1868 restaurant founding but do not establish the construction date, original use, or architectural history of the current building at 56 Ninth Avenue.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse official website; American Express, August 11, 2025.
Old Homestead is conclusively proven to be America's oldest continuously operating steakhouse.
Old Homestead is widely described as America's oldest continuously operating steakhouse, and its 1868 start is consistently reported. But this review did not locate a complete operating-history record or a national comparison of all earlier steakhouse and chophouse contenders using the same continuity standard.
Source: American Express, August 11, 2025; Food Republic, March 1, 2024; Tasting Table, October 22, 2024.
Old Homestead was the first U.S. restaurant to serve Japanese Wagyu or Kobe beef.
The Sherry brothers say they helped U.S. and Japanese agricultural authorities and producers meet standards that allowed imported Kobe beef into the United States. The reviewed sources do not establish a verified first-restaurant ranking.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse, About Us page; Tasting Table, October 22, 2024.
Old Homestead originally operated as the Tidewater Trading Post.
Some modern lifestyle accounts use the Tidewater Trading Post name, but the reviewed official and major-profile sources do not establish it through contemporaneous records. The original business name remains an open research question.
Source: Old Homestead Steakhouse official website; American Express, August 11, 2025; Tasting Table, October 22, 2024.
Old Homestead survived by keeping its essential steakhouse identity while letting the surrounding Meatpacking District transform from industrial infrastructure into a dining and nightlife destination. The Sherry family inherited a working-class restaurant model, then expanded its scale and beef program without replacing its basic appeal: large steaks, dark dining rooms, and a direct connection to the neighborhood's meat-trade history. Greg and Marc Sherry also made technical and sourcing changes, including work with agricultural and Japanese beef-industry partners that helped establish a market for imported Japanese Kobe and Wagyu beef in the United States.
Old Homestead Steakhouse opened in Manhattan's Meatpacking District in 1868 and remains at 56 Ninth Avenue. Harry Sherry began working there as a dishwasher and later acquired the restaurant in the mid-20th century, beginning the Sherry family ownership era. His grandsons Greg and Marc Sherry now co-own the steakhouse.
Old Homestead is widely described as the oldest continuously operating steakhouse in the United States because it dates its opening to 1868. The claim is credible and supported by multiple modern sources, but this register has not completed a national comparison of older chophouse and steakhouse contenders or a complete historical continuity audit. The national title therefore remains unresolved.
Brothers Greg and Marc Sherry are the current co-owners of Old Homestead Steakhouse. Their grandfather Harry Sherry began working there as a dishwasher and later bought the restaurant, beginning the Sherry family's ownership era. This record does not independently establish who owns the building at 56 Ninth Avenue.
Greg and Marc Sherry say they worked with the USDA, Japanese agricultural counterparts, and Japanese beef producers to help meet standards that allowed imported Kobe beef into the United States. The available evidence supports their important role in the imported Japanese beef market, but it does not prove Old Homestead was the first American restaurant to serve it.
The restaurant dates its business to 1868, but the reviewed evidence does not establish when the current building at 56 Ninth Avenue was constructed or whether it was built specifically for Old Homestead. Restaurant age and building age should be treated as separate questions pending New York City property and landmark research.
56 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011
(212) 242-9040
Old Homestead serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday and is closed Monday. Confirm reservations, current hours, menu offerings, and dress expectations directly before visiting.