Formerly: European House
Meridian, Mississippi · Founded 1870
Weidmann's traces a Meridian restaurant lineage to Felix and Clara Weidmann's 1870 European House, with peanut-butter crocks and a 2010 revival under Charles Frazier.
Felix Weidmann and his wife Clara opened European House, a four-stool café in Meridian's Union Hotel, in 1870. The restaurant moved through several downtown sites before Henry Weidmann brought it to 210 22nd Avenue in 1923, where it developed enduring specialties including black bottom pie, garlic-boiled shrimp, and wartime peanut-butter crocks. The Weidmann family era ended in 2000; after a closure from April to late July 2010, Charles Frazier reopened the restaurant and continues to operate it.
Swiss immigrant Felix Weidmann and his wife Clara opened European House, a four-stool café in Meridian's Union Hotel on Hale Street, now 22nd Avenue.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page.
Felix and Clara Weidmann moved the restaurant to the corner of Hale Street and Front Street and expanded the operation to include the 36-room International Hotel.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025.
Felix Weidmann died, the International Hotel closed, and his son Phillip Weidmann took over the restaurant.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025.
Weidmann's moved to its present 210 22nd Avenue address under Henry Weidmann, Felix's grandson.
Source: Visit Mississippi, Weidmann's Restaurant listing, February 11, 2025; Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page.
Phillip Weidmann died and his son Henry took over the restaurant, developing specialty dishes including black bottom pie and garlic-boiled shrimp.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025.
During World War II rationing, Henry Weidmann replaced table butter with homemade peanut butter and crackers. Customers embraced the substitute and asked that it remain after butter supplies recovered.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Business Insider, 'Why Weidmann's in Mississippi Puts Peanut Butter on Every Table,' June 16, 2026.
Henry Weidmann died. Historical accounts say the restaurant had operated 24 hours a day until his death, closing only on Christmas Day.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page.
The Weidmann family ownership era ended, and the restaurant reopened under new ownership.
Source: Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page.
Weidmann's closed amid financial pressure despite a downtown preservation campaign.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Deep Fried Kudzu, 'Weidmann's,' May 6, 2010.
Charles Frazier acquired the lease and reopened Weidmann's after restoring the lunch counter, returning menu items, and rehiring former employees.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page; Country Roads Magazine, 'Review: Weidmann's in Meridian, Mississippi,' March 23, 2021.
Weidmann's continued operating at 210 22nd Avenue under Charles Frazier, serving Southern food and its peanut-butter-and-crackers tradition.
Source: Weidmann's Restaurant official website; Visit Mississippi listing; Business Insider, June 16, 2026.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Mississippi Encyclopedia, Visit Mississippi, and Weidmann's own history agree that Felix and Clara Weidmann opened the four-stool European House in Meridian's Union Hotel in 1870. The business later moved through other downtown locations before reaching 210 22nd Avenue in 1923, so the date describes a restaurant lineage rather than one unchanged building.
Weidmann's has a strong restaurant lineage dating to 1870 and is widely promoted as Mississippi's oldest restaurant, but it closed from April 17 to late July 2010 before reopening under Charles Frazier. The documented closure defeats an absolute continuously operating claim.
Mississippi tourism, local reporting, the Mississippi Encyclopedia, and the restaurant consistently call Weidmann's Mississippi's oldest restaurant. Its 1870 origin is well documented as a lineage, but the restaurant moved between sites, changed ownership outside the founding family, closed in 2010, and has not been compared in this register against all statewide restaurant contenders. The state title remains a credible claim rather than a certified result.
The Mississippi Encyclopedia and a 2026 Business Insider account agree that Henry Weidmann substituted homemade peanut butter for table butter during wartime shortages, and customers asked to keep it after the war. The restaurant's current account adds that Henry commissioned handmade crocks from a Louisville, Mississippi potter, but primary pottery or family records were not reviewed.
Mississippi Encyclopedia, Visit Mississippi, and the restaurant's own history consistently date Weidmann's move to its current 210 22nd Avenue address to 1923. This establishes restaurant occupancy at the address, not the construction date of the present building or uninterrupted service at that location.
Weidmann's official site identifies Charles Frazier as owner, while later reporting says he took over as owner-operator after acquiring the restaurant lease when it reopened in 2010. This establishes restaurant operation and leasehold history, not ownership of the 210 22nd Avenue real estate or the current legal entity.
The Key brothers' 1935 endurance-flight record is well known, but the reviewed sources did not establish Weidmann's as the official host location for a civic celebration. The claim should not be used in the timeline or as a celebrity-history basis until contemporaneous Meridian reporting is located.
Weidmann's has operated continuously since 1870.
Weidmann's traces its restaurant lineage to 1870, but it closed from April 17 to late July 2010 before Charles Frazier reopened it. The 1870 date does not support an uninterrupted-operation claim.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Weidmann's Restaurant, About Us page; Deep Fried Kudzu, 'Weidmann's,' May 6, 2010.
The building at 210 22nd Avenue was built in 1923.
The reviewed sources establish that Weidmann's moved to 210 22nd Avenue in 1923. They do not establish that the current building was constructed that year.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Visit Mississippi, Weidmann's Restaurant listing, February 11, 2025.
Felix Weidmann founded Weidmann's alone.
Felix Weidmann and his wife Clara opened the original four-stool European House café in Meridian's Union Hotel in 1870.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025.
The peanut butter and crackers tradition is simply a modern restaurant gimmick.
The tradition dates to World War II butter shortages, when Henry Weidmann used homemade peanut butter as a table-butter substitute. Customers asked for it to continue after rationing ended.
Source: Mississippi Encyclopedia, 'Weidmann's Restaurant,' January 30, 2025; Business Insider, June 16, 2026.
Weidmann's survived because it repeatedly reset its physical setting and ownership while keeping certain rituals recognizable to Meridian diners. Felix and Clara's four-stool European House expanded into hotels and other restaurant ventures, Henry Weidmann built a 20th-century menu around black bottom pie and garlic shrimp, and World War II rationing gave rise to the peanut butter and crackers that remain a signature opening gesture. When the restaurant closed in 2010, Charles Frazier restored the lunch counter, reintroduced longtime menu items, rehired former employees, and kept the downtown address alive without pretending the business had never paused.
Felix and Clara Weidmann opened European House, a four-stool café in Meridian's Union Hotel, in 1870. The restaurant moved to 210 22nd Avenue in 1923 under their grandson Henry Weidmann, who developed enduring dishes and the wartime peanut-butter-and-crackers tradition. The Weidmann family ownership era ended in 2000, and Charles Frazier reopened the restaurant after a documented closure from April to late July 2010.
Weidmann's is widely described as Mississippi's oldest restaurant because it traces its lineage to Felix and Clara Weidmann's 1870 European House. This register does not certify the title as an oldest continuously operating restaurant claim: the business moved among Meridian sites and closed from April to late July 2010. A statewide comparison of other Mississippi historic restaurants is still needed.
Weidmann's peanut butter and crackers tradition began during World War II, when butter shortages led Henry Weidmann to put homemade peanut butter on tables instead. Customers liked it and asked for it to remain even after butter became available again. The restaurant still serves the peanut butter in handmade-style ceramic crocks.
Weidmann's moved to its current 210 22nd Avenue address in 1923 under Henry Weidmann, grandson of founders Felix and Clara Weidmann. The restaurant had previously operated at the Union Hotel and later at Hale Street and Front Street. The 1923 move date does not establish when the present building was constructed.
Charles Frazier owns and operates Weidmann's. He acquired the lease and reopened the restaurant in July 2010 after it had closed in April, restoring features such as the lunch counter, historic photographs, traditional menu items, and longtime staff connections. This record does not independently establish ownership of the building or the current legal operating entity.
210 22nd Ave, Meridian, MS 39301
(601) 581-5770
Weidmann's serves lunch and dinner during the week, with Sunday brunch/lunch service. Confirm current hours, reservations, Balcony Bar availability, and special-event schedules directly before visiting.