Meet the 5 oldest Athens restaurants that are still going strong

These five Athens restaurants have weathered changing tastes, economic shifts, and decades of growth.

July 15, 2026

Peking is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Athens. (Joshua L. Jones, Athens Banner-Herald/ USA Today Network via Reuters Connect)

Reporting by Andrew Shearer, Athens Banner-Herald

Few cities hold on to restaurant memories quite like Athens. Though we’ve bid farewell to beloved Athens restaurants such as The Varsity, The Mayflower, The Grit, and Allen’s Hamburgers, their stories remain an important part of the city’s culinary history.

At the same time, several Athens restaurants continue to carry that tradition forward. These five restaurants have weathered changing tastes, economic shifts, and decades of growth while remaining dependable fixtures of the local dining scene.

Their longevity emphasizes the importance of dining local, especially during the summer months.

Strickland’s Restaurant & Catering (4723 Atlanta Hwy.)

Strickland’s name comes from the original owner, Essie Strickland, who opened the restaurant in 1960 at its Broad Street location before selling it to her nephew, Paul, in 1975. After a couple of decades on East Broad, Strickland’s moved to its current home on Atlanta Highway in 1995. The restaurant has been owned and operated by the Strickland family the entire time.

The lunch counter at ADD Drug has been serving customers in Athens since 1961.

ADD Drug (1695 S. Lumpkin St.)

Since 1961, ADD, which stands for Athens Discount Drug, has been a kind of one-stop shop for folks in the Five Points area of Athens. Located right next to Earth Fare Supermarket, ADD’s timeless lunch counter offers guests a chance to unplug from the modern-day hustle and enjoy what is arguably the greatest milkshake in town.

Taco Stand (670 N Milledge Ave.)

Founded in 1977 by Phil Stangle and Randle Roberts, Taco Stand’s Milledge Avenue restaurant was successful enough for the entrepreneurs to open an Eastside location in 1985, and both are still in operation today. The downtown Taco Stand, which lasted from 1992 to 2020 at 247 E. Broad St., is considered the most iconic of the three.

Peking (2725 Atlanta Hwy.)

Peking, Athens’ first Chinese restaurant, originally opened in 1977 at 2222 Barnett Shoals Rd. space previously occupied by The Time Machine before moving across the street to the Green Acres shopping center. The larger and fancier Atlanta Highway location opened in 1988 and carried on Peking’s legacy after the eastside location closed in 2016.

The Grill (171 College Ave.)

Founded in 1981 by Bob Russo, this 1950s-style diner continues to operate in the historic Myers Building, which has been around since 1892. The Grill was open 24 hours a day until the coronavirus pandemic and repairs challenged the business in the early 2020s, but it’s still going strong as the oldest restaurant in downtown Athens.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald.