# Oldest continuously operating business? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107 "2008-04-05T19:04:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/1 "2008-04-05T19:04:20Z")
We recently purchased a gallon of Yamasa soy from our occasional sushi supplier, and the company claims to have been operating since [1645](http://www.yamasausa.com/Yamasa_company.htm). Any other contenders? ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/2 "2008-04-05T19:05:59Z")
Do you consider the Roman Catholic Church a business? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/3 "2008-04-05T19:06:59Z")
The [Hoshi Ryokan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan) Hotel in Japan has been operating since 717 A.D. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/4 "2008-04-05T19:21:47Z")
[QUOTE=Blalron] The [Hoshi Ryokan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan) Hotel in Japan has been operating since 717 A.D. [/QUOTE] Cool! As for the RCC, that’s not exactly what I was looking for, but it’s food for thought. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/5 "2008-04-05T20:42:06Z")
[World’s Oldest Business Ends 1400-Year Run](http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2007/sb20070416_589621.htm) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/6 "2008-04-05T20:52:29Z")
Bass Ale had the first registered trademark in England. The red triangle. 1. > **[Bass Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_(beer))** > > Bass Brewery (/ˈbæs/) is a British brewer founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's iconic red triangle became the UK's first registered trade mark. > Bass took control of a number of other large breweries in ... ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/7 "2008-04-05T21:02:46Z")
Industrial concerns: there’s a mining company in Sweden that’s been in business since something like the 1300s Commercial retail: Everybody in the U.S. knows about the Hudson’s Bay Company sending traders to exchange European goods with the Indians for furs. Most of Canada and few U.S. citizens know it’s still in business, as a department store chain called The Bay The answer for hospitality services (inns/taverns/restaurants) would probably depend more on the vagaries of preserved records than on the actual recordholder. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/8 "2008-04-05T23:42:21Z")
Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey has been distilled since 1608. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/9 "2008-04-05T23:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey has been distilled since 1608. [/QUOTE] It’s owned by Diageo, though. If you don’t limit the list to independently-owned businesses you’re essentially just asking what the oldest trade name is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/10 "2008-04-06T00:04:00Z")
**Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta** has been in the firearms business since 1526. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/11 "2008-04-06T00:14:07Z")
The longest-running restaurant in the world is Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House in Kaifeng, which first opened its doors in 1153. [Previous thread on the subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=144433) ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/12 "2008-04-06T00:31:00Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] [Previous thread on the subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=144433) [/QUOTE] Doh! That’s what I get for not searching. Here is a list from **clairobscur** back in 2002. [QUOTE=clairobscur] I made a quick search on google, and though I didn’t find the association I was refering to, here’s a page listing the oldest continuously family-owned businesses. The oldest would be , according to this site : 1. “Kongo Gumi”, Japan, building and restoring temples, founded in 578. 2. Hoshi family, Japan, owner of a spa and hotel, founded in 718 3)Goulaine family, France, a winery fouded around 1000 4)Ricasoli family, Italy, wine and oil producer, founded in 1141 1. Barovier and Toso, Italy, glass makers, founded in 1295 2. Pilgrimhaus inn, Germany, founded in 1304 7)Richard de Bas, France, paper makers, founded in 1326 1. Torrini Firenze, Italy, goldsmiths, founded in 1369 9)Antinori family, Italy, winery, founded in 1385 1. Camuffo, Italy, shipbuilders, founded in 1438 [/QUOTE] [Link](http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/oldworld.html) to site above. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/13 "2008-04-06T02:13:21Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] **Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta** has been in the firearms business since 1526. [/QUOTE] I think that Beretta claims to be the oldest manufacturing company, but it looks like they might have some competition, seeing the French paper company mentioned that’s much older. I’m still going to start saving for whatever shotgun they make in 2026 to celebrate the big 500. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/14 "2008-04-06T03:54:01Z")
I’m amazed that there are so many that are older than the Hudson’s Bay Company (founded 1670, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/15 "2008-04-06T03:58:29Z")
There’s a pub in Dublin that claims to have opened in 1198. [http://www.brazenhead.com/](http://www.brazenhead.com/) I don’t think it’s owned by the original owner though. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/16 "2008-04-06T04:00:55Z")
And it seems I was equally amazed back in that old thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/17 "2008-04-06T04:04:56Z")
[List of oldest companies.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies) ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/18 "2008-04-06T06:33:58Z")
[QUOTE=Can Handle the Truth] [World’s Oldest Business Ends 1400-Year Run](http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2007/sb20070416_589621.htm) [/QUOTE] That’s _slightly_ misleading: the company survives but as a subsidiary of another. It’s not a family business anymore but you’ll still find carpenters wearing the Kongo Gumi mark at temple construction sites. It’s probably more accurate to say that the world’s oldest business changed hands after being controlled by the same family for 1429 years. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/19 "2008-04-06T08:50:20Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] That’s _slightly_ misleading: the company survives but as a subsidiary of another. It’s not a family business anymore . [/QUOTE] By the way, there’s an international association of long-lived family businesses. I can’t remember its name nor could I found it with a quick google search. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107/20 "2008-04-06T09:57:24Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] And it seems I was equally amazed back in that old thread. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yeah, my first thought when I read the OP was _Kikkoman is older than that._ Also apparently my first thought when this came up 5 and a half years ago (see post #5 in the linked thread.) 😛 Oddly enough, I vaguely remember posting in that thread. It’s weird having so many little pointless conversations archived and accessible like this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuously-operating-business/444107.md?page=2)