Louis' Lunch
41°18′23″N 72°55′49″W / 41.3064°N 72.9303°W
| Louis' Lunch | |
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1895 |
| Owner(s) | Lassen family |
| Head chef | Jeff Lassen |
| Food type | Hamburgers |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Street address | 263 Crown Street |
| City | New Haven |
| State | Connecticut |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 06511 |
| Country | United States |
| Seating capacity | 30 |
| Reservations | Not taken |
| Website | louislunch |
Louis' Lunch is a hamburger restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut which claims to be the first restaurant to serve hamburgers and the oldest continuously operated hamburger restaurant in the United States. It was opened as a small lunch wagon in 1895 and was one of the first places in the U.S. to serve steak sandwiches. According to Louis' Lunch, the hamburger was created in 1900 in response to a customer's hurried request for a lunch to go. In 1917, Louis moved the business into a square brick building that had once been a tannery.
In 1975, the restaurant was moved four blocks down to 263 Crown Street. Hamburgers are made on the original cast iron vertical gas broilers from 1898, and the toast is made in a 1929 Savory Appliance Radiant Gas Toaster. The building is a New Haven landmark.