Why this list exists
A business that has kept its doors open for fifty years has done something that no amount of advertising can imitate. It has survived recessions, highway rebuilds, changes of ownership, and the arrival of every national chain that moved into the metro along the way. That is worth recording.
Everything on this page is a business listed in this directory whose own website states the year it began, and where that year is before 1980. There is no shortlist and no way to buy a place here. If a business says it started before 1980 and it is in the directory, it is on this page.
Open since before 1950
Van’s Pig Stands in Moore, a restaurant, since 1930.
Waters Electric in Norman, an electrical contractor, since 1932.
Bluebonnet Bar in Norman, a music venue, since 1935.
The Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City, a music venue, since 1935.
Osborne Electric in Oklahoma City, an electrical contractor, since 1943.
Bethany Plumbing, Heat & Air in Bethany, a plumbing company, since 1945. They are third and fourth generation family. They publish no street address, so the placing in Bethany rests on the business name, the 405 number and the map embedded on their own site rather than on a published address.
Waggoners Home Services in Moore, a plumbing company, since 1946.
Lieber Mechanical in Piedmont, a plumbing company, since 1949.
The 1950s and 1960s
Shawnee Animal Hospital in Shawnee, a veterinary practice, since 1952.
Hideaway Pizza in Norman, a restaurant, since 1957.
Atlas Termite & Pest Control in Edmond, a pest control company, since 1959.
Carder Chiropractic Clinic in El Reno, a clinic, since 1961.
A&H Automotive Repair Shop in Del City, an auto repair shop, since 1963.
Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City, a music venue, since 1964.
Ezell’s Refrigeration in El Reno, a heat and air company, since 1964.
Hill & Company in Edmond, a plumbing company, since 1967.
O’Connell’s Irish Pub in Norman, a restaurant, since 1968.
The 1970s
Bob’s Plumbing in Norman, a plumbing company, since 1972.
Regency Club in Moore, a music venue, since 1972.
Bob Usry & Sons Plumbing in Norman, a plumbing company, since 1973.
Southwest Builders in Warr Acres, a builder, since 1973.
Yukon Veterinary Hospital in Yukon, a veterinary practice, since 1974.
Robert Baxter Electric in Edmond, an electrical contractor, since 1976.
The Mont in Norman, a restaurant, since 1976.
Maid OK in Norman, a cleaning company, since 1977.
Basey’s Roofing in Oklahoma City, a roofing company, since 1978.
A-Better Heating & Air Conditioning in Moore, a heat and air company, since 1979.
Yukon Hills Animal Hospital in Yukon, a veterinary practice, since 1979.
How the years were checked
Each year on this page was read from that business’s own website, not from a review site, a chamber listing or a directory aggregator. Where a website claimed only a length of time rather than a date — “over forty years”, “three decades of experience” — no year was recorded, because a duration is not a founding date and the two drift apart every year that passes.
That means this page is incomplete on purpose. Several businesses in the directory are plainly older than some of the ones listed here, but have never published the year they began. If that is your business, saying so on your own website is worth more than it sounds: it is the kind of detail people actually read, and it is the reason this page exists at all.