By Stacy Perman and Emily Schmitt

The Readers' Selection

With the recession blues and the restaurant industry's punishing reputation in mind, in May we published a series of profiles highlighting eateries across the country that have stood the test of time. New York's Fraunces Tavern, founded in 1762, was the oldest. While the list we assembled wasn't exhaustive, it certainly offered a window into the business practices that have allowed restaurateurs to survive decades of economic volatility, changing tastes, even natural disasters. We also encouraged readers to chime in with their own examples of long-running establishments. Dozens of readers made suggestions, some of which have been in operation since America's earliest days.

This slide show is the result of our effort to verify and include as many of our readers' picks as we could. (Note: Readers are identified in bold, by screen name.)

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