Celebrating Star Equipment And The Oldest Unit In Operation

Longevity and durability. That’s what makes Star Manufacturing griddles, charbroilers, hot plates, and other food product solutions stand out from the rest. One of the largest manufacturers of heavy-duty cooking equipment in the world, Star has been making quality equipment for 100 years. Which got everyone to thinking – what’s the oldest piece of Star equipment still in use? The search lead us around the country and ended at Rupp’s Downtown in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Star Equipment – Built To Last

Founded in 1921 in St. Louis, Missouri, Star Manufacturing gained its reputation on red hots machines, popcorn machines, and toasters. As the company grew, new products such as panini makers and ranges were added to the lineup. To help celebrate a century of helping provide quality food for restaurants, schools, and other foodservice businesses, Star decided to launch Star’s Oldest Unit in Operation contest.

“This oldest-unit in operation contest was a way to highlight the quality of our equipment and to celebrate those on the front-lines managing restaurants and serving food,” said Middleby Group Vice President, Dave Hinton, CFSP. “It is those people who buy Star and use it everyday in their restaurants.”

The Oldest Star Equipment In The U.S.

Launched in January 2020, the contest set out to locate the oldest Star commercial equipment currently still in use. Serving classic food and drinks for over 40 years, Rupp’s was founded by Sandra and Richard Rupp. And with an average tenure of 15 years, their employees are staples in the community. The two 40-year-old Star electric griddles that they use every day get plenty of use. From 1979 to 2019, Rupp’s served lunch and dinner seven days a week, and the griddles were used every day. Nowadays Rupp’s Downtown still does dinner every day and the griddles are still going strong. As thanks for their loyalty to Star and for having the oldest equipment, owner Sandra Rupp and the restaurant’s associated rep group Specialized were awarded cash prizes and visited by members of the Star and Middleby Group teams to celebrate.

“In contrast to this challenging restaurant climate, it was wonderful to make the human connection between our commercial cooking equipment and the people of Rupp’s who cook on that equipment every day.” said Jeff Mote, Regional VP of Star who manages Rupp’s territory. 

Learn more about Star’s heavy-duty countertop lineup, proven to withstand the test of time.