Legacy Berkeley Businesses Honored for Durability
Berkeley Ace Hardware and Berkeley Humane — both opened in 1895 — are among the hundreds of organizations 25 years or older celebrated by a new city program.
by Nathan Dalton
Oct. 19, 2026, 6:00 a.m.
Oct. 16, 2026, 2:14 p.m.
Share this:
- Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Print (Opens in new window)
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window)
- Bluesky
- Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window)
- Nextdoor
Add Berkeleyside as a Preferred Source on Google so you never miss our reporting when you search.
In 1889, a group of young women at UC Berkeley founded the University YWCA inside the office of famed philosophy professor George Holmes Howison. Now known as YWCA Berkeley/Oakland, the organization continues its mission. Six years later, across town, a group of concerned citizens formed Berkeley Humane to advocate for animal welfare.
These and more than 200 others are part of the new Berkeley Legacy Business Program, which recognizes not just businesses but also nonprofits and organizations that have been operating in the city for 25 years or longer. The program is a partnership between the city’s economic development office, Mayor Adena Ishii’s office, and the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce (established 1900).
“We get a lot of calls from businesses saying, ‘We’re turning 40. We’re turning 50. Do you guys do anything to recognize businesses that have been around for this long?’” said Reuel Cooke, project coordinator with the Office of Economic Development. “We didn’t have anything to recognize businesses, so I created something because I thought it was important to have something to honor and celebrate all their contributions to Berkeley.”
More than half of the honorees in the program have been in business for 50 years or longer, while 19 have reached the century mark.
Each business in the program will receive a certificate from the mayor, along with a window cling to display on their storefronts and digital assets for their websites and social media channels. The logo and visual identity for the program were designed by Berkeley-based designer Graham Bradley of A+ Type, drawing inspiration from the typefaces of local legacy businesses like Chez Panisse (1971).
Each business and organization in the program can be found on [list your source for this information].