While many local bars and restaurants come and go, the Plaza Tavern remains one of the oldest businesses in downtown Madison.

For nearly a century, the Plaza Tavern has stood a block off State Street on North Henry Street. The key to the bar’s longevity, owner Dean Hetue said, has been consistency.

“People stop in all the time going, ‘oh, something that hasn’t changed,’” Hetue said.

The building was built in the 1920s and, as legend has it, the first beers were served during Prohibition, according to the Plaza’s website. Hetue said during Prohibition, the Plaza was primarily a pool hall, and a bowling alley was added a decade later.

The Huss family took over in the early 1960s, and the legendary “Plaza Burger” was born. Hetue worked for the Huss family from 1980 until he became the owner in 2003. Since then, Hetue said he has hardly changed anything.

“The older you get,” Hetue said, “the less change you want in your life.”

Hetue said the signature Plaza Burger is a huge part of what makes the bar a downtown landmark, and the Wisconsin State Journal even featured it as one of the 100 things that define Madison.

Other restaurants and bars have also held their ground in downtown Madison for a long time. State Street Brats and Kollege Klub have both been in business since 1953, making them some of the oldest businesses despite name and location changes.

However, Hetue said what makes his tavern stand out is its unchanged name and location.

One positive change Hetue said he has made to the Plaza is an increase in sustainable business practices.

The Plaza graduated from Sustain Dane’s MPower Business Champion program in April. The program aids small, local businesses in implementing more environmentally-conscious initiatives to their everyday routines.

Hetue said some of the sustainable strategies incorporated include adding more efficient lighting, composting food waste instead of throwing it out and increasing the purchase of local food products.

Through the years, the bar has also seen a number of famous patrons, including Brett Favre, Joan and John Cusac and many Wisconsin politicians, such as Tom Barrett and Tammy Baldwin.

Hetue said he often sees locals and former University of Wisconsin students coming in and looking around, “just reliving memories,” and checking to see if the bar is the same as they remember it from years ago.

They are glad to see, Hetue said, that the Plaza is still the same college hangout that students have loved for decades. The simplicity of the Plaza is what makes it memorable, he said.

Hetue said the bar looks like a small town corner bar similar to ones that can be found all over south central Wisconsin. The burger has been the same for 50 years, and he said aside from adding some TVs, everything is all the same.

“You know what you’re going to get here,” Hetue said, “and that’s not a bad thing.”