The Dairy Ranch, a Jesup institution known locally as the “Eat Now” for its famous red-lettered sign, closed in 2017 and has stood abandoned since then. I got a message this afternoon that it was being torn down.
I passed by earlier and it was still there, but the sender of the message shared photos. (I’ll add an updated image later; I’m traveling at the moment).
Dink NeSmith wrote of the landmark in 2018, “…when Homer Johnson opened the Dairy Ranch in 1952, it was an immediate hit. Over the years, the establishment has had four owners…Several generations of teenagers grew up under the Dairy Ranch’s neon glow. The Dairy Queen was a phenomenon, too. Cruising around the DQ on Friday and Saturday nights was a must. But the “Eat Now” had a jukebox inside. You could listen to Elvis and chomp on a foot-long hot dog and a bag of those irresistible French fries.“
The photos above were made in 2018. The ones that follow were made this morning (10 September 2024).
While it’s not quite down yet, it will soon be a memory.
The sign is gone, too. I’m sure it’s being saved for posterity.
Wish someone could have salvaged those mid-century breeze blocks and variegated bricks.
That was exactly my response as well. Love some mid-century breeze blocks! ♥
Have been by this place many times in recent years on my way through town; but it was never open then. Places like this were the social gathering places for many small towns; the Tastee Freeze in tiny Rayle, east of Athens, comes to mind. It was much smaller than this one, really just a shack with a walk-up window. But it was all Rayle had. They served their purpose for their time.
I drove by this afternoon It is partially torn down. Definitely an icon of Jesup soon to be no more.
I’m on the road but will try to get a photo in the morning if it isn’t raining.