Heading south on US 19 from Blood Mountain to Cleveland, you’ll pass by this place. Originally built as a gas station and then expanded into a country store, it’s been a cafe for many years. Of its many owners across the decades, it’s founder Charles Turner is best known. He was a local legend who famously kept a soda-guzzling pet bear. Heavily guarded all-night poker games with local politicians are as much a part of its history as are Friday-night dances for local teenagers back in the 50s. With such diversity, it’s a wonderful survivor. After going into foreclosure in 2009, the building sat empty for two years; Steve Amoruso bought it and stabilized it while retaining its integrity.
Hazel’s Cafe is as much a symbol of the island’s history as the lighthouse or Fort Frederica. Located in the historically Black South End comunity, Hazel’s was owned by Hazel and Thomas Floyd. Thomas, a direct descendant of Wanderer survivor Tom Floyd, was a veteran of World War II. He settled here with his wife shortly after World War II and soon thereafter they started this business, which would be a staple of St. Simons life until it closed in 1978. They lived in the house next door, which is still standing.
With new homes and condos dotting the island today, it’s a nice step back to a time when St. Simons, like all of the Georgia coast, was anchored by small but thriving communities who looked to family and friends as well as the rich coastal waters surrounding them for sustenance and survival. Hazel was known to go crabbing in season and bring back her catch for the night’s special of deviled crab. I’m sure they were legendary dishes in their time.
Upon learning that Johnnie’s Drive In would soon be a memory, I decided to take my camera and record some of the energy that makes this place so special. It’s important to many people for many reasons. It’s an anchor of my memory, where I’ve spent many evenings with dear friends who worked and socialized here, and where I’ve always felt at home. But it represents more than sentiment. It’s among the last generation of roadside diners and beer joints that rose to popularity during World War II where kids hung out beside juke boxes and car hops came to you and took your order. The car hops at Johnnie’s were gone by the late 1990s but I remember them well. Many thanks to Phillip Joe Luke for sharing this wonderful history. His words are in italics.
Johnnie and his family moved to Fitzgerald from Columbus in late 1930s.
Johnnie Rochester Wise and Ollie Mae Roberts Luke Wise. Courtesy Phillip Joe Luke
The first family restaurant was in the 800 block of North Grant Street and it was called The Silver Moon. (It was opened by Johnnie’s father, John Franklin Wise). About 1943 or so they opened Johnnie’s Drive In. The Johnnie scrambled hamburger (better known as the Johnnie Burger) was his creation. The scrambled dog idea came from the Dinglewood Pharmacy in his native home of Columbus (it has a slightly different recipe).
Collection of Brian Brown
On the same lot of Johnnie’s Drive In was the old motel and the Princess Club. The Princess Club burned down many years ago and the remains of the motel are still there.
The remains of the forgotten motel
The name of the motel has been long forgotten.
Johnnie’s, in the early 1950s. Courtesy Phillip Joe Luke
Beer was served, along with fried shrimp and fried oysters on the short order menu. The Scramble (not Scrambled, as many call it today) Dog and the Dog Cicle were popular items from the start, but the Dog Cicle, akin to a corn dog, has been gone for many years.
Johnnie died in 1969 and my grandmother carried on the tradition for many years.
Russell (Coot) Luke, Jr., with Johnnie Wise (right). Courtesy Phillip Joe Luke
All of my family members dedicated their lives to Johnnie’s until their health failed and could no longer operate the restaurant. Uncle Coot managed during the day, Uncle Carl at night.
Carl Luke manning the register at Johnnies. Courtesy Phillip Joe Luke
Uncle Flop scrubbed that exhaust hood every Monday until it sparkled. Aunt Betty worked there off and on through the years. Even my mother served as a carhop while I was inside in a play pen. Many of you will remember Mary McElroy as one of the finest cooks in the history of Johnnie’s. Mary left us way too soon. We are so thankful that Jimmy and Carolyn Puckett came along to manage the restaurant in the mid 1980s. Restaurant management is not an easy task and Carolyn succeeded and made it look easy. Thank you so much. And thanks to all of the faithful customers for 70+ years of business in Fitzgerald. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Carolyn Chambers has managed Johnnie’s for over 25 years and kept this landmark alive. Customers think of her as family and Johnnie’s a home away from home.
Carolyn’s sister, Estelle Stapleton, has been cooking here for years. People love her as much as they love her food.
Ruby Chambers, Carolyn’s sister-in-law, usually knows your order when you walk in the door. Love this lady!
Denise Jordan helping Carolyn. I’ve known Denise all my life, too.
I want to thank Carolyn for giving me access for these photographs. I know she doesn’t really like to have her picture taken so it means a lot. I love all of you at Johnnie’s, past and present.
We had breakfast for our last meal at Johnnie’s. Estelle’s cooking is a great substitute for home cooking.
Johnnie’s really was a part of our family and we were always made to feel like we were a part of theirs. I know many share this sentiment and will miss it as much as I do.
This unassuming building is home to one of the most successful restaurants in Georgia. Hudson “Hut” Avant opened Dairy Lane as a summer-only business in 1953, after twice being turned down for a Dairy Queen franchise in Sandersville. It became a year-round business in 1957 and hasn’t slowed down a bit ever since.
Though it changed hands in 1995, it never lost site of its mission to be a gathering place for its community. It serves the standard fare: hamburgers, hot dogs, shakes, barbeque and fountain drinks, but that’s where it’s similarity to almost anywhere else in the region ends.
To someone who’s never been, it’s almost hard to believe how busy this place can be, especially on weekends. A number of people have commented that it’s a must-stop for people traveling through Sandersville en route to Georgia games from all over South Georgia, and there’s a good bit of football memorabilia displayed throughout the restaurant.
If you’re in Sandersville, you really don’t want to miss the Dairy Lane.
On a recent photography trip, I reached Buckhead a little before noon. I noticed this little restaurant, which appears to have once been a convenience store and decided to give it a try. I was skeptical since there was no one there when I walked in, but I was greeted by owner Daisy Benford and her super friendly staff and quickly filled my plate with some of the best food I had on the entire trip. I had fried chicken (perfection!), mixed beans, collard greens and fried cornbread. The price was very reasonable, too. As I was leaving, hordes of people began to come in, and before I finished shooting the sites of downtown Buckhead, the adjacent parking lot was slam full. As many of you know, I rarely give recommendations, but this is a place you shouldn’t miss if you ever find yourself in the area.
UPDATE: I believe Benny Paul’s is in Madison now. I’m not sure if this location is still open.
This is a great little restaurant and the employees are some of the friendliest you’ll find. They’re used to people being surprised by Fargo’s isolation and they’re glad to give you advice, directions, and any tips you might need on rambling in the area. It’s worth a stop and if you’re hungry, it’s the only restaurant in town. They also have a nice collection of local relics, as well as some beautiful handmade canes and walking sticks for sale.
The Steedley family has operated this landmark, from tavern to restaurant to catering business, since the Great Depression. I don’t believe the restaurant is still open but it was famous far beyond Homerville. Travelers passing through this isolated town on busy US 84 depended on its good food and friendly atmosphere for generations.
For generations, Old Clinton Bar-B-Q has been among Georgia’s best-known roadfood shrines. As soon as you walk through the sawdust under the low-hanging porch into the unassuming interior, itself a nod to a simpler time, you’ll feel very welcome. Though terms like “best” and “world-famous” can be found on nearly every barbeque joint’s shingle, you’ll find few locals who would dispute this claim. Features in Southern Living, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Washington Post have cemented its fame to non-locals. Clinton native John T. Edge, the leading food writer of the South, describes the barbeque in his book Southern Belly: “Sweet, smoky meat hacked to shreds, perfumed with a sauce tasting of vinegar and pepper, maybe a hint of tomato; Brunswick stew, thick with chicken, fresh pork, and corn; milky coleslaw, rich with mayonnaise. To this day, I don’t think I’ve tasted a meal that satisfied me so.”
Roy and Mittie “Lady” Coulter opened the restaurant in 1958 after the four-laning of US Highway 129 forced them to close their general store, across the highway on Greene Settlement Road. When Roy passed away suddenly in the restaurant’s kitchen in 1962, Lady took over the operations and remained chief cook until her death in 1996. The Coulter’s son Wayne is the proprietor today and he’s changed very little about the place. He did make one welcome change about twenty years ago, though: My mother never air-conditioned the place…and we had a big pit inside the restaurant where the smoke would sweep across the room. We’d have to open all the windows to air it out. We put in a wall that covered the pit in the ‘90s, got a new smoker, and finally cooled the place down a little bit.
If you’re using GPS, use this address: 4214 Gray Highway, Gray, Georgia 31032. You probably won’t need it, though. Once you see the little white pig and the wrap-around Coca-Cola signage, you’ll know you’ve arrived. There’s a new location on Highway 441 in Milledgeville, as well.
I’ve passed this abandoned building on US Highway 301 countless times and always wondered about its identity. Margie DeLoach Love, who is Long County and Ludowici’s unofficial historian, writes: this was Rudolph and Hildreth Todd’s Piney Pig Juke Joint. He also sold hamburgers and barbeque sandwiches. I recall eating a hamburger in there when I was a teenager.
