Sidewalk tiles were once commonly used to advertise businesses, especially during the 1920s and 1930s, and were often seen in Art Deco environments. I photographed this one in downtown Macon in 2009. I have no idea if the sign remains nor have I been able to locate anything about the business.
Neil Joiner shared, from an article by Ed Grisamore, that the business first opened as the Crystal Cafe, in 1892, was later Loh’s, and after that, Jeneane’s Cafe. The building was reportedly the first in Macon to have electric light.
Macon Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
We made a lot of trips to Tifton when I was growing up in the 1970s, visiting the pediatrician and shopping, and Wishbone Fried Chicken was a great fast food place back in those days. It was located right downtown, across from what was then the Big Star shopping center on Love Avenue. Some of you may remember that Big Star was a grocery chain. I don’t remember shopping there, but we did on occasion. I just remember they had a televised horse race once a week and you could win cash and groceries if your horse “won” the race.
The last I heard, Wishbone in Tifton was closed but the sign was still there. I wish I could find out more about it. I know there’s one in Newnan, with the same kind of sign, so it may have been a franchise.
Update: Susan Anderson writes: I can confirm that the sign is now down, it was just taken down in the last few months. The building will soon be a new restaurant.
This was a restaurant, located near Clark’s Mill across the highway from the millpond. The structure may be an older one, but someone noted that as late as the 1990s, the restaurant was open. I’ll update if I learn more.
Shenita Hunt with her mother and Miller’s Soul Food matriarch, Nadine Miller Hunt
If you’re a fan of home-style Southern cooking you should put Miller’s Soul Food in Dublin at the top of your list to visit. They’ve been serving up food and a strong sense of community here for several generations, and you can feel the history and the love in every dish. It’s the oldest restaurant in Dublin and one of the community’s most successful Black-owned businesses.
Inside Miller’s Soul Food
Mrs. Nadine Miller Hunt’s mother established the restaurant in 1955 and Nadine has been running the place for over 30 years. When her husband, James L. Hunt (1934-2023), passed away recently, her daughter Shenita Hunt, who has lived in the Miami area for many years, came home to help with the restaurant’s operation. Mrs. Nadine isn’t slowing down and is the very definition of a gracious Southern lady. In 2022, Miller’s Soul Food was the only Georgia restaurant awarded a Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
I had a fried leg quarter, a baked leg, turnips, and rutabagas. Both the fried and baked chicken were perfect. The photo, made on the fly, doesn’t do the food justice, so you’ll have to see for yourself.
In the pantheon of Southern restaurants, the meat-and-three is king, because everyone is looking for food like their mamma made. In my experience, the search rarely yields acceptable results. But sometimes you come across a place so good that you want to share it with the world. Miller’s Soul Food isn’t just any meat-and-three. Nothing is too salty, nothing too greasy, and nothing too sweet. Perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. None of this dumped-out-of-a-can buffet stuff here. There are plenty of regular customers who will tell you it’s the best restaurant in Dublin and I believe them.
Miller’s Soul Food, Dublin’s Oldest Resturant
Of course they serve all the staples, like fried chicken, ribs, fried mullet, and sides like turnips and rutabagas. I’m more a mustard and collards fan, but on the advice of a regular customer, I got the turnips and they were cooked to perfection. For the more old-school customers, they serve up oxtails, pig’s feet and other soul food classics. Each meal comes with corn muffins and an old-fashioned hoe cake, also very good.
Longtime customers make a selection. It’s all so good, it’s not easy to choose.
When I first walked in the door, I was warmly welcomed by Shenita Hunt. In addition to being dedicated to the legacy of her family’s business, she’s an accomplished singer, has toured professionally, and is passionate about her work. She was happy to play some of her recordings and she’s very talented [my favorite was her cover of “At Last” by Etta James]. Her work is available for purchase at the restaurant and online. Her family also owned a nightclub, Miller’s Country Club, about ten miles outside town, and she learned many standards of American music from listening to their jukebox and watching the musicians who worked with her parents. That’s where she got the music bug. Her family strongly embraced and encouraged her artistic interests.
Miller’s Soul Food is only open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, so you’ll have to plan. But really, you should pay them a visit.
Dublin Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Lighthouse Grill reminds me of the quirky roadside architecture popular in the 1930s and is a landmark when I’m traveling in the area. I haven’t eaten here but it gets good reviews. It’s actually located way out in the country, on Georgia Highway 37, at the Berrien/Lanier County line
The Grill has been a Hawkinsville gathering place since the 1940s and it’s still one of the busiest spots in town. Their hamburgers are some of the best you’ll find in Georgia.
Hawkinsville Commercial and Industrial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Located in the old Hinesville Bank building, Zum Rosenhof is an authentic German restaurant and grocery that’s been a downtown favorite for many years.
This commercial block, the most substantial remaining historic retail structure in Hahira, was built in the 1890s by R. Y. Scruggs. Numerous business, including a department store, Hahira Hardware and the City Cafe, have occupied the building over the years. It was also home to the Hahira Post Office at one time.
This structure was built to house the growing food business of the Dudley family when Dudley Funeral Home became the sole occupant of the nearby C. D. Dudley & Sons General Merchandise building. Herbert (Hub) and Mayme Ford Dudley were already leaders of the black community of Dublin and their Retreat Cafe became a community center. Well-known entertainers, including Little Richard, James Brown, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe all visited here while traveling through Dublin. I met a nice lady while I was photographing the property who remembered Mrs. Mayme Dudley quite well.
Original neon “EAT” sign, dating to World War II
During World War II, Mr. Dudley operated a USO in this building for Black servicemen. The structure remains sound today but was listed as a 2023 Place in Peril by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation because it has been in disuse for many years.
