Bobbie's Diner
Savannah, GA Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The shiny metal exterior at Bobbie's Diner looks right at home beneath a glowing neon sign. Built in 1952 by the Mountain View Diners Company of New Jersey, this Savannah landmark has the chrome, rounded details, and compact dining-room layout that made factory-built diners such memorable roadside stops. Its journey to Georgia began much farther north. 04-09
SCAD acquired the diner from Rhode Island in 1989 and reopened it in Savannah in 1991. Its name honors Bobbie Gautreau, a former residence hall director whose homemade desserts and welcoming manner made her part of the university community. The restaurant gave students a dining spot with considerably more personality than an ordinary cafeteria.
UPDATE: Bobbie's Diner reopened in February 2026 after an eight-year closure and extensive restoration. The stainless-steel landmark is back in service, preserving another chapter of Savannah's unusually well-traveled diner history. 11-26
Hillsville Diner
Hillsville, VA Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Rolling through Hillsville on U.S. 52, the Hillsville Diner looks more like a little passenger car parked beside the highway than a conventional restaurant. Its rounded roof, closely spaced windows, and narrow footprint give it the unmistakable appearance of an early lunch-car diner. You don't need a giant sign when the whole building makes motorists look twice. 06-10
Generally attributed to the Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company and dated to the 1920s, the diner originally served customers in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It moved north to Hillsville in 1946, beginning a second career feeding local residents and travelers passing through the Blue Ridge. Moving an entire restaurant sounds unusual today, but portability was one of the practical advantages of these factory-built diners.
Hillsville Diner
Hillsville, VA Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Inside, the compact counter arrangement keeps customers close to the cooking and leaves little room for wasted space. The diner is included in the Hillsville Historic District and is promoted locally as Virginia's oldest continuously operating streetcar-style diner. Whatever the terminology, it remains a rare survivor of the small lunch cars that helped shape American roadside dining.
UPDATE: Hillsville Diner remains open, serving breakfast and lunch. Eight decades after arriving in town, the little diner continues doing the job it was brought here to do: feeding people along the old highway. 11-26
4 Way Lunch
Cartersville, GA Photo courtesy Tony Craig
The painted storefront at 4 Way Lunch doesn't leave much doubt about where to find a meal in downtown Cartersville. This tiny lunch-counter restaurant began in 1931, when Fred Garrison started selling hamburgers at Main and Gilmer streets. More than nine decades later, the modest corner building still looks ready for another lunch rush. 11-10
Inside, just 14 counter stools help explain why customers sometimes wait for a seat. Burgers, breakfast plates, and the locally famous gravy burger have kept the little restaurant busy without much room for expansion. One especially unusual tradition has survived: the business has never installed a telephone. A devastating fire in 1993 threatened its future, but the restaurant recovered and carried on.
UPDATE: 4 Way Lunch remains open for breakfast and lunch. The familiar painted exterior and compact counter continue welcoming customers at the same downtown corner where the business began in 1931. 11-26
Roy's Grill
Rossville, GA Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The classic marquee at Roy's Grill gave Chickamauga Avenue a welcome touch of old roadside dining. The compact restaurant looked ready for another order of burgers and milkshakes, with the kind of storefront that made you want to see whether the inside matched the sign. For generations of Rossville residents, it was a familiar place to stop. 06-11
The business traced its beginnings to 1934, but the building remembered by later customers dated to 1949. That year, widening the highway claimed the original restaurant, and Roy's was rebuilt nearby. The replacement kept the modest scale and straightforward diner appearance that helped it become a local landmark rather than just another place to buy lunch.
The Roy's Grill diner looking building
Rossville, GA Photo courtesy Alan Culley
Roy's experienced several closures and attempted comebacks, including a well-publicized reopening in 2021. A refreshed 1950s-style interior, vintage photographs, a jukebox, and nostalgic menu touches aimed to bring back customers who remembered earlier visits. The renewed interest showed how much affection remained for a little restaurant whose history stretched back to the Depression.
UPDATE: Roy's Grill has closed again following its latest revival. The familiar building and marquee reportedly remain along Chickamauga Avenue, although another reopening has not been confirmed. 11-26
Bobbie's Diner
Hillsville Diner
Hillsville Diner
4 Way Lunch
Roy's Grill
The Roy's Grill diner looking building
