It can be a little tricky coming up with a complete list of Anderson’s restaurants of the ’50s and ’60s that are still serving loyal customers at the same old stand. If you aren’t careful you can miss one.
But by a quick count and with the help of the phone book I assembled a list of 11 eating places that opened their doors more than 40 years ago where you can still get a meal today while soaking up a healthy dose of nostalgia
Start with Art’s Pizza Palace. The first Art’s opened up in 1957 on Fletcher Street. It relocated in North Anderson, and the companion Art’s Varsity Pizza located on 29th Street. Recently Art’s also opened a restaurant on Scatterfield Road near Wal-Mart. It has been serving up pizzas and roast beef sandwiches for more than half a century.
Two walk-up Dairy Queens were operating when I first came to Anderson in 1951, on Broadway and Pendleton Avenue. Both have closed, but year-round Dairy Queen locations are open on Scatterfield Road and 53rd Street, serving burgers and such along with the traditional frozen custard confections.
Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurant at Broadway and Grand Avenue recently celebrated 50 years in Anderson. At one time there were three Big Boys, but the original survives.
In the 1950s, Olson’s B&K; Drive In offered curb service at Sixth and Scatterfield. It changed ownership, but Gene’s Root Beer now is the last of a dying breed with car hops still taking your order and bringing your food to your car.
My memory doesn’t pinpoint the beginning of restaurant service at Grandview golf course, but the Grandview Pub and Grill is the latest edition at the near northside location.
Few people in the 1950s or ’60s would have thought the Lemon Drop Restaurant on Mounds Road would still be thriving about half a century later. But it still has a loyal group of patrons who much prefer it to the newer chain fast food places.
MCL Cafeteria was one of the first businesses in the Mounds Mall in the 1960s, and it still does a thriving business serving lunch and supper to regular customers.
On Anderson’s far south side, the Red Brick Inn may be one of the city’s best-kept secrets. Little has changed about the restaurant, which is still going strong.
The Three Pigs Restaurant and Lounge has been doing business on 29th Street for several decades. And The Toast is one of the few eateries in downtown Anderson that has remained virtually unchanged over the years.
Where to draw the line? Probably at the opening of Anderson’s first McDonald’s. The downtown location has survived a move across the street and heralded a trend toward cookie-cutter franchises as people’s restaurants of choice.
But the 10 that preceded it and are still around offer an alternative many Anderson residents still prefer.
Jim Bailey’s reflections on Anderson’s past appear on Sunday. His regular column appears on Wednesday. He can be reached by e-mail at jameshenrybailey @earthlink.net.
