Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Local Eats, restaurants & Truck Stops

When I was a kid in the ‘70s, Dad always took Mom and us kids out for supper on Saturday evening. We’d usually go to the same places repeatedly, switching to another, I guess Mom & Dad would get tired of the same place every week.
But one place in particular they went back to for over a year!
That place was called Spaghetti Town USA, in Widber. It was right on Graham Avenue, where the Sheets plaza is now.
We all loved their Eggplant Parmigiana. We hared to see them close around 1980.
Anyway, I’m sitting here loafing and watching “The Virginian”, and I got to thinking about places we would frequent back then.
It seems that the Mom & Pop Restaurants And Truck Stops are becoming a thing of the past, replaced by Fast Food or chain franchises now.
I know of two truck stop diners still open, one on the east end of Everett and another on old 220 south of Claysburg.
I know there were at least 5 around the area back then.
As to restaurants, tho only remaining one I’m aware of is the Tower Ridge iInn, West of McConnellsburg.
It’s a shame, but I guess this is what is called “progress”.
Thoughts?

Around here there is still a good many local resturants.

Everything from the chicken places, BBQ, steaks, mexican, etc…

Either they make or not, which depends on quality and service.

A benefit of not having a chain of resturants to prop up a crappy one.

We are blessed with a goodly number of Mom&Pop places, diners, and restaurants next to major truck stops, all of which are great. We go to a place called Ramblin' Road quite often (there are three of them) for their large menu, larger portions, and moderate prices.

We used to have a place called the "Big Z" that was famous for unfinishable portions. Their menu started with an item simply called "Breakfast". It came with no less than six eggs, at least a pound of bacon, and separate platters of hash browns and Buick hubcap-sized pancakes. For $5. Back in the days of CB, I heard one trucker coming in from the east ask about where to eat, and the answer was to go to the Big Z - unless he had eaten since Nebraska, in which case he'd not be able to finish his meal. The Big Z closed and recently re-opened, but not with its previous glory.

Yeah.
We’ve found that chain restaurants , the food quality and service usually isn’t consistent from location to location.
Driving Truck I’ve also seen the same thing with Wal Mart stores.
Poor management, I’d guess.
I forgot one other local stop, up on Rt 322 near Munster!
Haven’t been up there in a while, but Carol and I loved it.
7mm

Savannah Ga

Our gun club always has a lunch after our Friday morning shoots, we go to a local truck stop for good food and good prices, they always save a table for us.

We are not lacking in Mom & Pop restaurants in my area. They the places we eat, very seldom go to Chain restaurants and don't eat fast food to often.

Pickin's are slim on my local turf

That's why we eat at home a lot

Beer can chicken tonight

Mama always said, “we’ll be home in 5 mins, we can eat at home”

BOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Our truck stops are LOOOONGG gone. We do have a couple of decent local places. We can get in and out of our local Mexican eatery for under $30 including tip.

One of our long time local diner/eateries has really slipped after the orignal owner died, and the next generation isn't up to the task. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Painful, and the outcome is certain.

It's a problem I'm glad I don't have to deal with.
The big truckstops are gone.
The ones left push fast food, not real food.(And i like fast food)
The T/A at Lamar didn't even have the restaurant open a couple years ago.
When we travel I plan stops at old trucks tops or restaurants with parking
that I used to like. They usually aren't there anymore. Places that were
around for decades are gone.

Glad I'm out of the game.
No part of it has improved since the 90s.
Except, cell phones and Internet.
I sure like Google earth for looking at destinations.

Pretty much all of the mom & pop owned/operated restaurants that the majority of their business was from highway thru-traffic eventually had to close due to the opening of big interstate highway system that bypassed them.

Nowadays it's big name corporate chain restaurants and truck stops located in clusters at major exits and on ramps.

We may go out to lunch or dinner a couple of times a month, usually before or after we see one of our plays. We do not really have truck stop restaurants nearby but there is no shortage of quality food of every ethnicity. Tomorrow I'm heading into the city (San Antonio) to shop and will hit a favorite birria place.

I drove for a little over a year from the Wal Mart DC in Cessna.
Since I was usually at a Wal Mart and being short of home on the clock, I’d park and go in a get a deli Samich and tater salad.
But Baltimore or Washington I got the hell outta there and go back to Frederick MD to sleep.
Mosta those places down there looked like a good place to wake up with your throat cut!
7mm

Deb’s Fish & Chips on 7th in Eugene, Oregon.

It was a rare treat for a lower middle class family of five in the early 70’s.

Closed years ago.





P

I have determined that Wilmington is the death of franchise restaurants.

Plenty of them and most suck. Even places like IHOP and Red Robin. I don't expect much from either but here they're awful.

No worries though. Plenty of locally owned places that are good.

Ever in the area and need a recommendation, hit me up.

The covtards forced a lot of mom and pops down.

My experience is the opposite. Boomers absolutely love Fast Food and chain restaurants. Part of their ruining the food supply was was killing off anything that wasn't a cookie cutter lowest bidder type outfit.

Subsequent generations are pointing things back to better quality food and are willing to pay for it. That chain joints are still many of course, still enough Boomers to prop up the Golden Corrals and Chilis and Old Country Buffets. They'll eat absolute trash as long as it is cheap. But if you put in the effort a lot of places are competing on quality rather than quantity and cost. More every day as Boomers die off.

Sad, but many of the great local spots have been closed. Replace with typical chain options. Locally we lost quite a few good spots on I-70 ramps. Locals have moved more to the interior of our area. We have some good spots still, just not the selection that once was available.

We've got a few Mom&Pops still in operation.
One has been in the same family since 1947, I believe.
I went to school with the brother and sister who currently own it - both in their lower 70's.
They tried, a few years back, to let the kids run it - place went to hell in a handbasket - quickly and completely.
They took it back over, the food was better, service was better, heat was on in the building.
Kids tried to cheap out - didn't work! Even took a couple of years to get over that "experiment".

Our last "Mom & Pop" truckstop just sold - and now is a cannabis dispensary. They used to have pretty good food - 'til the covid!