The news was a bit jolting. However, it was clear that the best days of the southern cafeteria concept had passed. Tastes and preferences have changed; and more options have arisen. The clientele was much more sparse than it used to be.
These restaurants had offered good, nutritious meals for nearly nine decades. A wide variety of choices was always on display. Customers used to be offered outstanding value also.
Here in Greensboro, the old J&S cafeteria in the Guilford College area offered a similar product, but that facility closed many years ago. It would be wonderful if it could be resurrected somehow.
The wife and I would on many evenings visit the K&W for a good home style meal. My favorite was their country style steak and gravy. Yes, it would be a nice thing if it was reopened.
Our family lived in Knoxville, Tennessee from 1938 until 1946. I still can recall those wonderful dishes at the S&W cafeteria on South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. It was opened in 1936 and finally closed in 2011.
Fred, I know many local folks will have fond memories like yours. My first experience with one of these kinds of cafeterias was in Richmond– Piccadilly Cafeteria, I believe, in a shopping center in the northern part of Richmond off Monument Ave.– during the early 1980’s. It was a revelation to me because we did not have these in New York where I grew up.