email: roadarch@outlook.com

Tennessee Eateries

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Athens:
Dairy Barn

Longhorn Restaurant
Chattanooga, TN
The Longhorn Restaurant opened in 1959 and closed in 2024. This sign is gone now. The building has been renovated and is expected to house Build-a-Salad in 2025. [map]

former Nikki's Drive-in [gone]
Chattanooga, TN
Nikki's Drive-in opened in 1942 and closed in 2020. The neon sign was gone when these photos were taken in 2021. The building was demolished by 2022 for a new condo development. For more, see this website.

former Mahalia Jackson Chicken
Memphis, TN
2007: 2010:
This Mahalia Jackson Glori-Fried Chicken restaurant was built in the late 1960s or 1970s. The chain had about 135 locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Detroit, Dallas, and elsewhere. There were at least five locations in Chicago, five in Memphis, and two in Detroit. The first location opened in Memphis in 1968 but that building is gone now. The last operating location in Nashville closed in 2008. This building now houses a car repaire shop. I only know of two other buildings like this that have survived: another one in Memphis and one in Tallahassee, FL. For more, see this website. [map]

Tops Bar-B-Q
3353 Summer Ave.
Memphis, TN		 Tops Bar-B-Q
4183 Summer Ave.
Memphis, TN
Tops Bar-B-Q was founded in 1952 and they now have 14 locations, 11 of them in Memphis. The two shown here, both on Summer Ave., are their oldest remaining locations.

The 3353 Summer Ave. location closed in 2024 after a fire. It is expected to reopen at some point. For more, see this website. [map]

The 4183 Summer location is housed in a former Roy Rogers building. [map]

Elliston Place Soda Shop
Nashville, TN
The Elliston Place Soda Shop opened in 1939 and is the oldest, continuously operating restaurant in Nashville. In 2021, the restaurant moved next door. Many details were transferred over from the old building and others were replicated to keep the feel of the original space. The neon sign was replicated by Joslin & Son Signs. For more, see this website. [map]

Bobbie's Dairy Dip
Nashville, TN
Bobbie's Dairy Dip has been around since 1951. It was originally known as Harper's. It was renamed by new owners in 1986. [map]

Dairy King Drive-in [gone]
Nashville, TN
The Dairy King Drive-in opened here in the late 1940s. After flooding in 2010, the business moved to a new location. The building and sign were still there when these photos were taken in 2010. There were both gone by 2016.

More Nashville:
former Red Barn

South Pittsburg:
Dixie Freeze

Tazewell:
Frostee Freeze

Tennessee
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