Here's another place that has been around for decades. Started in 1966 by George Willard, the building was the original bus station which moved to the adjacent corner. The photo above was taken around 1967. The Hokie House started life as a luncheonette with about 10 stools lining the counter. The photo below is more how we remember the place.
The Hokie House was famous for the Hokie Burger, a delicious fresh ground burger served on buttered Texas toast. At the time I think it was the best burger in town. Their other specialties included homemade chili beans, vegetable soup, and BBQ.
Julie Willard told me that one of their cooks, a woman named Dolly, was there for 32 years.
Sometime in the 1970's George Willard put on a side addition, and in the rear was pool tables and pinball machines. I remember shooting pool there and man did it get crowded as twosomes would slap their quarters on the table to challenge the winners.
George sold the business in 1993, but it's still going strong ... now with an upper level.
Worked there in the late 60s. George was quite the boss. Pinto beans and cornbread for a quarter!
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused. Is the bottom picture in a different location? Or did the street move? LOL Everything looks the same, but this seems more like the locations of Cook's Clean center. I am totally confused :) I only knew the HH in the late 90's.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the two pictures look very different, but if you examine the elements of both buildings you'll see the awning on the right, the overhang on the left, and the additional business underneath to the right (in the lower photo, Normans Barber Shop)
ReplyDeleteI'd get my hair cut by Norman - it was something like 2.50$ and quite short. One cut could last me a full 10 week quarter.
ReplyDeleteIn the 80s, the downstairs was the "Sonic Cellar" as I recall. It was a record store where I bought almost as many records as I bought at Books, Strings and Things. The Hokie House is still there, I last saw it in 2007, and now it has a whole second storey.
ReplyDeleteI lived next door in the big victorian house...originally the Keister House....Mrs Ryman called her lunch counter dine Ryman's Restaurant...spelling phoenetically. I loved getting Krispie Kremes from the grill...they were a tad old and hard, but the heat softened them and i paid 2 cents less that way...dill pickles and hamburgers. I know this is supposed to be a 70s page...but my brain is stuck in the 60s. Anyway...Count Basie and his band were going to play at the college. They all went into miz Rymans place and she told them to get out...she didnt serve "negroes...rather a different spelling...and they left...but she got into trouble over that, and it wasn't ling after that she closed up.
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